Under the Radar Game of the Day – Wednesday, December 23: Iona vs Akron

Under the Radar Game of the Day: Iona vs Akron, 3:00 PM Eastern, streamup.com/holidayhoops

In the final UTR Game of the Day before the Christmas break (we will be back with more action on Sunday the 27th), we remain out in Las Vegas for the final game of the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic.  This three team round-robin event has already seen Akron defeat UC-Santa Barbara on Monday, 84-70, before UCSB bounced back yesterday afternoon to upend Iona 80-76 (a fairly significant upset for a Gauchos team that was just 2-7 heading into that game).  Today, Iona and Akron will battle it out, with Akron having a chance to complete the two game sweep in this event.  The Zips (whose fans are celebrating the school’s first ever bowl game victory yesterday over Utah State), are off to a solid 8-2 start that includes at win at Arkansas.  Pat Forsythe and Antino Jackson have led the way so far this season, and will be called upon to have another big game today if the Zips want to knock off an Iona team eager for a victory, and at the same time prove that they will be a serious contender in the MAC this season.

Iona was the preseason pick to win the Metro Atlantic, though with the amazing story that has been Monmouth so far this season, the Gaels have almost fallen off of everyone’s radar.  While their record before this trip to Vegas was only 4-4, all of their losses had been respectable (at Valparaiso, Oregon State, Tulsa and Rhode Island).  However, the loss yesterday was almost inexcusable for a team that should be able to battle with Monmouth all season.  The Gaels should be able to contend because they have A.J. English who is capable of putting up some incredible numbers (such as the 46 he scored on Fairfield earlier this year).  Unfortunately, they are not the same team without him, and English has missed the last three games, including yesterday’s loss, due to a hand injury.  With just over a week left until conference play re-commences, the Gaels need to get healthy.  If they can’t, then they need to learn how to win without English, and picking up a victory today will go a long way to doing just that.