Iona vs Siena Pick – Basketball Predictions & Odds 2/26/23

The Siena Saints and the Iona Gaels meet Sunday in college basketball action from Hynes Athletic Center. Siena sits at 17-11 on the year so far. The Saints lost to Rider in their last outing. As for Iona, they’re 21-7 overall after a win versus Mount St. Mary’s on Friday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Siena Saints

Siena managed a 13-7 run through their first 20 games this year. The Saints are .500 since then at 4-4, taking wins over Iona, Marist, Mount St. Mary’s and Marist again. The losses came versus Manhattan, Niagara, Quinnipiac and Rider otherwise. 

On Friday versus Rider, the Saints trailed 37-27 going into the second half. Siena got better from there with a 39-32 run but still lost 69-66. Andrew Platek was the top man on 14 points and Jackson Stormo added 13 points with six rebounds. 

Iona Gaels 

Over on the Iona side, they were a sketchy 13-7 over their first 20 outings this year. The Gaels have since hit a win streak versus Quinnipiac, Mount St. Mary’s, Fairfield, Canisius, Niagara, Manhattan, Saint Peter’s and Mount St. Mary’s again, however. 

In the Mount St. Mary’s rematch on Friday, the Gaels were down 36-31 in the locker room. Iona stormed back on a 49-32 second half and won 80-68. Jalen Benjamin put up 27 points with four rebounds and three assists to lead the team.

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’ll stick with Iona in this one. The Gaels are on a pretty great run these days. They’ve scored 70 or more points in each installment during this eight-game win streak and injected new life into their season. Iona’s last loss—fittingly enough—came versus Siena on January 27 at Times Union Center. The Gaels were up at halftime but suffered through a rough 37-17 run in the second half to lose 70-53. With the return home and the win streak in tow, I like Iona to bag a cover here for some revenge. Should be a fun matchup.