NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College men's basketball team slipped seven spots to No. 13 on this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. The Gaels fell to No. 3 Valparaiso in its season opener Sunday.
Preseason MAAC Player of the Year, senior A.J. English, and sophomore Buffalo-transfer Deyshonee Much scored 12 points each in the loss at Valpo. It marked the first time in three years Iona opened its season in its opponent's building. The Gaels are 0-for-their-last-5 in those contests since its last win over Hawaii-Pacific to open the 1998-99 season.
The Maroon & Gold faces another tough task in its second game at the Pac-12's Oregon State at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis. It is just the sixth time in program history Iona has opened the season with two true road games.
The top three in the CollegeInsider.com poll remained the same as preseason with Wichita State, Gonzaga and Valparaiso leading the charge. BYU and Belmont moved up from the initial release to round out the top five. The Gaels are joined by fellow MAAC member Monmouth at No. 22 as the only two squads in the league receiving votes.
CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25
November 16th, 2015
PL. SCHOOL REC PTS PREV CONFERENCE
1. Wichita State (26) 1-0 768 1 Missouri Valley
2. Gonzaga (4) 0-0 748 2 West Coast
3. Valparaiso (1) 2-0 681 3 Horizon
4. BYU 1-0 653 5 West Coast
5. Belmont 1-0 630 8 Ohio Valley
6. Evansville 1-0 513 9 Missouri Valley
7. Stephen F. Austin 0-1 486 4 Southland
8. Central Michigan 1-0 462 10 Mid-American
9. North Florida 1-0 427 13 Atlantic Sun
10. Northern Iowa 0-1 420 7 Missouri Valley
11. Yale 1-0 402 11 Ivy League
12. UL Lafayette 1-0 369 12 Sun Belt
13. Iona 0-1 337 6 Metro Atlantic
14. Oakland 0-0 313 14 Horizon
15. Akron 1-0 299 16 Mid-American
16. Montana 1-0 210 17 Big Sky
17. UC Irvine 2-0 193 18 Big West
18. Illinois State 0-1 191 15 Missouri Valley
19. Chattanooga 1-0 174 NR Southern
20. Saint Mary's 1-0 173 23 West Coast
21. Hofstra 1-0 167 22 Colonial
22. Monmouth 1-0 123 NR Metro Atlantic
23. Pepperdine 0-1 102 20 West Coast
24. Western Illinois 1-0 87 NR Summit
25. Radford 1-0 82 NR Big South
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Sacramento State 79, William & Mary 79,
Harvard 78, Western Michigan 76, NJIT 68, South Dakota State 57,
Bucknell 48, Kent State 46, Stony Brook 42, Milwaukee 36,
Murray State 35, Columbia 34, Wofford 32, Georgia State 27,
Princeton 27, Albany 24, Northern Illinois 24, Buffalo 23,
Southern Illinois 22, New Mexico State 18, Green Bay 16,
Vermont 16, Oral Roberts 15, Hawaii 14, James Madison 14,
Alabama State 11, High Point 11, Indiana State 11,
Loyola Chicago 9, Northeastern 9, Robert Morris 8, UC Davis 8,
Coastal Carolina 7, IUPUI 6, Long Beach State 4,
North Dakota State 4, Winthrop 4, Alabama A&M 3,
Louisiana Monroe 3, Arkansas Pine Bluff 2, Santa Clara 2,
Elon 1, Ohio 1, Texas A&M Corpus Christi 1.
