Unfortunately, the NCAA Selection Committee didn’t hear him.
By car it would take a Siena student from campus 2,600 miles according to Google Maps, a drive of 1 day, 18 hours to reach Spokane. Moore was right, there probably won’t be a large Saints presence for their opening round game. Team manager Tim McElvoy estimates how many fans will be in the crowd this Friday for Siena’s match up with Purdue:

“Family members will obviously be there, and then the usual die-hard fans that come to all the games,” McElvoy said. “It will definitely be an older crowd; not too many students. I’m guessing there will be around 200 Siena people there.”

The past two years Siena College has offered its students a raffle to determine who would receive the school’s limited tickets to the opening round games. The tickets this year are expected to be around $60, but there’s a good chance the tickets won’t be sold out because travel costs would be too much for most students.

While those students hoping for a Buffalo or Providence playing location are disappointed, there is still a tremendous energy on campus surrounding the basketball team. While Purdue is in the Big Ten Conference and had an excellent season, they are by no means a basketball powerhouse. Robbie Hummel is quickly becoming the most talked about name amongst the student body, along with Purdue’s offensive struggles since losing him (scoring in the 40’s twice and scoring above 70 just once).

If there is one good thing to come out of the Saints playing in Spokane it will be that the site will be truly neutral. As any Siena student who traveled to Dayton last year can tell you, it was a virtual away game for the team as Ohio St. fans greatly outnumbered those who made the trip from Loudonville.

So students are slightly bummed about the location of the game, and are seriously worried about Clarence Jackson’s sprained ankle that he suffered during practice last week. However, just because the team will be in another time zone, it won’t prevent campus from basically shutting down and Albany bars from being packed as students and fans will be glued to their televisions to watch their Saints.

That was the general reaction from students the day after the debacle that immediately followed the Saints winning the MAAC tournament. Initially, the influx of security and police officers appeared to have the upper hand. With 30 seconds left in the game they quite literally lifted a female student off into a nearby tunnel while one member of security was poking Siena fans who were getting too close to the rail with the end of a large MAAC banner. Narrowing down the passage to the floor to basically two aisles was looking like a successful tactic in keeping the student sections from storming the court.

Until with approximately 11 seconds left when the bunched up sea of yellow began to chant in unison, “You can’t stop us!” Then everyone in the arena knew that 30 men really couldn’t stop 1,000 running students. They tried anyway, however, and with the tight spaces security created a jailbreak scenario ensued that actually increased the chance of injury to students.

Around campus students are describing how they watched helpless people trapped up against steel bars as the momentum of the crowd kept pouring down a single aisle. In classes they talked about how scared they felt compared to past years. When told that it was the MAAC that insisted on targeting Siena students and not the Times Union Center, many students took it as an anti-Siena ploy. Would security even move to stop the 50 or so Fairfield fans from rushing down to the court if Needham hit that game winner? There certainly weren’t any apologies on campus for Siena’s basketball success or for the students’ passion for the team.

MAAC commissioner Rich Ensor made a comment referring to the student’s rushing the court this year as inappropriate due to the Saints’ recent success in the MAAC tournament. What Ensor is unable to understand (or admit) is that these past 4 seasons have stood as the most historic college basketball period in Siena’s history. This wasn’t just another game. It was the end of an era that has never been seen before in this league. How many teams across the nation over the last ten years have been to their conference finals 4 consecutive times, and won 3 in a row? How many teams in the MAAC have done that…ever? Yes, Siena was expected to win this season, but no team is ever expected to have the lasting dominance they’ve have and the students should not be criticized for wishing to be a part of that in some way.

“It’s frustrating because you always see that picture around campus of Ubiles on top of everyone’s shoulders after they won it all last year. It’s an awesome shot. Who wouldn’t want to be in that picture? But all of a sudden this year we’re not allowed. I don’t get it,” senior Lisa Dussalt. There are some who feel the Siena students should have remained in the nose bleed seats and watched their team cut down the nets through binoculars. There are some who feel that by storming the court and disobeying rules, the students were ruining the integrity of college basketball. So what does this writer say to those people who feel college sports shouldn’t be enjoyed most by the students who make up the schools? I envision that classic Ubiles picture where he is being hoisted up in celebration by his peers and think to myself: Funny how you’re not in it.

The e-mails informing the students at Siena of this new rule doesn’t state the MAAC’s reasons for it, but that hasn’t stopped the students from coming up with their own hypotheses:

The MAAC doesn’t want Siena to get an overwhelming home court advantage. It’s one thing to have the tournament in Albany, but another to have Saints fans hanging over the barriers on the sidelines.

It also could be a method to try to prevent Siena students from storming the court if they happen to win the championship, which is exactly what has happened the past two years.

While the students don’t know for certain the MAAC’s rationale, it is clear the MAAC officials are purposely pushing the students away from the court. How is this policy going over with students on campus? Senior Rory Goulding’s comment seems to effectively reiterate the attitudes of the Siena student body:

I’m still screaming every game, all game. I’m going to make sure they hear me. And if we win it all I’m storming the court. I don’t care where they put me. There’s no way they’re stopping me from being down there.

Naturally, for a game of this magnitude, the Albany and Troy bars will open their doors for the early tip off time to accommodate the many Siena students looking to go out to watch their Saints. However, those bars will only be welcoming still-depressed Colts fans (or the usual Knicks fan crowd). Why? Because this weekend begins Siena’s super early spring semester break and students will be essentially kicked off campus by early Saturday morning.

Instead of packing Jillians, Broadway Joe’s, or even just a townhouse, the majority of Siena students will be watching the team play from their homes– mostly in the tri state area. The upper classmen of the student body will be scrambling to find a sports bar while on their vacations to much warmer places than the capital region.

I’m going to do my best, but I’m going to be in the Bahamas. If I do find the game on TV, there’s a strong possibility I will be watching it in Spanish. – Tom McBride

This sentiment is shared by a great number of students going away for break. I should know since I am still currently in the process of finding a pub near my hotel in Key West…

I recently caught up with Siena’s Jason Rich to find out if the school was currently considering removing the tarps,

The capacity will remain as is for the time being. We have said from the start that if we outgrow the current configuration on a regular basis, we will reevaluate. We are very pleased with the way the seating arrangement has worked out – it has obviously enhanced the atmosphere in the facility”

Understanding supply and demand, from a business perspective this makes sense. This obviously increases the demand for tickets and increases pre-sales, as well as creates a tougher place to play for opponents.

There is the argument that capping ticket sales and saying it’s a “sellout” is misleading and lame. What people don’t acknowledge is this– Siena has 3,000 students, and a (generous) average attendance hovering around the 7,000 mark. There’s no logical reason why this team should be playing in a 14,500 seat arena in the first place.

In my opinion, Siena needs a 7,000 seat facility that the students could (literally) shake night in and night out, like a typical college their size. However, due to the location of the school and limited land, it’s not in the cards. I used to talk to players who would hate that Siena was the big stage of the MAAC– it was every team’s chance to shine, every team’s superbowl. Since then Siena’s talent level has jumped far ahead of the rest of the league, but the big lights still shine bright in downtown Albany. If I’m Siena, I’d take the better atmosphere over the 1,000 extra people sitting upstairs any day of the week.

How do you prepare for the season?
We hold tryouts and practices in October. This year we had four tryouts and practices, so there isn’t a lot of preparation before the season. We rehearse, and then I pick the people who are going to be in the band. Then we’re set.

Do you practice during the season?
Once the season gets into full swing we don’t really practice. What we mostly do is go over the order of the songs before the games. We come up with 30-32 songs and end up playing about 20 during the games.

Does the band travel to away games?
Only for the MAAC tournament games and NCAA tournament games. For finance reasons it gets too much. But when the MAAC tournament moves to Mass, we’ll travel there.

Any thoughts on maybe travelling to Marist games?
I’ve definitely thought about that because they are close and are a big rival. Also because the Marist band is double or triple our size. They are huge. We call them The Army. So it would be good to have a presence there.

Does the action/momentum of the game help you decide which songs to play?
Absolutely. Well, I have been in the band for four years and this is my first year conducting, but as long as I have been here we have started off every game with “Jock Jams.” From that first performance I can tell the energy level of the band, and even the game sometimes. The band members really thrive off the crowd. Just like the players get motivated from the fans, so does the band. The more energy that comes from the fans, the more energy that comes from us. We’re there as a spirit team. If the team isn’t doing very well I’ll call for an upbeat tempo to give the crowd energy, and the team energy.

What are some of the “go to” songs you like most?
If we’re making a big comeback in the second half we’ll play “Gonna Fly Now” (Rocky Theme). If there’s a timeout, and the crowd is really into the game we’ll play the “Hey” song. It’s all to increase the energy level of the fans.

This year the band has also been playing for the women’s team. How is that going?
Great. I’ve been getting so many compliments about it. We don’t always get a large crowd so sometimes the band is louder than the crowd. I really think us being there helps the moral of the players. I’ve even got compliments from coaches who appreciate what we’re doing.

The Saints have won seven of the last eight contests, but recent years have provided close finishes.  While the Saints have won four in a row, the margin of victory in those games did not exceed eight points, including one game decided in overtime and a thrilling one point double overtime win three years ago.  Siena is defending their home court where they have won 23 consecutive games, the nation’s fourth longest winning streak behind Kansas, Utah State, and Pittsburgh.  Saturday night will provide a difficult test against an America East opponent who has experience and senior leadership.

UAlbany is run at the point by 6′1″ senior Michael Johnson, who is averaging 9 ppg, 4 assists per game, and 3 rebounds per contest.  Johnson does a lot of things well, but his main role is to set up the two scorers on the team, junior guard Tim Ambrose and senior forward Will Harris.  Both are averaging 16 ppg, and each has the explosiveness to go off on any given night.  The rest of the team tries to fill in the gaps, but the hallmark of coach Will Brown’s teams, and what you can expect to see on Saturday night, is aggressive and hard nosed defense.  While Siena had issues finding the basket Wednesday night they are still considered an explosive offensive team, so Coach Brown will implore his players to try and shut them down while relying on Johnson to take care of the ball, and Ambrose and Harris to bear most of the scoring effort.

The Saints are trying to mend some nagging injuries, most notably to senior wingman Edwin Ubiles.  Ubiles has an aggravated knee injury that started becoming serious during the Northeastern game earlier in the season.  He was replaced in the starting lineup Wednesday night by sophomore forward Owen Wignot, who scored 7 points, grabbed 3 rebounds and had 3 blocks and a steal.  If Edwin can’t go Saturday night, expect Wignot to get the start again, with freshman forward OD Anosike the first off the bench to replace him.

Coach McCaffery will most likely go to his big men inside against UAlbany, which he wasn’t able to do against the 6′10 Derek Favors and the ACC athleticism of Georgia Tech.  Ryan Rossiter and Alex Franklin have both had excellent seasons so far, and the offense should go through them Saturday night.  Clarence Jackson, who has ably filled the scoring hole left by Kenny Hasbrouck will also be a threat to have a huge game if Rossiter and Franklin get the post game set up.  Siena most likely will not shoot as badly as they did against Tech, and while the opportunity exists that the Saints could win going away, the fact remains that this is a rivalry game, and UAlbany will always get up for what is one of the biggest games on the schedule each year for them.

KEYS TO THE GAME

Don’t let UAlbany’s 3-5 record fool you – the team can play and they will compete for the America East league title this year.  Siena must do two things to get the ‘W’ Saturday night: step up their defensive intensity, not allowing yet another team to shoot over 60% in the second half (see Temple, St. John’s, and Georgia Tech losses) and to play a full 40 minutes.  The fact that their bench is a little short, filled mostly with younger players, hinders the Saint’s ability to sub in fresh legs which leads to more minutes, and fatigue, for their starters.

The subs, in particular OD Anosike and Denzel Yard, may need to start growing up a little quicker.  While the team gets shooting guard transfer Kyle Griffen and forward Davis Martens around the turn of the New Year, there are important games on the schedule after the UAlbany game, most notably the first league contest at Iona Monday night, followed by an incredibly difficult game at Northern Iowa.  While the Saints’ three ‘up’ games are behind them, and are the only losses on the docket, the men in Green and Gold need to bring a high level of intensity every night and play 40 minutes of tenacious defense.

NOTES

• Senior point guard Ronald Moore is leading the nation in assists with 8.3 per game.  He leads Kentucky freshman John Wall who has 7.8 per game.

• Siena has been outscored 131-98 in the second half of its three losses this season.

• Clarence Jackson has led the team in scoring the last two games, and three times on the season.

I love the UAlbany game. I remember going crazy during that triple overtime game a couple years ago. The place is always packed, and it’s one of the most fun games of the season to go to.
- Senior Michael DiSiena

This game’s popularity may be best reflected on Siena campus. The festivities will begin Friday night– in townhouses and dorm rooms throughout the college. The Saturday pregame will include large amounts of food (pizza), drinks (soda), face-painting, and Dog Pound chants. Outside of the MAAC Tournament, the game against UAlbany incites the most excitement from Siena students.

I’m getting all my work done early so I have the whole weekend free. Everyone I know is going to the game, and if we win I know that campus will be a lot of fun Saturday night.
- Aaron Asher.

Naturally the Siena bars like Dapps and the Landing Zone will be busy this weekend, but the game should bring a large crowd downtown as well. Would anyone know of some spots in Albany where Siena fans can go before/after the game? The TUC should be a sea of yellow on Saturday as students will be wearing this year’s new Dog Pound t-shirts. The Pound is always looking for creative chants to yell out, especially against UAlbany. Any good suggestions? Do you have a favorite chant you want to hear this weekend? Let us know!