Canisius (8-10, 3-4) vs. Iona (4-9, 2-4)
Hynes Athletics Center, New Rochelle, New York; Friday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Two senior guards will be on display as Malik Johnson and Canisius will face E.J. Crawford and Iona. Johnson is averaging 14.8 points and 6.2 assists over the last five games. Crawford has scored 25 percent of the team's points this season and is averaging 16.6 over his last five games.
BIG MEN ON CAMPUS: Iona's Crawford has averaged 16.9 points and five rebounds while Tajuan Agee has put up 13.3 points and 7.8 rebounds. For the Golden Griffins, Johnson has averaged 13.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists while Majesty Brandon has put up 12.7 points.
CLAMPING DOWN: The Gaels have given up just 70.7 points per game across six conference games. That's an improvement from the 75.3 per game they allowed to non-conference opponents.
SPARKING THE OFFENSE: Johnson has either made or assisted on 45 percent of all Canisius field goals over the last three games. The senior guard has 18 field goals and 22 assists in those games.
SLIPPING AT 70: Iona is 0-9 this year when it allows 70 points or more and 4-0 when holding opponents to fewer than 70.
PASSING FOR POINTS: The Golden Griffins have recently converted baskets via assists more often than the Gaels. Iona has 34 assists on 73 field goals (46.6 percent) across its previous three games while Canisius has assists on 52 of 89 field goals (58.4 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Canisius defense has forced opponents into turnovers on an impressive 23.7 percent of all possessions, which ranks the Golden Griffins 30th among Division I teams. The Iona offense has turned the ball over on 22.2 percent of its possessions (ranking the Gaels 321st, nationally).
