2022–23 Iona Gaels men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Iona Gaels men's basketball team represented Iona University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gaels, led by third-year head coach Rick Pitino, played their home games at the Hynes Athletic Center in New Rochelle, New York as members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. They finished the season 27–8, 17–3 in MAAC play to win the regular season championship. In the MAAC tournament, they defeated Mount St. Mary's, Niagara, and Marist to win the tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 13 seed in the West region. There they lost in the first round to eventual champion UConn.^[1]

2022–23 Iona Gaels men's basketball
MAAC regular season and tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Record	27–8 (17–3 MAAC)
Head coach	Rick Pitino (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Ricky Johns Taliek Brown Bob Walsh
Home arena	Hynes Athletic Center
Seasons ← 2021–22 2023–24 →

2022–23 MAAC men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Iona †	17	–	3		.850			27	–	8		.771
Rider	13	–	7		.650			16	–	14		.533
Quinnipiac	11	–	9		.550			20	–	12		.625
Siena	11	–	9		.550			17	–	15		.531
Niagara	10	–	10		.500			16	–	15		.516
Manhattan	10	–	10		.500			12	–	18		.400
Fairfield	9	–	11		.450			13	–	18		.419
Mount St. Mary's	8	–	12		.400			13	–	20		.394
Canisius	8	–	12		.400			10	–	20		.333
Saint Peter's	7	–	13		.350			14	–	18		.438
Marist	6	–	14		.300			13	–	20		.394
† 2023 MAAC tournament winner

In March 2023, head coach Rick Pitino left the team to accept the head coaching job at St. John's.^[2] The next day, the school named Fairleigh Dickinson head coach Tobin Anderson the team's new head coach.^[3]

Previous season

The Gaels finished the 2021–22 season 25–8, 17–3 in MAAC play to finish as MAAC regular season champions. As the top seed in the MAAC tournament, they were upset in the quarterfinals by #9 seed Rider.^[4] As a conference regular season champion who failed to win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the NIT, where they lost in the first round to Florida.^[5]

Roster

2022–23 Iona Gaels men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Berrick JeanLouis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Lehigh Acres, Florida G 1 Walter Clayton Jr. 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Lake Wales, Florida F 2 Sadiku Ibine Ayo 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Asabi-Kumasi, Ghana G 3 Cruz Davis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Plano, Texas G 4 Parker Weiss 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Naples, Florida G 5 Daniss Jenkins 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Dallas, Texas F 11 Quinn Slazinski 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Houston, Texas G 12 Anton Brookshire 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Springfield, Missouri F 13 Nelly Junior Joseph 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr Benin City, Nigeria G/F 23 Michael Jefferson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Sulphur Springs, Texas F 24 Keither Florence 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Wichita, Kansas F 33 Silas Sunday 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 290 lb (132 kg) Fr Lucan, Ireland G 44 James Carey 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Sr Pelham, New York F 55 Osborn Shema 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Kanombe, Rwanda	Head coach Rick Pitino (UMass) Assistant coach(es) Ricky Johns (Monroe) Taliek Brown (Connecticut) Bob Walsh (Hamilton) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 11, 2022

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 7, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Penn	W 78–50	1–0	Hynes Athletic Center (2,654) New Rochelle, NY
November 11, 2022* 7:00 pm, FloHoops		at Hofstra	L 78–83	1–1	Mack Sports Complex (3,707) Hempstead, NY
November 18, 2022* 7:30 pm, ESPN+		vs. Vermont Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase	W 71–50	2–1	Mohegan Sun Arena  Uncasville, CT
November 27, 2022* 12:00 am, BeTheBeast		vs. Santa Clara Las Vegas Holiday Classic	L 76–86	2–2	Orleans Arena  Paradise, NV
December 2, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Niagara	W 78–56	3–2 (1–0)	Hynes Athletic Center (2,087) New Rochelle, NY
December 4, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Canisius	W 90–60	4–2 (2–0)	Hynes Athletic Center (1,633) New Rochelle, NY
December 6, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Saint Louis	W 84–62	5–2	Hynes Athletic Center (2,171) New Rochelle, NY
December 11, 2022* 11:30 am, YES		vs. St. Bonaventure Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational	W 72–57	6–2	Barclays Center  Brooklyn, NY
December 13, 2022* 7:00 pm, SNY/ESPN+		vs. Princeton	W 70–64	7–2	Harwood Arena (496) Union, NJ
December 18, 2022* 6:30 pm, FS1		at New Mexico	L 74–82	7–3	The Pit (14,354) Albuquerque, NM
December 22, 2022* 3:00 pm, ESPNU		vs. SMU Diamond Head Classic first round	L 81–85	7–4	Stan Sheriff Center  Honolulu, HI
December 23, 2022* 4:30 pm, ESPN2/ESPNU		vs. Seattle Diamond Head Classic	W 83–72	8–4	Stan Sheriff Center  Honolulu, HI
December 25, 2022* 3:30 pm, ESPN2/ESPNU		vs. Pepperdine Diamond Head Classic	W 76-66	9–4	Stan Sheriff Center (3,897) Honolulu, HI
January 1, 2023 4:00 pm, ESPN3		Saint Peter's	W 73–55	10–4 (3–0)	Hynes Athletic Center (2,273) New Rochelle, NY
January 6, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Marist	W 84–57	11–4 (4–0)	McCann Arena (1,234) Poughkeepsie, NY
January 8, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Quinnipiac	L 58–81	11–5 (4–1)	M&T Bank Arena (1,262) Hamden, CT
January 13, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Fairfield	W 75–69	12–5 (5–1)	Hynes Athletic Center (2,654) New Rochelle, NY
January 15, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN3		Rider	L 67–70	12–6 (5–2)	Hynes Athletic Center (1,828) New Rochelle, NY
January 20, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Manhattan	W 84–76 OT	13–6 (6–2)	Draddy Gymnasium (2,345) Riverdale, NY
January 27, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPNU/ESPN+		at Siena	L 53–70	13–7 (6–3)	MVP Arena (7,801) Albany, NY
January 29, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN3		Quinnipiac	W 78–72	14–7 (7–3)	Hynes Athletic Center (2,654) New Rochelle, NY
February 3, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPNU/ESPN3		Mount St. Mary's	W 81–51	15–7 (8–3)	Hynes Athletic Center (2,002) New Rochelle, NY
February 5, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN3		at Fairfield	W 70–61	16–7 (9–3)	Leo D. Mahoney Arena (3,605) Fairfield, CT
February 10, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPNU/ESPN3		at Canisius	W 80–59	17–7 (10–3)	Koessler Athletic Center (857) Buffalo, NY
February 12, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Niagara	W 72–55	18–7 (11–3)	Gallagher Center (1,102) Lewiston, NY
February 17, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPNU/ESPN3		Manhattan	W 71–60	19–7 (12–3)	Hynes Athletic Center (2,514) New Rochelle, NY
February 19, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Saint Peter's	W 73–53	20–7 (13–3)	Run Baby Run Arena (672) Jersey City, NJ
February 24, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Mount St. Mary's	W 80–68	21–7 (14–3)	Knott Arena (3,121) Emmitsburg, MD
February 26, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN3		Siena	W 93–60	22–7 (15–3)	Hynes Athletic Center (2,644) New Rochelle, NY
March 2, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Marist	W 93–74	23–7 (16–3)	Hynes Athletic Center (2,455) New Rochelle, NY
March 4, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Rider	W 80–78	24–7 (17–3)	Alumni Gymnasium (1,650) Lawrenceville, NJ
MAAC tournament
March 8, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+	(1)	vs. (8) Mount St. Mary's Quarterfinals	W 74–54	25–7	Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall  Atlantic City, NJ
March 10, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPNews	(1)	vs. (5) Niagara Semifinals	W 71–59	26–7	Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall  Atlantic City, NJ
March 11, 2023 7:30 pm, ESPNU	(1)	vs. (11) Marist Championship	W 76–55	27–7	Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall (3,892) Atlantic City, NJ
NCAA tournament
March 17, 2023* 4:30 pm, TBS	(13 W)	vs. (4 W) No. 10 UConn First Round	L 63–87	27–8	MVP Arena (14,010) Albany, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources^[6][7]

References

1. "Iona 63-87 UConn (Mar 17, 2023) Game Recap". ESPN. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
2. "Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino accepts job at St. John's". AP NEWS. March 20, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
3. "Iona hires Tobin Anderson as head coach after Rick Pitino's departure". FOX Sports. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
4. "Iona MBB Upset By Rider In MAAC Quarterfinal". Iona University Athletics. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
5. "Florida Gators Outlast Iona 79-74; Advance to Second Round of NIT". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
6. "2022-23 Men's Basketball Schedule". Iona University Athletics. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
7. "2022-23 Iona Gaels Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 11, 2022.