NCAA Tournament 2001 - Iona


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Iona
RECORD: 22-11  REGION: Midwest  SEED: 14
COACH: Jeff Ruland  CONFERENCE: MAAC
RESULTS| STATS | HISTORY | MESSAGE BOARD

Road to the Final Four.............................................................................................

PREVIOUS GAMES LEADERS
OPPONENT ROUND RESULT POINTSREBOUNDSASSISTS
Mississippi 1st Round L 72 - 70 Miller 19 Miller 10 Grant 4


with Len Elmore


Iona is as athletic a team as you will see. Rutgers transfer Earl Johnson gives the Gaels tremendous three-point range in the backcourt. He can also beat people off the dribble and penetrate, which bodes well for their other big guy, Nakiea Miller. Miller is among the national leaders in field-goal percentage. He can block shots and rebound, and he generates a lot of offense from his defense. The Gaels are pretty good in applying pressure but have a tendency to turn the ball over too much. Coach Jeff Ruland has said they can live with some turnovers because they rebound at the offensive end. But when the Gaels are playing the big boys in the tournament, they can't afford giving opportunities away.
Team Statistics
 TEAM
Points Per Game 77.2
Rebounds Per Game 34.2
Assists Per Game 14.6
Steals Per Game 7.8
Blocks Per Game 5.5
Turnovers Per Game 16.7
Field Goal % .481
Free Throw % .689
3-Point % .383
3-Pointers Per Game 4.8
Scoring Margin 5.3
How They Got Here
Iona made the Big Dance by becoming the first MAAC team to win back-to-back conference tournaments since La Salle won three straight from 1988-90. The Gaels have now won a conference-best six titles in nine championship game appearances.

Iona enters the NCAA Tournament as a program that's been dangerous, if not successful, in the dance. Their past two appearances have ended in the first round, but not before giving Maryland a tussle last year (75-59) and nearly knocking off Syracuse in 1998 (63-61)

The Gaels' 22 wins give them 20 or more victories in five of the last six seasons. Before sharing the MAAC regular-season championship, the Gaels knocked off New York neighbor Hofstra and lost by two at Northwestern.

The most talented team in the MAAC came together under former NBA tough guy Jeff Ruland, who has taken Iona to the dance in two of his three seasons in New Rochelle, N.Y.

Player to Watch
Nikiea Miller's MVP performance in the MAAC tournament followed a regular season in which he was also the Gaels' most valuable player. Miller did it all, finishing first in the conference in field goal percentage (.675) and blocks (2.96), fourth in rebounding (8.5) and seventh in scoring (15.2 points). He also led Iona in each category. Miller played 37 of 40 minutes in the MAAC championship game. His line: 24 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks, three assists, two steals and no turnovers.

With the Ball
Iona dominated the conference on offense this season, leading the MAAC in scoring (78.1 ppg), scoring margin (plus-5.3) field goal percentage (.482) and 3-point percentage (.387). Miller got help on the offensive end from senior Earl Johnson and junior Dyree Wilson, each of whom enters the tournament averaging 12.7 ppg, and junior Leland Norris can also knock down the 3-ball.

Defending the Ball
Miller is the intimidator inside with his ability to block shots, helping the Gaels lead the MAAC in blocks per game. Iona also led the conference in field-goal percentage defense (.421) and finished third in 3-point defense (.333) and steals per game (7.72).

Seed Analysis
Exceeding the Seed
None
Playing to Expectations
  • 2000: No. 14, Midwest Region, lost in first round.
  • 1998: No. 12 seed, South Region, lost in first round.
  • 1985: No. 13 East Region, lost in first round.
    Falling Short
    None BRACKETOLOGY SCORE: 1.000

    (1.000 is playing exactly to a team's historical seeding)

    Bracketology Report
    1985-2000: The Gaels have won only one NCAA game in their history, riding the back of current coach Jeff Ruland to a 1980 victory over Holy Cross. As a conference, the Metro-Atlantic has been unusually ineffective in tournament play. Its only other NCAA victories came in 1995 and 1990. Manhattan beat a fourth-seeded Oklahoma in the first round in '95, while a 30-2 La Salle team defeated Southern Mississippi before falling Clemson in round two. The MAAC's all-time NCAA record is a dismal 3-18.

    Roster
    NO NAME P  HT WT YR  PPG RPG APG MPG FG% FT% 3PT%
    15 Dyree Wilson F  6-5  210 Jr. 12.54.72.030.1.443.704.273
    32 Earl Johnson G  6-0  190 Sr. 12.82.74.029.1.500.750.465
    1 Phil Grant G  6-7  210 Sr. 8.53.72.729.1.405.612.300
    43 Nakiea Miller F  6-10  230 Sr. 15.18.80.625.1.668.640.667
    44 Greg Jenkins F  6-9  235 Fr. 8.64.60.322.0.581.672.000
    0 Courtney Fields G  6-9  210 So. 7.75.71.521.2.392.670.340
    12 Maceo Wofford G  5-10  190 So. 5.51.71.418.6.450.767.373
    5 Leland Norris G  6-2  195 Jr. 6.51.41.616.7.418.750.410
    3 Leland Matthews G  6-5  220 Sr. 1.72.10.612.7.386.833.100
    45 Kenya Carruthers G  6-6  245 So. 2.71.70.07.3.455.611.000
    21 Drago Pavlovic F  6-7  230 Fr. 1.90.60.35.1.368.714.000
    10 Randy Williams G  6-1  185 Fr. 1.00.60.02.9.600.500.000

    VS TOURNEY TEAMS (1-0) LEADERS
    OPPONENT RESULT POINTS REBOUNDS ASSISTS
    HofstraW, 61-60Hernandez 20Jenkins 9Apodaca 5
    LAST 5 GAMES LEADERS
    OPPONENT RESULT POINTS REBOUNDS ASSISTS
    CanisiusW, 74-67Miller 24Miller 15Johnson 5
    MaristW, 75-71Johnson 15Fields 10Johnson 3
    Loyola MDW, 64-52Wilson 18Miller 9Johnson 4
    @ ManhattanL, 98-79Miller 16Jenkins 6Wilson 4
    RiderL, 65-61Miller 15Fields 12Johnson 3



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