Iona (11-4, 4-0) at Quinnipiac (11-5, 2-3) – 2:00 PM (ESPN+)
This afternoon, the UTR Game of the Day heads to Quinnipiac where the hometown Bobcats host the Iona Gaels in a battle between two MAAC contenders. Rick Pitino’s team had a decent nonconference slate with wins against the likes of St. Bonaventure, Saint Louis and Seattle before getting off to a 4-0 start in conference play. The Gaels allow only 66 points a game and typically force about 15 turnovers a game while only averaging about 11 a game themselves.
After beginning the season with a win at Rhode Island, Quinnipiac also got a pair of wins against Stephen F. Austin and Montana State in the Northern Classic (a non-bracketed MTE) up in Montreal back in November. It didn’t immediately translate into success in the MAAC with an 0-3 start, but the Bobcats have won a pair of road games against Manhattan and Rider to try to get their train back on the rails. Quinnipiac has 3 players who average about 11 points a game and they allow only about 68 points a game on average themselves.