Iona vs Appalachian State College Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions 11/9/2021
Appalachian State Mountaineers (0-0) vs. Iona Gaels (0-0)
November 9, 2021 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Iona Gaels -6 ; Over/Under: 138.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Appalachian State Mountaineers and the Iona Gaels meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Hynes Athletics Center. Appalachian State is coming off a 17-12 overall record last year, and earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament. As for the Gaels, they also won their conference tournament and got into the Big Dance last season. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Appalachian State posted a solid 17-12 record overall last year, but faltered in Sun Belt play with a 7-8 record. That effort left the Mountaineers in third place in the East Division behind Georgia State, Coastal Carolina and South Alabama.
The Mountaineers turned it on in the Sun Belt Tournament, taking out Little Rock, Texas State, East Carolina and Georgia State on the way to the conference title. App State earned an NCAA Tournament bid, but fell to Norfolk State 54-53 in the First Four Round.
Over on the Iona side, they put up a 12-6 effort overall last year, going 6-3 in MAAC play. The Gaels finished ahead of only Manhattan and Rider in the conference standings, but similarly hit their stride when the MAAC Tournament began.
Iona managed to tear through the conference tourney with victories over Quinnipiac, Siena, Niagara and Fairfield on the way to the title. The Gaels also lost their sole NCAA Tournament game, falling 68-55 to Alabama in the First Round.
The Mountaineers are 4-1 ATS in their last five overall. Meanwhile, the Gaels are 4-1 ATS in their last five at home and 20-8-2 ATS in their last 30 overall. The over is 5-1 in Iona’s last six home games.
PICK: I’m going to take a shot on Iona. The Gaels are coming off an extra-weird season, as they had no less than five cancelled games stretching from February 20 to March 9. Even with that considered, the Gaels posted a strong MAAC Tournament showing. There’s no telling what Iona could have done with a little more consistency and on-court chemistry.
Iona enters this season with some solid transfer talent and returning experience. If the Gaels can clean up their turnover issues (22.5 percent of possessions last year) there’s no reason to think they can’t compete for the MAAC title again.
