1979–80 Iona Gaels men's basketball team

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1979–80 Iona Gaels men's basketball team - Wikipedia

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1979–80 Iona Gaels men's basketball
ECAC Metro tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Second Round
Conference	Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 19
Record	29–5 ( ECAC Metro)
Head coach	Jim Valvano (5th season)
Home arena	Hynes Athletic Center
Seasons ← 1978–79 1980–81 →

1979–80 ECAC Metro men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 19 Iona		–		–	28	–	4	.875
Saint Peter's		–		–	22	–	9	.710
Long Island		–		–	14	–	12	.538
Wagner		–		–	14	–	13	.519
Siena		–		–	14	–	14	.500
Fairleigh Dickinson		–		–	13	–	14	.481
St. Francis (NY)		–		–	11	–	15	.423
Fairfield		–		–	11	–	16	.407
Fordham		–		–	11	–	17	.393
Army		–		–	9	–	17	.346
Manhattan		–		–	4	–	22	.154

† 1980 ECAC Metro tournament winner Rankings from AP poll *Iona vacated NCAA Tournament games due to NCAA sanctions. Disputed record (29–5)

The 1979–80 Iona Gaels men's basketball team represented Iona College during the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gaels, led by fifth-year head coach Jim Valvano, played their home games at the Hynes Athletic Center. The Gaels won the ECAC Metro Basketball tournament to receive a bid to the 1980 NCAA tournament. As the No. 6 seed in the East region, the Gaels defeated No. 11 seed Holy Cross in the opening round^[1] – the first and only NCAA Tournament victory in school history.^[2] Iona was narrowly defeated by No. 3 seed Georgetown in the round of 32.^[3] As of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, this is the furthest any Iona men's team has ever advanced in the NCAA Tournament.

On February 21, Iona halted No. 2 Louisville’s 18-game winning streak by dominating the Cardinals, 77–60, at Madison Square Garden.^[4] It was the last game Louisville would lose during the season en route to winning the 1980 NCAA Championship. It was the 12th straight of what would end up being a 17-game win streak for the Gaels.

Roster

1979–80 Iona Gaels men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
G	14	Kevin Hamilton	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	—	Sr
G		Glenn Vickers	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	—	Sr
C	43	Jeff Ruland	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Jr	Sachem HS	Lake Ronkonkoma, New York

Head coach

Jim Valvano

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

^[5]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 30, 1979*		vs. No. 14 Texas A&M Great Alaska Shootout	W 78–52	1–0	Buckner Fieldhouse Anchorage, Alaska
Dec 1, 1979*		vs. Long Beach State Great Alaska Shootout	W 86–75	2–0	Buckner Fieldhouse Anchorage, Alaska
Dec 2, 1979*		vs. No. 2 Kentucky Great Alaska Shootout	L 50–57	2–1	Buckner Fieldhouse Anchorage, Alaska
Dec 8, 1979*		at Saint Mary's	W 79–73	3–1	McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California
Dec 11, 1979*		at San Francisco	L 66–76	3–2	War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California
Dec 15, 1979*		Fairleigh Dickinson	W 75–58	4–2	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Dec 23, 1979*		Belmont Abbey	W 54–48	5–2	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Dec 28, 1979*		Air Force Iona Classic	W 64–51	6–2	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Dec 29, 1979*		St. Bonaventure Iona Classic	W 75–67	7–2	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Jan 3, 1980*		Wichita State	W 84–70	8–2	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Jan 5, 1980*		at No. 18 Georgetown	L 84–95	8–3	McDonough Gymnasium (3,805) Washington, D.C.
Jan 7, 1980*		Baltimore	W 68–51	9–3	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Jan 12, 1980*		at Alabama-Birmingham	W 70–65	10–3	Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Birmingham, Alabama
Jan 17, 1980*		McNeese State	W 76–66	11–3	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Jan 19, 1980*		at Niagara	W 88–74	12–3	Niagara Falls Convention Center Lewiston, New York
Jan 21, 1980*		at Pittsburgh	L 63–75	12–4	Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Jan 23, 1980*		Colgate	W 54–49	13–4	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Jan 26, 1980*		at Holy Cross	W 82–67	14–4	Hart Center Worcester, Massachusetts
Jan 30, 1980*		at Wagner	W 77–73	15–4	Sutter Gymnasium Staten Island, New York
Feb 2, 1980*		at Fordham	W 65–59	16–4	Rose Hill Gym Bronx, New York
Feb 4, 1980*		Saint Peter's	W 65–62	17–4	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Feb 7, 1980*		Kansas	W 81–77	18–4	Madison Square Garden New York, New York
Feb 9, 1980*		Army	W 67–54	19–4	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Feb 11, 1980*		Saint Francis (PA)	W 72–62	20–4	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Feb 14, 1980*		at Manhattan	W 70–57	21–4	Draddy Gymnasium New York, New York
Feb 16, 1980*		at Long Island University	W 85–72	22–4	Schwartz Athletic Center
Feb 18, 1980*		Siena	W 84–72	23–4	Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York
Feb 21, 1980*		No. 2 Louisville	W 77–60^[4]^[6]	24–4	Madison Square Garden New York, New York
Feb 23, 1980*		at Fairfield	W 74–53	25–4	Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut
ECAC Metro tournament
Feb 28, 1980*		Fairleigh Dickinson Quarterfinals	W 69–53	26–4	Nassau Coliseum Uniondale, New York
Feb 29, 1980*		vs. Siena Semifinals	W 76–70	27–4	Alumni Hall Queens, New York
Mar 1, 1980*		vs. Saint Peter's Championship game	W 64–46	28–4	Nassau Coliseum Uniondale, New York
NCAA tournament
Mar 7, 1980*	(6 E) No. 19	vs. (11 E) Holy Cross First round	W 84–78^[1]	29–4	Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island
Mar 9, 1980*	(6 E) No. 19	vs. (3 E) No. 11 Georgetown First round	L 71–74^[3]	29–5	Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Time.

^[7]^[8]

Rankings

Awards and honors

Jeff Ruland – All-American, Haggerty Award, Great Alaska Shootout Tournament MVP

NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	NBA club
2	25	Jeff Ruland	Golden State Warriors

^[9]

References

^ ^a ^b "Iona Beats Holy Cross, Meets GU". The Washington Post. March 8, 1980. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
^ "Iona Wins, 84-78, In East Regional; First N.C.A.A. Victory". The New York Times. March 8, 1980. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Georgetown Nips Iona to Gain East Semifinals". The Washington Post. March 10, 1980. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Iona Upsets Louisville; De Paul (24-0) Wins; Conqueror of St. John's". The New York Times. February 22, 1980. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
^ "1979–80 Iona Gaels Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
^ "Iona MBB To Honor 40 Year Anniversary of Historic 1980 Victory Over Louisville". Iona College Athletics. January 27, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
^ "1979-80 Men's Basketball Schedule". Iona College Athletics. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
^ "2019-20 Iona Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Iona College Athletics. p. 52. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
^ "1980 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2022.

v t e Iona Gaels men's basketball
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