The familiarity of old friends Joe Mihalich and Fran McCaffery is just one of many storylines that has made the Siena/Niagara rivalry so compelling.  Players such as Ronald Moore, Clarence Jackson, Tyrone Lewis and Bilal Benn have become familiar in the offseason as well playing summer pick-up games together.  The two teams have faced each other in two of the last three conference tournament finals and combined to win four of the last five league titles.  Together they account for the most wins in the MAAC conference since 1997-98.

Saturday’s game will pit two squads against each other who have drastically different playing styles, even though they have very similar team makeups. The Purple Eagles will shoot freely from beyond the arc, try to force turnovers, and maximize their possessions by taking care of the ball. The Saints will push the tempo, get their transition and post games going, leading to open lanes for their shooters.  As different as their play styles are, their statistics are almost identical.  They match up closely in points scored and points allowed, with Siena holding an edge in field goal percentage and rebounding, while Niagara excels slightly in 3 point shooting percentage and turnovers made.

The Purple Eagles are led in scoring by 5’11″ senior guard Tyrone Lewis, who is averaging 16.5 points per game.  He is followed closely by 6’5″ senior swingman and Player of the Year contender Bilal Benn, who is averaging 15.5 ppg and 10.5 rebounds per game.  While most people would think Siena has the best balanced scoring attack in the MAAC, Niagara boasts four players averaging double digits in scoring.  6’6″ senior forward Demetrius Williamson and 6’2″ senior guard Rob Garrison are averaging 10.4 and 11.1 ppg respectively.

The Saints are on a roll, undefeated in their last five games, and they have averaged double digit wins in their four MAAC conference games.  Team scoring leader Clarence Jackson, who is averaging 15.1 ppg, is coming off a 24 point, 7 steal performance in their win at Loyola last Monday night.  Ronald Moore continues to lead the nation in assists per game with 8.7 for contest, but he has uncharacteristically had a negative assist to turnover ratio recently.  The team has been buoyed by the rebounding of Alex Franklin and Ryan Rossister, who are helping lead the Saints in rebounding in the MAAC conference, and Edwin Ubiles has returned to being the prolific scorer that he is and possibly the team’s best on the ball defender. Ubiles is averaging 18.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in MAAC contests this year.  Jackson, Ubiles, Franklin and Rossiter all average double digits in scoring.

Niagara has just as much experience as Siena, but the Purple Eagles have yet to win at the Times Union Center and the Saints are 7-1 overall against them during Coach McCaffery’s tenure.  They will need to hit their threes, which is possible given Siena’s penchant to leave players open on the perimeter at times.  Siena’s press can be effective, and they have shown brilliant stretches of on the ball and pressure defense throughout the course of the season, but weak perimeter defense has been a bugaboo of the team at times.  The deciding factor in Saturday’s game could be the rebounding advantage of the Saints, who have a slight edge in front court size but a marked edge in rebounding production.

Both teams are playing for more than first place in the conference on Saturday – they are going to try and make a statement as each school is jockeying for position as the conference schedule enters the middle portion of its slate.  Fans of both schools should be ready to enjoy what should be an exciting bout of two evenly matched and experienced teams.

KEYS TO THE GAME

• Sounds Like a Broken Record, Broken Record: Free throw shooting, defense, free throw shooting, defense…the same two things have been said over and over in assessing what the Saints need to do game in and game out.  The team is clearly improving their free throw percentage over the last few games, but for players of their ability it is still too low and could come back to haunt them.  After early season inconsistencies on the defensive end the Saints have seemed to right the ship, but they haven’t faced as prolific a three point shooting team such as Niagara since Northern Iowa, who they were unable to contain.  The Saints need to shut down the outside shooters of the Purple Eagles to earn the win on Saturday.
• Hit the Boards Jack: The frontcourt of Ubiles, Rossiter, and Franklin combine to average 22.8 rebounds per game, and the team is outrebounding its opponents 38.7-35.6 per game.  Rebounding is going to be crucial on Saturday – if the Saints can continue to dominate on the glass then they can feed their uptempo game and get their runners out on fast breaks.
• Benn There, Don’t Do That: Bilal Benn missed time this year due to injury, but his numbers and play still place him squarely in the middle of Player of the Year discussion.  While the Purple Eagles have balanced scoring the Saints will need to shut down Benn as the first step in keeping points off the board.

NOTES

• Siena is tied for fifth in the nation in fewest fouls committed per game with 14.5 per contest.  Last year the Saints finished sixth in the nation with 14.9 fouls made per game.
• Siena’s holds advantages in scoring, rebounding and assists when playing at the Times Union Center – +17.4 ppg, +6.6 rpg, and +5apg in the friendly confines of the TUC.
• Edwin Ubiles is back on track in the Player of the Year race.  He is averaging 18.7 points per game with a field goal percentage of 53% and he’s making 40% of his attempts from beyond the arc over his last seven games.  The Saints are 6-1 during that stretch.
• The Siena Saints have won 28 of their last 30 MAAC conference games.

The MAAC’s official blogger, Steve Amedio combines his 20 years of experience covering Siena and the MAAC at his site: Keepin’ Track of the MAAC. He’s witnessed college basketball games at over 130 different venues and wrote the MAAC Preview in The Sporting News. In our second part we talk about the two contenders right behind the Saints: Niagara and Rider.

Ryan/Siena Saints Blog:  I’ve had my doubts about the Purple Eagles and it didn’t help that they lost Tyrone Lewis to start the year. The Purple Eagles, entering Wednesday, ranked 30th in the nation shooting 41.2% of all their shots from three point land. This has led to some good wins but also a bad loss against Austin Peay and then let Akron shoot a 77.2 eFG% in a 57-point second half where the Zips shot better than 60% from two and three point range.

Steve Amedio/Keepin’ Track of the MAAC: Don’t worry about Niagara. Joe Mihalich is one of the top coaches in the MAAC. In my mind, it’s Mihalich and McCaffery, take your pick on which one is better. Lewis had a minor foot injury and missed a couple of games. He’s 100 percent now.

Niagara plays an up-tempo style, but relies even more on creating turnovers off its press. It did the same last year, but is even quicker this year. Austin Peay was not a bad loss. It’s one of the better teams in a decent Ohio Valley Conference and has three starters plus a couple of experienced reserves back from a 19-win team a year ago. Akron is a terrific team. It won the Mid-American Conference a year ago, a league every bit the equal of the MAAC if not slightly better, and is the favorite to win again this year.

Ryan/Siena Saints Blog: Only way I call Niagara’s loss to Austin Peay bad is for two reasons. First off Niagara shot 11 for 26 from three point range (42.3%), lost a 15 point lead at halftime and let the Governors shoot 63% from the field in the second half. That combined with the Akron 2nd half outburst could be a concern. It’s a small sample but Niagara has been outscored in the second half in 6 of their 10 games this year.

Steve Amedio/Keepin’ Track of the MAAC: When you go on the road and face a quality opponent, it’s never a bad loss. Siena was ahead of Temple by 14, I think, midway through the first half and that’s not a bad loss.

My guess about the Niagara-Austin Peay game is that Peay made the necessary halftime adjustments. It doesn’t surprise me that Peay shot well in the 2nd half. Niagara isn’t known for its half-court defense.

Ryan/Siena Saints Blog: Rider got off to a hot start winning big over Mississippi State but cooled off considerably. If you combine the two pre-tournament games for Rider in the Cancun challenge, they shot 18 for 64 (28.1%) from three point range and cooled down considerably. Since then they were able to win three straight home games but struggled against winless Marist and lost against LaSalle.

Steve Amedio/Keepin’ Track of the MAAC: In my MAAC blog post on Rider, my “early” report on Rider is that the Broncs have been somewhat inconsistent thus far. But, they not only have that win over Mississippi State, but one over St. Joseph’s, too. The struggle against Marist was a little surprising. I was more surprised by the loss to Sam Houston State: not by the loss, but by the margin. Rider is very talented. That front-court duo of Mike Ringold and Novar Gadson is a personal favorite. They are both warriors. I’ve gone on record to say that Gadson should have been the MAAC’s Rookie of the Year last year and not Iona’s Scott Machado.

Ryan/Siena Saints Blog: What do you think in the great debate: Niagara or Rider?

Steve Amedio/Keepin’ Track of the MAAC: I’ll take the easy way out on this and just say that Niagara and Rider will more than likely finish 2nd and 3rd without predicting the order. It could go either way. If I had to, I’d take Niagara for 2nd, but it really doesn’t matter much. The No. 2 and No. 3 teams play each other in the MAAC tournament’s semifinal round. That’s really the only night it will matter, the night that will ultimately determine which is better. Rider has that bruising front-court, but no one maximizes its talent like Niagara and Mihalich. Bilal Benn and Tyrone Lewis are just disruptive forces in the pressing defense. Plus, I like Anthony Nelson a lot as a point guard. They’ve got 5 guys averaging double figures in scoring and a sixth averaging close to nine. They’ve got more depth than last year. It’s good enough to realize that both teams are very good at this level.

Ryan/Siena Saints Blog: I agree with you on the Niagara-Rider 2-3 argument. If you took Siena, Niagara and Rider: two of these three will play each other on Semifinal Sunday night. If it’s Niagara and Rider, we can only hope that it will be as great as last year’s game.

Story #1: Rider Falls Back To Earth

Well all that great reputation Rider built up came down to a thud this weekend with double digit losses in Charlottesville and Lexington.

Rider came out flat on Thursday night at Virginia and were able to close the lead to 5 with 6:08 to go in the first half but were cold from the field in the second half. Rider shot 35% effective FG% in the second half after shooting 47.6% eFG% in the first half. Brandon Penn led the Broncs with 10 points.

Head Coach Tommy Dempsey did not make excuses for this game. “We just didn’t play well,” Dempsey said “We couldn’t guard them.”

In game two of the road trip, the Broncs found John Wall who showed off his skills (21 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists) in a double digit loss in Lexington.

Rider was off to a good start but a few hometown calls later and Rider’s great first minute dissipated into a halftime deficit of 25. Even though this game didn’t look like a great showing for Rider, the Broncs were able to create turnovers, get a lot of open looks from behind the arc and push the Wildcats in transition off turnovers.

Just to prove some officiating inefficiency, this is the actual call for “illegal touching” (if he even touches him) on Justin Robinson. Robinson is the only guy who comes remotely near to touching Wall on this play and it was a continuation and-1.

Dempsey said he was proud of the way his team competed. Ryan Thompson led the Broncs with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Even though he had a nice line, Thompson struggled being defended by Kentucky senior Ramon Harris, going 1 for 10 from the field.

So why did Rider start so strong and now played two straight poor games against big conference teams? Well in these two games Rider went a combined 11 of 40 (27.5%) from three point range. When three pointers combine for 37% of your shots over these two games (40 of 108), it’s going to be tough when you can’t hit those shots from behind the arc.

Story #2: Niagara’s Weekend Ends With Sunday Collapse

On Friday, Niagara woke up early again, 11am this time, to beat winless Howard 82-77. A great game from inside the 3 point line was key for the Purple Eagles, as they shot 63.1% (24 of 38) from inside the arc. Anthony Nelson led the way with 18 points, Bilal Benn pulled down 12 rebounds and Niagara combined for 7 blocks in a hard fought win.

On Saturday, Niagara took it to Central Florida with a 17 point victory. Niagara with good shooting (46.2% effective FG%) and holding Central Florida to 4 of 23 (17.4%) from behind the arc and overall (35.1% effective FG%) in a convincing win. Niagara forced 23 UCF turnovers and outrebounded the Knights by 14. Demetrius Williamson led the way with 13 points as every member of the Purple Eagles scored and had at least one rebound.

However on Sunday, they let a halftime lead of 15 slip away in a 69-67 loss to Austin Peay. Niagara got out on a big 15-2 run in the first half to start the game and had a lead as large as 17 in the first half. The Purple Eagles shot 51% from the field in the first half (66.6% effective FG%) led by 8 three pointers; however, they only made 7 field goals in the second half (34% effective FG%) and Marcel Williams layup with 4 seconds to go gave the Governors their 6th and final lead of the night. Anthony Nelson led the way for Niagara with 15 points on 4 of 7 shooting. Demetrius Williamson had 12 points, all of which came in the first half. Bilal Benn added 12 points and a team-high 8 rebounds.

Story #3: The Rest of the MAAC: Did Not Impress

Frank Turner brought his best game: scoring 27, grabbing 6 rebounds, dishing out 7 assists in a 10 point victory over St. Francis (NY). Greg Logins and Julius Coles posted double digits for the Golden Griffins, scoring 13 and 11 respectively.

Iona led by 2009 Rookie of the Year Scott Machado’s 20 points and 6 assists, coasted to an 80-68 victory over Norfolk State. Iona forced 20 turnovers and made 23 free throws in their third straight win. They have proven to be a dangerous young team as Head Coach Kevin Willard told the New York Daily News, “We have six freshman and all six have worked hard and bought into their roles and paid attention to what they have to do to help us get (to 3-0).” Next stop for Iona is Orlando for the MAAC-hosted Old Spice Classic against Florida State.

Loyola could not score (31.2% effective FG%) and could not stop Jeremy Goode (23 points) and Jean Cajou (16 points) in a 63-44 defeat to their local rival Mount St. Mary’s. Brett Harvey led the way for Loyola with 12 points.

The Manhattan Jaspers could not keep up with William & Mary who made 12 three pointers in a 75-70 defeat. Antoine Pearson led the way for the Jaspers with 24 points on 7 of 12 shooting. Pearson made 5 of 8 three pointers. Nick Walsh scored 16 for the Jaspers as their only other double digit scorer.

St. Peter’s was awake for this afternoon game with Youngstown State, but could not convert from behind the arc in a 68-56 loss. Wesley Jenkins led the way with 19 points and 7 rebounds but made the only two three pointers the Peacocks had all night. Youngstown State was carried by Kelvin Bright’s 20 points on 6 of 10 shooting, 14 of which were scored in the second half.  Ryan Bacon, who poetically scored the first points of the morning on ESPN’s Tuesday Marathon, had 5 blocks for St. Peter’s.

Warning! I’m not on the Niagara bandwagon.

I don’t profess to any biases but I just don’t think this team has it anymore. A team that graduated a tough inside player to replace like Benson Egemonye will find him hard to replace. A team that has traditionally used very little of its bench, so little that it was 334th in the nation in the use of their bench, will need to figure out how to replace some production to keep its top tier status.

Another red flag you ask? This team relies too heavily on the three point shot and with the new three point line, it will have to start hurting them soon. Niagara shot 39.3% of its shots from 3 point land in 2009. Yet three pointers have only been 31.9% of their points or less in over the last 5 years. The new three point line led to decreased shots and decreased efficiency last year, expect more of the same.

3 point shots out of total field goals, Last 5 Years
2009: 39.3%
2008: 40.1%
2007: 37.6%
2006: 40.3%
2005: 39.3%

By the way, Niagara shot 30.9% from 3 point range, 305th in the nation last year.

Here’s another negative; Tyrone Lewis is NOT going to make his run for player of the year. He has not shown to become an efficient offensive force for the Purple Eagles throughout the last few years. Lewis’ field goal percentage has actually regressed over the last three years. This is probably why his points per game only jumped by 0.1 last year. Lewis took 28% of the teams shots last year, first on Niagara and 199th for an individual player in the nation. Considering there are 1720 players who start (344 teams times 5 starting spots) that is a ton of shots. Teams might let Lewis shoot next year if he doesn’t show improvement on his shot.

Even though he shot more threes last year which could contribute to the regression, there is another underlying problem. Lewis has regressed as a 2 point shooter as well. From 50.0%, to 47.3% all the way down to 34.5% last year, Lewis has not capitalized enough to be an elite team-leading scorer.

Niagara might be helped if Rob Garrison takes more of the shots. Garrison had a great year last year, shooting 51.5% from 2 point range, a 48.5% eFG% while taking only 19.3% of the team’s shots. Junior point guard Anthony Nelson is a good leader on the floor, with a 28.4% assist rate, good for 126th in the nation last year.

The offense could improve this coming year. They were a 47.6% eFG team, good for 226th in the nation last year. If they can get better from 3 point range, this team could be a threatening offense. However, they just shoot too much to get any momentum going from beyond the arc. Nowhere was this more prevalent than in the MAAC Championship Game against Siena. Niagara shot 3 of 18 in the 2nd half from beyond the arc, after shooting 6 of 19 to keep the score tied at halftime.

One reason they might continue to be a top team in a lot of defensive metrics is their schedule strength. Their non-conference schedule was slightly above average last year, however produced only one win against a top 100 kempom ranked team (Illinois State). Niagara opens at Auburn and plays a common Siena opponent in NEC runner up Mount Saint Mary’s.

PREDICTION: I think Niagara is one of the four best teams in the conference, but the Purple Eagles being guaranteed that 2nd spot behind Siena is not a sound investment. I think Rider is that 2nd place team.

Marist
2009: 10th Place. 10-23 (4-14)
2010: 10th

Marist did not begin the Chuck Martin era well, but reinforcements are on the way.

Listed as a Junior transfer, Daye Kaba comes from Boston College to deliever some athleticism to the offense in Poughkeepise. Kaba, in limited play at BC scored a total of 16 points in 16 total games. The transfers that tend to land in the conference tend to become the team’s go-to player. Expect Kaba to take a high percentage of shots. In a new offense, Ryan Schneider led the Red Foxes taking 25.2% of the team’s shots; Louie McCroskey the year before took 30.3%. He and Villanova transfer Casiem Drummond will provide an instant presence for Marist.

Drummond played sparingly as a freshman and then was a contributor in 2007-08 team. Drummond scored 2 points in Villanova’s 84-72 win over Siena in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. In Drummond’s 21 games in 07-08, he managed a 52.4 eFG% and highest percentages in offensive and defensive rebounds. He will have the chance to be a legitimate inside presence during the MAAC season. Drummond cannot play until the first semester is over.

By the way two plugs. I love the enhanced box scores on the kenpom.com team pages. When you’re not checking here for information about the MAAC (of course) and you like Marist Basketball, check out Marist alum Greg Hrinya‘s blog: Marist Dribble Drive. He thinks Marist will finish in the middle of the pack.

Greg’s notes on the freshmen (via e-mail):

- Devin Price could start and has great athleticism at the point. 6′ 1″ PG that can compete in dunk contests.
- Menelik Watson looked a little heavy and out of shape. Kind of disappointed although his muscles are huge. [Greg talked to Watson this summer, highly recommended, check it out!]
- Rob Johnson looked good and is probably vying with Dorvell Carter for the starting spot at the 4.
- Candon Rusin is this team’s [Will] Whittington. He’s the best shooter on the team, hard to say how he fits in.
- Sam Prescott is probably the best overall freshman in terms of freakish athleticism. He could start but I bet Martin goes with more experienced guys.
-Anell Alexis had a knee injury in the offseason.

What might be worse for this team are the unexpected losses. The Red Foxes lost David Devezin to unexpected exhaustion of eligibility. Somewhere along the way from Texas A&M to Junior College to Marist, paperwork was not sure about one of his first years being an injury red-shirt year. Lawrence Williams made his departure seem like a mutual break up.

Marist starts out its first six games on the road this year. They will then follow that up by playing 3 of their next 4 against America East teams (Boston, Binghamton, Vermont). Marist won 10 games last year, 5 of which were against non-conference opponents.

IMPORTANT STAT: In games decided by 6 points or less, Marist went 5-8. So as much as I want to say Marist can turn it around, Marist barely won half of their games. 3 of those 5 wins were decided by one possession or less!

The Marist offense last year was unsurprisingly inept. Posting some of the worst margins in 2 point field goal percentage, percentage of shots blocked, turnover percentage and offensive rebounding numbers. Once teams figured this dribble drive offense out, they forced Marist to take threes which they would (36.6% of shots were 3 pointers last year 81st in the nation).

The MAAC is already a high tempo league so bringing this high tempo offense to the conference hasn’t seemed to pay off yet. Teams have decided to just make Marist beat a variety of zones which made Marist’s offense look generic during the year.

PREDICTION: This team will gain some more experience but it will be difficult for them to break 14 wins. This team is rebuilding the right way though and a breakthrough could be predicted for 2010. Just don’t count on it this year.

St. Peter’s
2009: 2nd Place. 11-19 (8-10)
2010: 8th

This is the team to watch for 2010.

With exactly 0 seniors on the roster, this team will be trying to make the stride to have a big 2010-11 season. Junior College transfer Jeron Belin and redshirt freshman Darius Conley could be one of the top 4 frontcourts in the MAAC.

The reason St. Peter’s will be a good team next year: the improvement of Wesley Jenkins, Nick Leon and Ryan Bacon. All three experienced juniors, Bacon led the team in 527% eFG% and is the inside presence for the Peacocks. The only problem Bacon has had is foul trouble, he averages 4.6 fouls per 40 minutes.

Leon is an all around scorer who took 29.7% of the team’s shots last year. Leon shot 44% eFG% and was the best free throw shooter for the Peacocks last year, hitting 84.7% of them. Another scorer, Jenkins took 34.5% of the teams shots, 16th in the nation. Jenkins will prove to be the top scorer, with a team best 71 3 pointers made but he has struggled inside the three point line shooting just 36.8%.

St. Peter’s has improved every year in wins under head coach John Dunne. They also won 5 out of their last 6 regular season games at the end of the year. Yes from 5 to 6 to 11 doesn’t seem like a lot but the defense has steadily improved in many metrics which culminated in 14th in turnover ratio, 88th in 2pt FG% defense and great rates in blocks and steals.

PREDICTION: This is a middle of the pack team or better in 2009-10 with the chance of being a real contender in 2010-11. However I will predict that St. Peter’s will win a MAAC Tournament game. Their last win? March 5 2006.

First Team
Bilal Benn, Niagara Sr. G/F 6-5 Philadelphia, Pa.
Tyrone Lewis, Niagara Sr. G 5-11 Levittown, Pa.
Ryan Thompson, Rider Sr. G 6-6 Mt. Laurel, N.J.*
Ronald Moore, Siena Sr. G 6-0 Conshohocken, Pa.
Edwin Ubiles, Siena Sr. G/F 6-6 Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Second Team
Greg Nero, Fairfield Sr. F 6-7 Red Hook, N.Y.
Jamal Barney, Loyola Jr. G 6-3 Baltimore, Md.
Wesley Jenkins, Saint Peter’s Jr. G 6-2 Newark, N.J.
Alex Franklin, Siena Sr. F 6-5 Reading, Pa.
Ryan Rossiter, Siena Jr. F 6-9 Staten Island, N.Y.

Third Team
Greg Logins, Canisius Jr. F 6-7 Sodus, N.Y.
Frank Turner, Canisius Sr. G 5-10 Atlantic City, N.J.
Darryl Crawford, Manhattan Sr. G 6-5 Harlem, N.Y.
Novar Gadson, Rider So. G 6-7 Philadelphia, Pa.
Mike Ringgold, Rider Jr. F 6-7 Philadelphia, Pa.

Just a little me, me, me, I called the All-MAAC team in my post yesterday– just sayin’. Thankfully I was right, I would have been fuming if they snubbed Ronald here.

* – denotes Preseason Player of the Year

There is a camp this year that believes he won’t make it over Ryan Thompson, but why shouldn’t he? Thompson wasn’t exclusively the PG at Rider until about half way through last season. You simply can’t argue with the way Moore preformed and at the level he preformed in March.

I personally think we should expect to see a first team that looks like this; Ronald Moore, Tyrone Lewis, Ryan Thompson, Edwin Ubiles, and Bilal Benn.

Yeah, my scenario doesn’t include a second big man, but neither did the MAAC at the end of last season.

Remember to watch MAAC Media Day, which will be streamed online via webcam.

Niagara defended the three point line really well these past two days, letting their opponents only shoot 11 of 45 (24.4%) from behind the arc. Siena hasn’t thoroughly used the three but has done well the last two days going 14 of 38 (36.8%).

Kenny Hasbrouck‘s status is still a question to be answered before tipoff, I’m sure we will have more information as the story is ongoing. Edwin Ubiles has been in early foul trouble in each of the first two games and Siena will probably need Ubiles to keep his hot streak against Niagara. Ubiles, in his career, has put up games of at least 19 points per game in 5 of his 7 career games against the Purple Eagles.

One red flag that Siena fans worry about is Free Throw shooting. Before worrying about it too much, understand that Niagara left 16 points at the free throw line last night and shot 28 of 44 from the line.

Bracket Worries
If Siena can’t pull it off tonight, there is still an at-large chance. Siena will have to become fans of conference favorites such as Memphis, any of the Big East top 7, LSU-Tennessee-South Carolina in the SEC and BYU or Utah in the MWC to win their conference tournaments. They would probably have some help by wins by Butler and Gonzaga tonight. It’s that or have teams on the bubble play themselves out as Creighton likely did this past weekend.

Bracketology updates start today and go through the week every day on ESPN.com.

LEWISTON, N.Y. — Niagara’s Bilal Benn recorded 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead the team past Siena, 100-85, Friday night in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action at the Gallagher Center.

Niagara (23-7, 13-4) has now won nine of its last 10 games. Rob Garrison added 19 points while Benson Egemonye scored 13 points. Tyrone Lewis netted 12 points while Kashief Edwards and Anthony Nelson each scored 11 points.

Siena (22-7 15-2) was led by Ronald Moore‘s game-high 23 points. Edwin Ubiles added 19 points while Ryan Rossiter recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds. Alex Franklin added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Niagara shot 55 percent (21-of-38) from the field in the first half, highlighted by five three-point field goals. The team used runs of 11-4 and 10-0 to build a 48-31 halftime lead.

Siena had won the past seven regular-season meetings.

I really shouldn’t need to stress this but this is a huge game. Students– it’s Saturday at noon, we know it’s early, but be at the TUC.

Siena is rolling and Niagara is reeling. The Saints are coming off two (solid) road wins and the Purple Eagles have lost two of their last three. Niagara was romped by Marist in Poughkeepsie [while shooting 30% FG] last week, and lost to Iona at home [37% FG].

Niagara is the best rebounding team in the conference, thanks to Villanova transfer Bilal Benn. Benn is averaging 9.6 RPG, best in the conference. Tack on 13.8 PPG, (good for 7th in the MAAC), and that’s one heck of an offensive threat. Junior guard Tyrone Lewis is having another solid offensive season averaging 16.6 PPG.

It’s no secret, Niagara’s game is just shoot and play no defense. It’s the Mihalich staple. However, when you rebound the basketball like this team does, they get plenty of good opportunities to score. Siena has to be committed to boxing out and forcing Niagara to take bad shots on Saturday.

The Saints will need solid play from the big guys.