Who is Siena? Haven’t I seen this name the past two years in my bracket? This name is so familiar I should just pick them right? Yes, and yes.

It’s a great day in sports; it’s the day that you spend penciling in teams in your bracket, until you can’t even read through the erase marks. Many of you are here now doing your due diligence on the 2010 Siena Saints.

If your team is in, congratulations, and good luck, unless of course you’re a Purdue fan, in which case we wish bad things upon you, well, that was a little dramatic– we wish your team plays extremely poorly on Friday night. We mean like first half Purdue poorly.

Recent History

The 2008 Siena Saints dominated Vanderbilt in the first round as a #13 seed. Their 21-point win over Vanderbilt was the most lopsided #13 over #4 seed win since 1985. They would go on to lose to Villanova in the second round.

Last year, #9 Siena took #8 Ohio State to double overtime in the first round. This is where PG Ronald Moore got his name on the map, knocking down two crucial threes in the closing seconds of each OT. In the second round, they were right with Louisville with about five to go, but the #1 seed proved too much for Siena to handle.

This Season

Siena has since lost one starter and one bench player in each year, but this has not stopped them. The Saints attempted to schedule up again this season, but nobody wanted to play them. Siena had their chances for quality wins against 4 NCAA Tournament teams; they lost a close one against Temple, lost at Georgia Tech (without Ubiles), competed closely with Northern Iowa, and got smoked by Butler.

Siena simply dominated the MAAC conference this season. Including the conference tournament, the Saints were 20-1 this season. In their last three games, they have trailed by 6+ points at half and have come back to win, including an overtime victory the Championship game. Siena trailed by as much as 15 points in the first half. One thing is for sure, if you let this team hang around, they will come back– they are resilient.

The Starters

PG Ronald Moore
Moore leads the nation in assists, but more importantly, is the most clutch player perhaps in Siena’s history. Ronald may only be shooting 23% from three this season, but two of those three pointers have come in the closing minutes of the Saints’ past two games.

SG Clarence Jackson
Clarence is the three point specialist for Siena, but has proven that he has the ability to drive the ball to the hoop with authority.

SF Edwin Ubiles
Ubiles marks the top of Siena’s 1-2-2 press. He has great length, anticipation, and the most NBA potential on this team. Edwin appears to be finishing off his Siena career strong, shooting 47.8% from the field in his last five games. Ubiles can simply do it all.

PF Alex Franklin
Conference Player of the year, MAAC Tournament MVP, there is not much else you really need to say about Franklin, who has greatly improved his ability to put the ball on the deck and go one on one. Alex’s strength is not found anywhere else in the league, and he has proven he can match up with bigger Div. I talent.

C Ryan Rossiter
Ryan Rossiter is sometimes overlooked, but it is hard to overlook his presence coming into this game. He is 5th in the country, averaging over a double-double per game, 21 this season. Rossiter is the smartest player on this team, and fights for every rebound.

Quick Facts

• Location: Albany, NY
• Enrollment: 3,000
• 6th NCAA Tournament Appearance
• Siena has the second longest home court winning streak (38) in Division I

Catch the 2009-10 Siena Saints video highlights and more HD video at our video page.

(AP Photo) In what we were hoping would be a more competitive game, Siena could not find their shot in the second half, the Saints scored just 22 points in the half and shot 23.3% from the field as they fell 70-53 at Butler, all but ensuring the Saints will have to win the MAAC Tournament in order to qualify for the NCAA Tournament in March. (ESPN.com Video Highlights)

Siena did a good job containing Matt Howard but Butler quickly picked it up with a 9-2 run sparked by three point shooting. ESPN’s Pat Forde was at the game and gave his quick take on how Butler was able to hold off the Saints. Siena did a great job in the first half to push the tempo but when Howard picked up his fourth foul, Butler found its groove in a four guard set to execute against the Saints defense.

Meanwhile SportingNews Mike DeCourcy drops in on his evaluation of the Saints and gets some good quotes:

The bottom line is Siena lost to every NCAA Tournament team it faced. And there’s this: The MAAC tournament will be played on the Saints’ home court, the Times Union Center in Albany. Given that they clinched the regular season with nearly a month to play, they’re not going to generate much selection committee support if they fall short of the automatic.

“That’s a really good team,” Butler coach Brad Stevens said. “I hope they get their due nationally. They’re a bear to prepare for, and those guys have been there, done that.”

Siena coach Fran McCaffery was asked whether losing this one changed the team’s approach to its remaining games—two in the regular season, and then the league tournament. Not in the mood to talk bubbles, brackets, busters or anything like that, he simply answered, “No.”

Over at The Dagger, Siena (along with William & Mary and Old Dominion) played themselves off of the bubble with losses this weekend.

Boasting a 22-5 record, 16 wins in its last 17 games and the No. 32 spot in the RPI, Siena would have made a strong case for an at-large bid by handing Butler a rare loss at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Now the Saints have no argument, not with an 0-4 record against teams in the RPI top 50 after early-season losses to St. John’s, Temple, Georgia Tech and Northern Iowa.

Rumor has it, even though now BracketBusters teams have two years to play return games, that Butler and Siena are already ironing out a date for a return game at the Times Union Center next season.

But for now let’s recap all of our BracketBusters coverage:

We found out Siena’s BracketBuster opponent as ESPNU made the announcement in late January. Bottom line, when it all comes down to it: ESPN gets what ESPN wants and ESPN wanted a Siena-Butler headliner game to start the event Saturday morning. Matt thought it had to be Butler and was right. Ryan gave a big picture BracketBuster preview on RushTheCourt. Not only that but there was even more coverage of the announcement and the result.

We had a Preview of Siena-Butler… Siena’s at large hopes for a MAAC team aren’t the first in the conference’s history. Remember Manhattan won an at-large bid in 1995 after losing the MAAC Basketball Championship Game to St. Peter’s in Overtime. It might take an overtime controversial loss to give the Saints a chance at an at-large bid since they lack a signature win.

We were also interviewed on College Hoops Journal where Matt Norlander, who also writes on Yahoo!’s The Dagger, started our Q&A with, “I wanted to share with you a quick Q & A I had with the guys over at Siena Saints Blog, truly one of the best team-oriented fan sites out there.” We’re a sucker for compliments and we talk about where Siena stands as a mid-major and how important Ronald Moore is to the team.

We also had a Scouting Report on Butler star Gordon Hayward who appears to be NBA Draft bound. Hayward scored 15 points and dropped in 12 rebounds in Butler’s 17 point win over the Saints.

Follow that up with an extensive question and answer period, our One on One with David Woods of the Indianapolis Star. (Part One Part Two Cross posted at Bulldogs Insider) His book, The Butler Way: The Best of Butler Basketball, is out and available on amazon.com.

Follow us on twitter @SienaSaintsBlog

Butler went on a 9-2 run in the middle of the second half to take control of the game from the Saints. Meanwhile, Siena scored a season low 53 points in the loss and only 22 in the second half. Siena’s shooting was a problem as they shot 23.3% from the field in the second half and 33.9% for the game.

Clarence Jackson led the Saints with 24 points on 9 of 15 shooting. Jackson made Siena’s only two three pointers on the game, Edwin Ubiles and Ronald Moore combined to shoot 0 for 8 from three point range. Moore had even more trouble, shooting 0 for 9 from the field and Ubiles scored just 4 points on 2 of 11 shooting.

Shelvin Mack led Butler with 23 points on 8 of 14 shooting. Butler went 9 for 20 (45%) from three point range, up from their 201st ranked average of 33% coming into the game.

The Bulldogs won without forward Willie Veasley who was nursing a sprained left knee. The Bulldogs have not lost a game since December 22, 2009.

Siena is now 3-2 all time in BracketBuster games as well as 19-3 in games at which they have led at halftime.

Read Our Preview »

More on Butler:
David Woods II, Gordon Hayward Scouting Report,
Bracket Buster Coverage Wrap
All Posts Tagged Butler

Even More:
Where are the Students
Where to Watch
SSB on CollegeHoopsJournal

New York City: Copper Door

Students: You’re on your own

Readers– where will you be watching?

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…

The last time we asked him about his favorite moments covering Butler basketball from his book as well as some background behind Butler’s play over the last few months, dominating the Horizon League and are almost 100% in the NCAA Tournament field. We caught up with him about Saturday morning’s game.

Part one of our interview is here and a scouting report of Butler star Gordon Hayward. Stay tuned for more coverage from SienaSaintsBlog and follow us on twitter.

SienaSaintsBlog: How would you explain Gordon Hayward’s game?

David Woods/Indianapolis Star: He is a 6-foot-9 wing who rebounds like a center and handles the ball like a guard. He needs some physical maturity before he is ready for the NBA, but he will be there someday. He is in a horrible slump from 3-point arc (4-of-27 over seven games) after shooting 45 percent on 3s last season. He is clearly the league’s Player of the Year. He sometimes takes a deferential role, but he usually comes up big in Butler’s biggest games.

SienaSaintsBlog: Have you ever seen anyone at Butler comprable to Hayward’s raw talent?

David Woods/Indianapolis Star: Wisconsin Green Bay head coach Tod Kowalczyk said Hayward is “the best player this league will ever see.” That might be hyperbole, but you get the idea. Hayward looks that good sometimes, but not always.

SienaSaintsBlog: How tough is it to play at Hinkle Fieldhouse?

David Woods/Indianapolis Star: Butler is now 41-3 over the last three years at home. Actually, it’s not as tough as you might think. If Butler students — and there aren’t many on this small campus — are not into it, the crowd can be restrained. But Hinkle can also be loud with as few as 3,000 in attendance. Butler lost home BracketBuster games to Southern Illinois in 2007 and to Drake in 2008.

SienaSaintsBlog: What do you think will be the key matchup in this game?

David Woods/Indianapolis Star: Probably the two point guards, Ronald Nored vs. Ronald Moore. Nored is a wonderful defender, and if can restrain Moore, the Saints’ offense will suffer. On the other hand, if Moore is as effective in distributing the ball as he usually is, Siena can beat Butler.

SienaSaintsBlog: You told us last time that Butler revolves around Matt Howard inside but his game has been erratic this year. How do you see Howard and 6′3″ Willie Veasley handling a team with quality big men like the Saints?

David Woods/Indianapolis Star: Surprisingly, Butler usually fares well against teams featuring a big center. Long, quick wings (i.e. Minnesota and UAB) have caused more trouble. An exception was Georgetown center Greg Monroe, who had 24 points and 15 rebounds vs. Butler. Hayward can defend the post, too, and will probably help out down there. Veasley plays like he is 6-foot-7 and excels against athletic opponents. But if Howard gets in foul trouble, the Bulldogs will flounder.

We thank David for taking our questions and recommend you buy his book The Butler Way: The Best of Butler Basketball, available on amazon.com.

In an effort for a full Siena-Butler BracketBuster preview, in what might be one of the most crucial games for the Saints this season, we’ll take a look at the matchups, preview what Siena has to do and take a look at how tough it is to play at the top ranked Horizon League leader and likely tournament team. Follow us on twitter @SienaSaintsBlog

Gordon Hayward is a 6′9″ scorer who has been a scorer, has a great shot and can drive to the basket. He will likely give the Saints a tough matchup that they have been working on since traveling back from Western New York. Not only is he a scorer who can shoot the outside shot, including NBA three pointers, but he has grabbed double digit rebounds in the last two games heading into tonight.

Take a look at Sophomore Gordon Hayward, his scouting report (ESPN.com) update in January said:

Positives: Sharp shooter with deep range, Versatile player who can score in a variety of ways, Solid rebounder for a wing, Great size for his position, Adept at picking up steals

Negatives: Needs to add a lot strength to his frame, Isn’t an elite athlete, Lacks great lateral quickness

Haywood plays like a veteran and uses every skill in a basketball player’s arsenal to score, rebound and defend. He has terrific size and can play several positions. The fact that he isn’t a super athlete limits his potential somewhat, but he makes up for it with toughness and grit. Hayward has moved from 52 to 19 on our Big Board over the last few months.

He is listed as a mid to late first round pick in the NBA Draft next year on ESPN’s Draft boards.

Meanwhile the DraftExpress says of Hayward:

On the offensive end, despite a decrease in three-point shooting percentage this season (45% to 36%, on just 78 attempts), Hayward’s bread and butter is still his outside shot, boasting a high and quick release with range to the NBA three-point line. Hayward’s shot is incredibly smooth, and one of the most impressive aspects of his shooting is his excellent body control and shot selection, as he almost always squares his shoulders and gets his feet underneath him before taking a shot, leading to very few bad misses. He’s not a great shot creator off the dribble, however, even though he looks very comfortable pulling up in space.

Right now he ranks 24th in DraftExpress’ mock draft.

Even without Ronald Moore for 15 minutes of the first half, the Saints were able to hold a 10 point differential at the half. The Griffs could never trim it to less than 7 after the break.

The absence of one Kyle (Downey) has given another Kyle (Griffin) a chance to step up. Today he was perhaps as impressive as he’s ever been– finishing up with 5 assists in limited minutes. Griffin is more a of a stop and pop kind of shooter, as he brought the ball down in transition and scored his only bucket. Today’s game didn’t feature any follow up to the Robert Goldsberry drama from last month.

Siena will head back to campus and then continue their current road trip. Next Saturday morning features the highly anticipated Siena @ Butler Bracket Buster.

Canisius is led by G Frank Turner who is 2nd in the MAAC in scoring with 16.9 ppg. Turner is also among the top three in the conference for assists, averaging over 5 per game. His counterpart, G Julius Coles also contributes on the offensive end with 15 ppg.

Since the Golden Griffins last played Siena back on January 11th, they have gone 4-5. During that stretch Canisius went into overtime 3 times beating Manhattan and Niagara and falling to St. Peter’s College. Their record places them in the middle of the MAAC standings along with Rider and Niagara. They have been given James Madison University for their BracketBusters opponent.

As a team Canisius is 2nd in the MAAC in rebounding with 38.8 per game. However, they average more than 10 points less per game compared to Siena, and they are last in the league in 3-point shooting percentage (30.1%). This will be a big mental test to see if Siena can leave their loss to Niagara in the past and not fall victim to what would be their first back-to-back loss of the season.