Official IonaGuyF 2023-24 game-by-game predictions!
Oct 25, 2023 8:52:50 GMT -5
ic59, hawaii bill, and 4 more like this
Post by GuyF on Oct 25, 2023 8:52:50 GMT -5
It's that time again! New staff, new roster, same old moronic picks from me! Feel free to drop your own in here as well. Let's get to it!
11/6 at Charleston. Tough ask for game 1 given all the newness. Would be impressed if we keep it close. L, 0-1
11/10 vs Sacred Heart. Important game coming off Charleston, against the NEC favs. W, 1-1
11/20 vs High Point in Gulf Coast Showcase. Ten days to prepare and fix what ails us after the first 2 games. W, 2-1
11/21 vs Long Beach St/Illinois St in Gulf Coast Showcase. If we beat High Point, this will probably be against LBSU, picked 2nd in Big West preseason poll. L, 2-2
11/22 vs Hofstra/Buffalo/Louisiana/Wright ST in Gulf Coast Showcase. Feels like a coin flip kinda game, no matter who we draw. W, 3-2
11/26 at Colorado. The check is in the mail. L, 3-3
11/29 vs Marist. Time to get serious! W, 4-3, 1-0
12/1 at Fairfield. Coaching situation there doesn't change the fact they'll have this one circled. L, 4-4, 1-1
12/6 vs Hofstra. I don't have a great feeling about this one. L, 4-5, 1-1
12/10 vs St Francis. Easiest OOC game on the schedule. W, 5-5, 1-1
12/16 vs St Joe's at UBS Arena. Hawks picked top half of A10. L, 5-6, 1-1
12/21 vs Colgate. I'm glad this is as home. W, 6-6, 1-1
12/30 at Harvard. Team starting to come of age. W, 7-6, 1-1
1/5 at St Peter's. Time to settle into MAAC play. W, 8-6, 2-1
1/7 vs Niagara. Purps had almost as much turnover as the Gaels. W, 9-6, 3-1
1/14 vs Mt St Mary's. A week to prepare for this one. W, 10-6, 4-1
1/19 vs Canisius. Tobin's got them rolling now. W, 11-6, 5-1
1/21 at Quinny. Back to the scene of last season's crime. L, 11-7, 5-2
1/26 at Siena. Carm's Super Bowl. L, 11-8, 5-3
2/2 vs Fairfield. Payback! W, 12-8, 6-3
2/4 vs Rider. We'll have this one circled. W, 13-8, 7-3
2/8 at Niagara. Buffalo trip blues. L, 13-9, 7-4
2/10 at Canisius. Buffalo trip blues part 2. L, 13-10, 7-5
2/16 vs Manhattan. Jaspers are rebuilding. W, 14-10, 8-5
2/18 vs St Peter's. No rise out of the Cocks #MAACAfterDark. W, 15-10, 9-5
2/23 at Rider. Broncs Zoo is no fun. L, 15-11, 9-6
2/25 at Mt St Mary's. Good bounce-back on the road. W, 16-11, 10-6
3/1 vs Quinny. Time to get into March mode. W, 17-11, 11-6
3/3 at Marist. Hitting their stride again. W, 18-11, 12-6
3/7 at Manhattan. Rivalries are fun. W, 19-11, 13-6
3/9 vs Siena. Sending a message before the MAAC Tourney. W, 20-11, 14-6
So, there you have it. I think it's pretty fair. Can see us worse than this if it takes the staff longer than we'd like to get them to gel. Can see us better than this if we're gelling faster than I'd expect. Anyway, 14-6 feels like a 2 seed, which bodes well for the Gaels given that 1 seeds not named Iona and not names Siena playing at home have an absolutely awful track record. Lost in what Tobin pulled off against Purdue is the fact that FDU didn't even win their conference tourney last year--new MAAC member Merrimack did, and was at home to do so. Iona will have plenty of experience and lots of guys hungry to taste the NCAAs, so our chances will be as good as anyone's.
Jumping the gun here, but if we were to win the MAAC Tourney, unless the MAAC turns out better than we all think, this feels like a 16 seed team. Definitely not higher than a 15. But also definitely not in the PIG, unless the MAAC turns into an absolute disaster this season. Imagine the buzz we'll get if we get in, given what Tobin pulled off last year. We'll be a trendy pick to take down Big State U but in traditional Iona fashion we'll draw the eventual national champ or something.
But I'd like to say something as we prepare to embark on this season: this is year one of the Tobin era, with an entire new roster, and I can honestly say I don't have any "expectations" of a championship. I've seen enough to know we won't stink, and we all know we're pretty spoiled out here. We'll have a solid season for sure, and we'll be one of the favorites in AC for sure. But I for one won't be pulling out the noose if we don't win the title. And I hope you guys enter this season with the same mindset--it's more fun that way. My picks above are a total joke. We'll win games I picked us to lose, we'll lose games I picked us to win. The team has the potential to be quite erratic, but I'm also confident that by March you'll see the team we were hoping for--whether it's good enough to bring home another trophy and get us Dancing again remains to be seen.
Enjoy!
11/6 at Charleston. Tough ask for game 1 given all the newness. Would be impressed if we keep it close. L, 0-1
11/10 vs Sacred Heart. Important game coming off Charleston, against the NEC favs. W, 1-1
11/20 vs High Point in Gulf Coast Showcase. Ten days to prepare and fix what ails us after the first 2 games. W, 2-1
11/21 vs Long Beach St/Illinois St in Gulf Coast Showcase. If we beat High Point, this will probably be against LBSU, picked 2nd in Big West preseason poll. L, 2-2
11/22 vs Hofstra/Buffalo/Louisiana/Wright ST in Gulf Coast Showcase. Feels like a coin flip kinda game, no matter who we draw. W, 3-2
11/26 at Colorado. The check is in the mail. L, 3-3
11/29 vs Marist. Time to get serious! W, 4-3, 1-0
12/1 at Fairfield. Coaching situation there doesn't change the fact they'll have this one circled. L, 4-4, 1-1
12/6 vs Hofstra. I don't have a great feeling about this one. L, 4-5, 1-1
12/10 vs St Francis. Easiest OOC game on the schedule. W, 5-5, 1-1
12/16 vs St Joe's at UBS Arena. Hawks picked top half of A10. L, 5-6, 1-1
12/21 vs Colgate. I'm glad this is as home. W, 6-6, 1-1
12/30 at Harvard. Team starting to come of age. W, 7-6, 1-1
1/5 at St Peter's. Time to settle into MAAC play. W, 8-6, 2-1
1/7 vs Niagara. Purps had almost as much turnover as the Gaels. W, 9-6, 3-1
1/14 vs Mt St Mary's. A week to prepare for this one. W, 10-6, 4-1
1/19 vs Canisius. Tobin's got them rolling now. W, 11-6, 5-1
1/21 at Quinny. Back to the scene of last season's crime. L, 11-7, 5-2
1/26 at Siena. Carm's Super Bowl. L, 11-8, 5-3
2/2 vs Fairfield. Payback! W, 12-8, 6-3
2/4 vs Rider. We'll have this one circled. W, 13-8, 7-3
2/8 at Niagara. Buffalo trip blues. L, 13-9, 7-4
2/10 at Canisius. Buffalo trip blues part 2. L, 13-10, 7-5
2/16 vs Manhattan. Jaspers are rebuilding. W, 14-10, 8-5
2/18 vs St Peter's. No rise out of the Cocks #MAACAfterDark. W, 15-10, 9-5
2/23 at Rider. Broncs Zoo is no fun. L, 15-11, 9-6
2/25 at Mt St Mary's. Good bounce-back on the road. W, 16-11, 10-6
3/1 vs Quinny. Time to get into March mode. W, 17-11, 11-6
3/3 at Marist. Hitting their stride again. W, 18-11, 12-6
3/7 at Manhattan. Rivalries are fun. W, 19-11, 13-6
3/9 vs Siena. Sending a message before the MAAC Tourney. W, 20-11, 14-6
So, there you have it. I think it's pretty fair. Can see us worse than this if it takes the staff longer than we'd like to get them to gel. Can see us better than this if we're gelling faster than I'd expect. Anyway, 14-6 feels like a 2 seed, which bodes well for the Gaels given that 1 seeds not named Iona and not names Siena playing at home have an absolutely awful track record. Lost in what Tobin pulled off against Purdue is the fact that FDU didn't even win their conference tourney last year--new MAAC member Merrimack did, and was at home to do so. Iona will have plenty of experience and lots of guys hungry to taste the NCAAs, so our chances will be as good as anyone's.
Jumping the gun here, but if we were to win the MAAC Tourney, unless the MAAC turns out better than we all think, this feels like a 16 seed team. Definitely not higher than a 15. But also definitely not in the PIG, unless the MAAC turns into an absolute disaster this season. Imagine the buzz we'll get if we get in, given what Tobin pulled off last year. We'll be a trendy pick to take down Big State U but in traditional Iona fashion we'll draw the eventual national champ or something.
But I'd like to say something as we prepare to embark on this season: this is year one of the Tobin era, with an entire new roster, and I can honestly say I don't have any "expectations" of a championship. I've seen enough to know we won't stink, and we all know we're pretty spoiled out here. We'll have a solid season for sure, and we'll be one of the favorites in AC for sure. But I for one won't be pulling out the noose if we don't win the title. And I hope you guys enter this season with the same mindset--it's more fun that way. My picks above are a total joke. We'll win games I picked us to lose, we'll lose games I picked us to win. The team has the potential to be quite erratic, but I'm also confident that by March you'll see the team we were hoping for--whether it's good enough to bring home another trophy and get us Dancing again remains to be seen.
Enjoy!
