NCAA Basketball: Preseason top-25 mid-major power rankings for 2021-22 season

12. Iona Gaels

No team was impacted by covid pauses more than the Gaels last season, playing just nine games in league play and going over 40 days between games at one point. But once all of the teams in the MAAC got together in the tournament, Hall of Famer Rick Pitino and Iona was the clear best, running through everyone as a 9 seed to make the NCAA Tournament.

This time around, the Gaels will be a heavy favorite to be a 1 seed in the league tourney. They did lose star guards Isaiah Washington and Asante Gist but were replaced by a pair of AAC transfer guards in Tyson Jolly (14.5 ppg and 6.2 rpg in 2019-20 season) and Elijah Joiner (11.3 ppg and 4.0 apg in 2020-21). Both of them, along with the return of Berrick JeanLouis and Ryan Myers forms a quality backcourt that could be even better than last season.

As far as the frontcourt goes, Iona didn’t need to add anyone. Both Nelly Junior Joseph and Dylan Van Eyck are back, as well, with Joseph the lone returning double-digit scorer on the roster for the Gaels. They’re joined by Quinn Slazinski, a former four-star prospect at Louisville that started eight games and averaged around 6.0 ppg. He has spacing potential which would work well with Joseph and Van Eyck in the frontcourt.

Yet with all of those newcomers, the most important thing for Iona Basketball is that head coach Rick Pitino didn’t leave for another job this offseason. And despite everything that happened for the team last season, it was clear the massive coaching advantage the Gaels had in the league tournament.

Now that the rosters are confirmed, the question may not be whether or not Iona wins the MAA Regular-Season title this season, but rather whether they’ll lose more than one game in the process.