The 1979–80 Iona Gaels men's basketball team represented

Iona College Iona University is a private Roman Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochelle and a campus of in Bronxville, ...

during the

1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 17, 1979, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1980 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship game on Marc ...

. The Gaels, led fifth-year by head coach

Jim Valvano James Thomas Anthony Valvano (March 10, 1946 – April 28, 1993), nicknamed Jimmy V, was an American college basketball player, coach, and broadcaster. Valvano had a successful coaching career with multiple schools, most notably at North Caroli ...

, played their home games at the

Hynes Athletic Center The Hynes Athletics Center is a 2,578-seat multi-purpose arena in New Rochelle, New York. It was built in 1974 and is home to the Iona College (New York), Iona College Iona Gaels, Gaels basketball and volleyball teams. In 2005, the building was ...

. 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 in the opening round – the first and only NCAA Tournament victory in school history. Iona was narrowly defeated by No. 3 seed Georgetown in the round of 32. As of the

2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 25, 2020 and concluded on March 14, 2021. The 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament culminated the season and began on March 18 and concluded on April 5. 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 Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

’s 18-game winning streak by dominating the Cardinals, 77–60, at Madison Square Garden. 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

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, ECAC Metro tournament , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA tournament

Rankings

Awards and honors

Jeff Ruland Jeffrey George Ruland (born December 16, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He is the former head coach of the Iona Gaels men's basketball team and the UDC Firebirds men's college basketball team. Early life an ...

– All-American,

Haggerty Award __NOTOC__ The Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Award is given to the All-New York Metropolitan NCAA Division I men's college basketball player of the year, presented by the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and the Met Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) ...

Great Alaska Shootout The ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout is an annual women's college basketball tournament in Anchorage, Alaska that features host University of Alaska Anchorage and three visiting NCAA Div. I teams. The four-team tournament is resuming ...

Tournament MVP

NBA draft

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1979-80 Iona Gaels men's basketball team Iona Gaels men's basketball seasons Iona Iona