The Saints were defeated by the Oklahoma State Cowboys 77-68 Sunday morning at the Milk House in Orlando. This gives Siena 8th place in the Old Spice Classic; the first MAAC team ever to go 0-3 in the Old Spice. This game really came down to free throws, OSU made all 6 of their one and one attempts down the stretch while Siena made zero, finishing up a putrid 12-28 from the free throw line.

Rossiter looked great again, finishing up with a career high 22 points and 7 rebounds. CJ showed signs of breaking out but missed two big free throws late. But who didn’t I guess…

The Saints committed 14 turnovers and were lucky the deficit wasn’t greater than 13 at the half. OSU helped Siena by getting three of their starters in foul trouble and turning the ball over 11 times. Siena could not get anything going offensively in the first half– 43% from the field, 1-8 from beyond the arc and 7-14 from the charity stripe. Keiton Page was a Saint killer, knocking down two threes in transition to extend the lead to 17 with about 3 minutes to go in the half. The largest deficit Siena faced was 18, but the Saints got going late by running in transition– catching up with a CJ 3 and a quick lay in by Franklin which trimmed the lead to 13. Ubiles had a chance to cut the lead even more but missed two free throws.

Aside from the free throws, the second half was a completely different story, a back and forth exciting (but a bit sloppy) contest. The Saints came out running. Rossiter hustling down the floor early in the second half should not be overlooked– he got a big look from Moore to cut the lead to 7 and force an OSU timeout. Saints jumped into full court press and gave OSU some trouble, but they got a second chance three point shot to extend their lead and slow the Siena run– leading by 8 going into the first media timeout. Rossiter with a beautiful move up to the basket and the Saints had all of the momentum, cutting the lead to 4 on a Ubiles free throw. Franklin’s tough lay-up and Moore’s pull up from 19 and cut the lead to 1. However, on the ensuing possession Keiton Page hit another 3 to push the cushion to 4. Again an OSU 3 made it a 7 point advantage. Next possession Kenny Hasbrouck takes an off balance three (he did this again later too). OSU, another 3, Moore another bucket, Saints trading buckets but OSU hitting 3s. Rossiter finally capitalized from the line on a three point play, cutting the lead to 65-62. OSU turnover turns into Kenny Hasbrouck hitting just one of two from the chairty stripe where Siena’s woes continued. Saints trail by 2, 65-63 at the final media timeout. But the turning point, Saint killer Keiton Page pulls up from 21 and sticks in the dagger with 2:49 to go. Eaton’s miss off a tough shot sends Ubiles coast to coast to cut the lead to 3 again, 70-67. But OSU capitalized where Siena could not, at the free throw stripe– pulling off a 9 point victory over the Saints.

MAAC play begins Wednesday and it’s not time to jump ship yet. Yes, the Top 25 talk is over, but it just goes to show how inflated this team’s ratings got in the off-season. For me, it was never about a Top 25 ranking, although it would have been cool for a week or two, it would have put an even bigger bulls-eye on the team’s back. What does disappoint me is that this game would have likely helped the MAAC conference get a higher bid in the NCAA Tournament. I truly believe that these games will have big seeding implications come March. Even with another big win against Pitt or Kansas, going 0-3 in this tournament, I don’t see the committee giving a MAAC team anything higher than a 13 seed again.

These teams in Orlando were all tough defensive teams; maybe that’s why the Saints committed an ungodly amount of turnovers. Let’s hope this team can correct it’s turnover and free throw problems. The Saints seemed to miss all of the key FTs throughout this tournament– finishing up 23-46 from the free throw line in the final two games of the Old Spice. No doubt it was the difference in today’s contest.