Iona faces former coach Rick Pitino for first Madison Square Garden game since 2018, other MAAC Notes

NEW YORK — In the same way that New York City is the hub of American culture, it has long been the hub of American college basketball. Before Iona existed as an institution, the best college basketball teams in the country would come to Madison Square Garden to show off under the big city lights.

In the days before nationally televised games, this was essentially the substitute in terms of exposure. Players and coaches reveled in it. Then, it went away.

Thanks to the college basketball point shaving scandal of the early 1950’s, big time college basketball left the Garden for a long time. But not all college basketball.

In 1951, Iona College of New Rochelle played its first game in the storied venue, then located on 50th Street. Gael legends made their mark in that building and then later, in the current one that opened in 1968 on 33rd and 8th. Wins over North Carolina, Kansas, and Louisville are highlights in the program’s history.

Now, the Gaels returned to the World’s Most Famous arena for their 85th-ever game between the two buildings, but their first in eight years. Iona to take on St. John’s, and former head coach Rick Pitino, for the first time since he left following the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Entering the game as 27.5-point underdogs, nobody was shocked at the 91-64 final score, but getting back in the building is a step in maintaining the brand identity of Iona basketball.

Pitino will say a lot of things, not all of them will be true, but he did say that he wants to continue bringing Iona to Madison Square Garden to face the Johnnies.

“We’re going to play this game every year that I’m the coach,” Pitino said. “Iona brought 2,000 people tonight. LIU and Columbia aren’t bringing 2,000 people. I love Columbia. I love LIU. But I don’t love them like I love Iona. I got rejuvenated there. It’s a special place with great tradition.”

As somebody who coached the Gaels, he understands how important it is for mid-major programs in the area to play in the Garden. Pitino had Iona scheduled to face Seton Hall in the arena in 2021-22, but the game was called off to due to COVID. He consistently tried to get local games as the coach of Iona, which included playing St. Bonaventure at the Barclays Center.

Dan Geriot is no stranger to coaching big games at MSG. He was part of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ staff when they played against the Knicks in the 2023 NBA Playoffs. He refers to Game 3 of that series, when the Knicks won 99-79, as one of the rowdiest crowds he’s ever been part of.

It stuck in his head as he scheduled this game.

“The national anthem comes on, and the Knicks come out and just whooped us,” Geriot said. “Speaking about a haunted life. I think being able to experience that, it was obviously great at the NBA level, and then being able to feel the Garden with Iona, that’s something we need to continue to do.”

For Gael players, it was a moment to play on a big stage. Iona didn’t wilt away immediately either, opening the first half with a 10-2 lead. The Gaels trailed by 10 at half, but CJ Anthony cut the lead down to four with a nice spurt of offense before St. John’s banged in a few shots to go on a killshot.

From there, Iona was left in the dust by a more athletic and more talented team. It’s the second time in a matter of two weeks that an athletic foe pulled away in the second half. Quinnipiac, the MAAC’s most athletic team, blew the Gaels away in the second half in New Rochelle for an 89-68 win.

“I think the big piece is to continue to understand what the paint looks like for us,” Geriot said. “We’re a very unique team. We play 11 guys pretty consistently. Spacers, handlers, bigs. So what each spacing set looks like I think is where we’re headed, and it’s getting pretty clear to us.”

Only time will tell as to whether Pitino continues to put the Gaels on the Garden’s Holiday Calendar. Whether he keeps his word or not, who knows. It’s fair to wonder why he didn’t schedule the Gaels in either of Tobin Anderson’s two seasons at the helm if he truly wants to play Iona every year.

The Gaels take on Vermont in Burlington on Sunday to close out non-conference play.

Quinnipiac played without the MAAC’s leading scorer, Jaden Zimmerman, in Saturday’s win over UMass Lowell. The Bobcats trailed by nine but put together a strong second half to win their fourth game in a row and seventh out of eight.

Reigning MAAC Player of the Year Amarri Monroe hasn’t had to score quite as much this season as he did last year, but with Zimmerman sidelined, he poured in 22 points with 10 rebounds to will Quinnipiac to the win. One key note to keep an eye on is Asim Jones’ emergence as a legit secondary option. He’s scored in double figures in each of his last four games, including a season-high 20 in the UMass Lowell game.

If Jones can be a scorer, it can help soothe the offense in Zimmerman’s absence and raise the ceiling when he returns.

It marks the second 8-3 start of Tom Pecora’s three seasons as Quinnipiac’s head coach. The Bobcats went on to start 19-4, including 10-1 in the MAAC, in his first season at the helm.

Canisius got point guards Anthony Benard and Marcus Niblack back from injuries this weekend, propelling the Golden Griffins to a 70-43 win over Maine. It’s the first road win for Canisius this season, and Niblack scored 13 points with 10 rebounds and six assists in his Griff debut. Benard meanwhile played just two minutes.

Niblack was Canisius’ most experienced player coming into the season, and the player with the most Division-I scoring pedigree. Getting him back from injury means getting a potential All-MAAC player in the lineup.

Yes, Maine is very bad, and yes, Canisius is also probably one of the worst teams in the MAAC, but that win was by far the best performance of the Jim Christian era.

Fairfield’s Brandon Benjamin is tied for fifth nationally among freshmen with four double-doubles. He made SportsCenter with a monster dunk during Fairfield’s win over Monmouth on Sunday.

He finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds.