Amidst Their Biggest Home Game in Over a Decade, Three Keys for an Iona Victory Over Saint Louis

 Iona’s home game tomorrow night against Saint Louis is big. Currently ranked #41 in KenPom, Saint Louis is easily the highest ranked opponent in Iona’s regular season schedule.

However, when we step back more than just a few years, even more than a decade, tomorrow’s game looks bigger than big: it’s HUGE.

The Hynes Center will be hosting Iona’s highest ranked opponent, according to KenPom, since Iona beat #39 Richmond 81-77 in double overtime on November 18th, 2010, the same Spiders squad that as a twelve seed beat Vanderbilt in the first round to eventually advance to the Sweet Sixteen. 

Shifting the focus closer to this season, a win tomorrow will not only be the team’s last true home game of the non-conference schedule, but it sets up Iona nicely for the remainder of their difficult non-con slate with remaining games against St. Bonaventure, Princeton, New Mexico and SMU, all top-175 teams.

Currently low single-digit underdogs on nearly all prognostications I’ve read, Iona has a real shot to win. How do they? My key factors to help lock in a Gaels’ victory:

#1 Defend the Paint

According to KenPom, Saint Louis currently runs the thirteenth most efficient offense in the nation thanks to their ability to limit mistakes (26th lowest turnover rate), score efficiently from inside (less than one-third of their field goal attempts are from three (292nd in 3PA/FGA), converting 52.5% of their shots from inside the arc, and extend possessions thanks to strong offensive rebounding (68th best offensive rebounding rate in the nation).

Outside of sharpshooters Gibson Jimerson (7.1 3PA, career 41.8 3p%) and Javonte Perkins (5.2 3PA, career 35.9 3p%) the three-point shot is not a major contributor to the offense. Case in point, aside from the two shooters previously mentioned, no other Billiken averages at least a three-point made per game. 

That means whoever guards point guard Yuri Collins (11.6p, 11.9a), physical wing Javon Pickett (12.7p) and classic big Francis Okoro (8.3p) can focus more on denial and help positions closer to the paint when the ball is away from their man. 

#2 Attack the Rim

Saint Louis’ defense allows offenses to get to the line (35.2% FTA/FGA which ranks 254th in FTA prevention) and Iona’s offense has yet to efficiently get to the line (18.4% FTA/FGA ranks fourth worst in the nation).

Something has to give. 

If Iona provides multiple threats on the floor to attack the basket, elite rim-protector Francis Okoro (58th best block rate in the nation and the most efficient defender on the team, according to evanmiya.com) will be forced to shift his energy away from guarding Iona’s gifted big Nelly Junior Joseph. 

This helps create a plethora of offensive possibilities that help open up space inside to attack the rim, put pressure on the defense and generate fouls, which would then put pressure on head coach Travis Ford to play his bench more than he usually likes to (the bench accounts for just 27.7% of team’s total minutes, which ranks 258th in the nation).

#3 Ignite the Hynes Center Early

In front of a sold-out crowd at Gampel Pavilion last Thursday, UConn hosted Oklahoma State. In their first offensive possession, head coach Dan Hurley drew up an alley-oop play to the tantalizingly athletic Andre Jackson that ignited the crowd early and kept the fans exulted for forty minutes:

Now imagine thirty seconds into the game with Walton Clayton Jr. tossing up a beautiful lob to the streaking Berrick JeanLouis, igniting the snugly seated sold out crowd of 2600 at the Hynes Center and instantly flexing its home court advantage muscles.

This season has yet again proven the difficulty of early season true road games. Utah beat Arizona. Gonzaga beat Kentucky. Gonzaga was crushed by Texas. Rutgers beat Indiana. Baylor was destroyed by Marquette.

Once the crowd at the Hynes gets going, there’s little room for the opponents to hear, let alone think or breathe. It’s essential for Pitino to take advantage of the situation to draw up plays to get the crowd going early and often.

Bottom line, I can’t wait to be at the Hynes Center tomorrow night. It’ll be a heck of an atmosphere, easily one of the most special college basketball atmospheres I’ve ever seen.