Iona-Manhattan

[Jojogunne]

What a kick in the teeth for Iona to lose the MAAC championship last night. Not to take anything away from Manhattan, who came up big when it counted, but everyone made it sound like Iona-to-the-NCAA-tournament was a given. Do the Gaels have any chance of getting an at-large bid?

As for the coaches, how ironic that bad boy Steve Masiello, who sure looks creepy on the sidelines, redeemed himself after his academic issues came to light last summer. Does anyone think he will be offered a better job somewhere else this year?

And what about Tim Cluess, one of the best mid-major coaches in the country (five years of 20+ wins. including two NCAA appearances and one NIT)? Does he get an offer from a bigger school? His son, Kevin, is one of the top players on LI this year. Is there a father and son deal in their future?

[Wags]

What a kick in the teeth for Iona to lose the MAAC championship last night. Not to take anything away from Manhattan, who came up big when it counted, but everyone made it sound like Iona-to-the-NCAA-tournament was a given. Do the Gaels have any chance of getting an at-large bid?

As for the coaches, how ironic that bad boy Steve Masiello, who sure looks creepy on the sidelines, redeemed himself after his academic issues came to light last summer. Does anyone think he will be offered a better job somewhere else this year?

And what about Tim Cluess, one of the best mid-major coaches in the country (five years of 20+ wins. including two NCAA appearances and one NIT)? Does he get an offer from a bigger school? His son, Kevin, is one of the top players on LI this year. Is there a father and son deal in their future?

Iona this year is a good example of how the RPI isn't such a great tool. They're at 50, which would put them squarely on the bubble, and even up for serious consideration. Yet other than sweeping Manhattan in the regular season, who of note have they beaten? Who have they even played? Other than Manhattan, just Wofford and Arkansas in terms of teams in the field, and they lost to each by double digits. So then, what is the RPI really worth as an index?

The other questions are very interesting ones, but too many factors we don't know yet to be able to predict. Does Cluess want to stay put being fairly close to where he was for so long in this area before going to Iona? And what other coaching changes will occur around the country that will start the carousel which might affect guys like Cluess and Masiello? And who knows with the father/son deal? That could be far-fetched, but maybe not. Will be interesting to keep an eye on.

[ProudofPride]

Manhattan lost to Hampton in the first 4 round last night… Not a good showing for the MAAC, especially after they gave Louisville a run for their money last year.

[HUSID80]

Yeh and Iona lost to Rhode Island...they were never really in the game...tough year for the MAAC