College basketball: Iona ends on high note at Gulf Coast Showcase; three takeaways
There was some trouble this week for Iona men's college basketball at the Gulf Coast Showcase, but the Gaels were able to end their trip to Florida on a high note.
The Gaels were able to grab a win on the final day of the tournament, defeating Buffalo in wire-to-wire fashion, 89-64, to take seventh-place. Iona is now 2-3 on the season.
Iona got off to an early 30-7 lead over Buffalo through the first 12 minutes of the game, and the Gaels hardly looked back from there.
Wheza Panzo shot 5-of-6 from deep and finished with a game-high 20 points. Greg Gordon added 14 points and four rebounds, while Jean Aranguren had 12 points off the bench. Idan Tretout finished with 11 points and four steals in the winning effort.
Earlier in the tournament, the Gaels dropped their Gulf Coast Showcase opener to High Point, 82-68, after the Panthers used a hot start that set the tone the rest of the way. Panzo led Iona with 18 points in the loss, and he went 5 of 8 from the three-point line. Jeremiah Quigley added 11 points, five boards and six assists.
On Tuesday, Iona lost a close battle to Long Beach State, where the Gaels had 18 turnovers throughout the game and faltered down the stretch. Long Beach State held on for an 80-76 win.
Tretout paced Iona with 17 points, four boards, five assists and three steals. Aranguren added 16 points off the bench, with five rebounds and a steal. Gordon finished with a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double, and Panzo also had 12 points in the losing effort. Sultan Adewale also hit the double-digit mark and chipped in 11 points.
Here are three takeaways from their Feast Week tournament appearance:
Gradual improvement throughout the tournament
After a disastrous start, the Gaels got better with each day at the Gulf Coast Showcase.
Iona ran away with the seventh-place game after a blistering start against Buffalo. The Gaels were relentless on both ends of the court throughout the game, and it was clearly their best outing of the tournament.
If anything, it's a building-block win, as the Gaels turn their attention to a more formidable foe against Pac-12's Colorado on Sunday.
Buffalo is winless against Division I opposition this season, but it was important for the Gaels to garner confidence, experiment with different configurations, and pick up a win before returning home.
Before that, in a close loss to Long Beach State, the Gaels had great offensive balance, with five different players scoring in double figures.
The Gaels' freshmen showed promising glimpses at different points of the tournament.
Against High Point, Jeremiah Quigley had a solid performance off the bench, then it was Aranguren providing a scoring punch in the close loss to Long Beach State.
Adewale, Iona's lone starting freshman, had his best game of the tournament against Buffalo, and given the lopsided nature of the game, the rest of the freshmen got to play off the bench.
The freshman class will be a key group to watch, as Anderson turns to them for depth and crucial minutes.
Patience is needed
It's Iona's worst start since the 2019-20 season, when Tim Cluess had to step down for health reasons and Tra Arnold was promoted in the interim. There are more losses at this point of the season than Iona fans are used to in recent years under Rick Pitino, but it's important to keep hands off the panic button for now.
The win to end their trip certainly helped alleviate some frustration, but it's important to look at the grander scale.
Although the transfer portal has resulted in plenty of roster reshuffling across the entire college basketball landscape, there aren't many teams in a similar situation as Iona. The Gaels brought in a new coach in Tobin Anderson, and they had to replace 13 of 14 roster spots after various departures throughout the offseason.
Iona is last in the country, alongside New Mexico State, when it comes to continuity minutes.
With Iona's lone returner from last season, Osborn Shema, currently out with an injury, the Gaels and New Mexico State are the only two Division I basketball teams with zero continuity minutes this season.
It's going to take time for the Gaels establish chemistry and work out the kinks. Anderson's track record has proven to be successful in similar situations, previously finding recent success from scratch or in rebuilding scenarios at Fairleigh Dickinson and Division II St. Thomas Aquinas.
Before Fairleigh Dickinson pulled off only the second 16-over-1 upset in NCAA Tournament history, the Knights started the season with an ugly 2-6 record against Division I teams. There are going to be some growing pains and inconsistencies with this year's squad.
Gaels defense is a work in progress
There were glaring holes on the defensive side in the Gaels' losses, and it may stem from Iona needing to develop more cohesion on the court and grow more familiar with Anderson's schemes.
High Point picked apart the Gaels' press and had no problems hitting from deep, with seven players out of their eight-man rotation connecting on at least one three-point shot. As a team, the Panthers shot 12-for-28 (42.9%) from long range and had solid ball movement in the half court.
The press didn't seem too dangerous, as High Point only logged 11 turnovers for the entire game.
Although the Long Beach State game was a better effort for Iona, it had too many costly defensive breakdowns and the press was easily broken. Long Beach State shot well as a team, shooting 47.4% overall.
The Buffalo game was a step in the right direction, though, and it'll be interesting to see if the Gaels are turning the corner on that front.
Another factor to consider is Iona is missing Shema, whose length and 7-foot frame would change the dynamic on the court and give the Gaels some rim protection. At the moment, the Gaels' tallest player in their main rotation is 6-foot-7.
Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: College basketball: Three takeaways from Iona at Gulf Coast Showcase
