First, head over to the Times Union site and read Pete Iorizzo’s piece on Mitch Buonaguro.
Siena is the top team in the MAAC, and undefeated at this juncture. The Saints played a great schedule, even though they didn’t win any of the games in Orlando at the Old Spice Classic or against Kansas or Pitt. Northern Iowa is leading the Missouri Valley with a 10-1 record. But the Panthers beat NO ONE in the nonconference that will be in the NCAA tournament. Even the teams from supposedly higher-rated conferences like the Big East (Marquette), the Big 12 (Iowa State), the Big Ten (Iowa) — and if you want to throw in the Mountain West (Wyoming) — were all losses. The only win against a team from a higher-rated conference was Auburn from the SEC. Auburn is 2-4 in the SEC, 13-8 overall.
- Andy Katz
But the top-line game RPI-wise is Northern Iowa-Siena, which is simply a masterstroke of scheduling. These are two teams that are iffy for March play, but both were given the only chance to work on their respective weaknesses, a truer battle than they’ll get in their respective down leagues. It’s swift (Siena) against deliberate (UNI); each team will test the others’ defense in the way the other needs to be tested.
- Kyle Whelliston
[...] Quotable: 2/4 [...]
One more for you guys.
“Siena may have fallen off the radar after the Saints lost all three of their games at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando in November, but now they have won 12 of their last 13, they’re undefeated in the MAAC and they’re ranked 20th in the RPI. No team will want to see its name pop up next to Siena’s on Selection Sunday.”
-Seth Davis
[Reply]