# 2019–20 Iona Gaels men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Iona Gaels men's basketball team represented Iona College in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gaels were to be led by 10th-year head coach Tim Cluess, but he never coached a game for health reasons. Associate head coach Tra Arnold took over the head coaching duties for this season. They played their home games at the Hynes Athletic Center in New Rochelle, New York as members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. They finished the season 12–17, 9–11 in MAAC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. As the No. 7 seed in the MAAC tournament, they defeated Canisius before losing to Saint Peter's in the quarterfinals.
Following the season, Cluess stepped down as head coach of the Gaels due to health concerns. A day later, the school named former Louisville coach Rick Pitino the Gaels' new head coach.

## Previous season

The Gaels finished the 2018–19 season 17–16 overall, 12–6 in MAAC play to win the regular season championship. They defeated Saint Peter's, Siena, and Monmouth to win the MAAC tournament for a record fourth consecutive time. As a result, they received the MAAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 16 seed in the Midwest region. There they lost to No. 1 seeded North Carolina in the first round 73–88, despite leading by 5 at halftime.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 2, 2019* 7:30 pm | | Mount Saint Vincent | W 112–79 | | Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, NY |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 9, 2019* 4:00 pm, NBCSN | | at La Salle | L 64–70 $^{OT}$ | 0–1 | Tom Gola Arena (3,135) Philadelphia, PA |
| November 13, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Ohio | L 72–81 | 0–2 | Hynes Athletic Center (2,013) New Rochelle, NY |
| November 22, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Stetson MAAC/ASUN Challenge | W 60–55 | 1–2 | HP Field House (148) Lake Buena Vista, FL |
| November 23, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Kennesaw State MAAC/ASUN Challenge | W 75–52 | 2–2 | HP Field House (113) Lake Buena Vista, FL |
| December 4, 2019* 7:00 pm, SNY/ESPN3 | | at UConn | L 62–80 | 2–3 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (5,909) Storrs, CT |
| December 17, 2019* 4:30 pm | | vs. Princeton Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational | L 86–90 $^{OT}$ | 2–4 | Barclays Center (5,064) Brooklyn, NY |
| December 29, 2019* 2:00 pm, P12N | | at Colorado | L 54–99 | 2–5 | CU Events Center (6,753) Boulder, CO |
| MAAC regular season ||||||
| January 3, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Saint Peter's | L 74–75 | 2–6 (0–1) | Hynes Athletic Center (1,388) New Rochelle, NY |
| January 5, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Monmouth | L 61–73 | 2–7 (0–2) | OceanFirst Bank Center (2,261) West Long Branch, NJ |
| January 10, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Rider | W 69–66 | 3–7 (1–2) | Alumni Gymnasium (1,611) Lawrenceville, NJ |
| January 12, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Niagara | L 69–70 | 3–8 (1–3) | Hynes Athletic Center (1,317) New Rochelle, NY |
| January 17, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Fairfield | W 64–57 | 4–8 (2–3) | Hynes Athletic Center (1,428) New Rochelle, NY |
| January 19, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Marist | L 73–83 | 4–9 (2–4) | McCann Arena (1,205) Poughkeepsie, NY |
| January 24, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Canisius | W 69–66 | 5–9 (3–4) | Hynes Athletic Center (1,538) New Rochelle, NY |
| January 26, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Monmouth | L 88–94 | 5–10 (3–5) | Hynes Athletic Center (1,313) New Rochelle, NY |
| January 31, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Siena | L 64–87 | 5–11 (3–6) | Hynes Athletic Center (1,780) New Rochelle, NY |
| February 2, 2020 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Manhattan | L 49–72 | 5–12 (3–7) | Draddy Gymnasium (1,289) Riverdale, NY |
| February 7, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Quinnipiac | W 73–52 | 6–12 (4–7) | People's United Center (2,257) Hamden, CT |
| February 9, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Fairfield | W 78–54 | 7–12 (5–7) | Webster Bank Arena (1,531) Bridgeport, CT |
| February 14, 2020 7 or 9:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Manhattan | W 80–57 | 8–12 (6–7) | Hynes Athletic Center (1,694) New Rochelle, NY |
| February 16, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Marist | W 78–70 | 9–12 (7–7) | Hynes Athletic Center (1,372) New Rochelle, NY |
| February 19, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Siena | L 64–65 | 9–13 (7–8) | Times Union Center (6,897) Albany, NY |
| February 21, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Rider | W 70–69 | 10–13 (8–8) | Hynes Athletic Center (1,734) New Rochelle, NY |
| February 27, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Canisius | W 86–65 | 11–13 (9–8) | Koessler Athletic Center (1,181) Buffalo, NY |
| February 29, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Niagara | L 91–100 $^{OT}$ | 11–14 (9–9) | Gallagher Center (1,193) Lewiston, NY |
| March 4, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Quinnipiac | L 68–69 | 11–15 (9–10) | Hynes Athletic Center (1,592) New Rochelle, NY |
| March 6, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Saint Peter's | L 65–68 | 11–16 (9–11) | Yanitelli Center (505) Jersey City, NJ |
| MAAC tournament ||||||
| March 10, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | (7) | vs. (10) Canisius First round | W 70–60 | 12–16 | Boardwalk Hall (878) Atlantic City, NJ |
| March 11, 2020 9:30 pm, ESPN3 | (7) | vs. (2) Saint Peter's Quarterfinals | L 54–56 | 12–17 | Boardwalk Hall Atlantic City, NJ |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
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