Franklin turned in a second straight dominant performance, racking up 12 rebounds for his second straight double double of the season.

The Saints went on a 21-3 run in just under 7 minutes, opening up what was a six point game with 9:50 to go into a 22 point blowout.

Siena was able to excel at every facet of the game. Ryan Rossiter set a new career high in offensive rebounds with 11, besting his previous career-high of 8 in last year’s win over St. Joseph’s. Ronald Moore led the team with 12 assists, Moore’s 5th double digit assist game of the season. Edwin Ubiles scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half.  Ubiles has scored double digit points in each of his last four games. Clarence Jackson had another strong performance, scoring 23 points on 7 of 14 shooting including 4 three pointers.

Franklin made 10 of his 16 shots from the floor to lead the Saints. Franklin made 10+ field goals for the first time this year and the first time since Siena’s March 2, 2008 77-64 win over Saint Peter’s.

Siena shot 23 of 30 (76.7%) from the free throw line, their best free throw percentage since November 28th’s 20-point win over Brown (shot 83.3%).

Six of Siena’s eight wins have come by a margin of 15 points or more. Siena now leads the all-time season series against St. Joseph’s 3-2.

Former Siena Men’s Basketball player and now Student Assistant Cory Magee comes back from Christmas break looking forward to Siena’s Winter Break schedule.

• Griffin bound to see plenty of action during Saints’ busy week (Daily Gazette)

Kyle Griffin has rehabbed and worked hard since transferring from LaSalle and looks forward to more playing time as he looks to become a continuing part of the Saints rotation.

• St. Joe’s brings out the best in Jackson (Troy Record)

Clarence Jackson had his first double digit game as a freshman against the Hawks. Jackson had his first 20+ shot game in his sophomore year, scoring a career high 28 in last year’s 75-74 road victory. Jackson has had games scoring over 20 points this year.

• Home is where Siena’s wins are (Times Union)

Siena’s Home Win Streak is at 25 games and among the best in the nation. Kansas (49) and Pitt (29) are the only two teams ahead of the Saints. Their last loss? A February 16, 2008 Overtime loss to Loyola (MD).

• Franklin named MAAC co-Player of the Week (Siena Saints Blog)

Our story: Alex Franklin shared the MAAC Co-Player of the Week award with Loyola (MD) guard Brett Harvey.

• Siena readies for busy post-holiday stretch (Times Union)

Siena starts a four game in seven day stretch, Coach Fran McCaffery sat down with the media to talk before this busy week.

• Disappointment? Not For Siena’s 7-4 Start (Keepin’ Track of the MAAC)

The MAAC’s humble blogger takes issue with ESPN’s Andy Katz calling Siena’s start a “disappointment.” To Katz’s point, he labels Siena disappointing because they were unable to rack up any marquee wins in the non-conference schedule when it appeared the Saints had a chance to.

After a commanding win over Rider last week, Siena enters into their second match of a four game home stand. The team appeared to be energized and focused against Rider after getting over ten days off.The Saints are tied with Missouri for 4th place for the longest current home winning streak in the NCAA. They trail Dayton and Pittsburgh by a few games, while everyone is looking up at Kansas who is riding a 49 game streak. Alex Franklin is one of only two players in the MAAC averaging 15 ppg and 8 rpg. In his first season as a starter, Clarence Jackson has made more than half of the team’s 3-pointers thus far. Last year Siena trailed St. Joe’s by 18, only to make a huge second half comeback to beat the Hawks 75-74. This season the Saints lead St. Joe’s in every major statistic this season – except for FT % – so on paper the Saints are the better team. But that’s why they play the game.

The Hawks are coming off their own extended schedule break, and have quality wins against Drexel and Boston College under their belts. Senior G Darrin Govens leads the team in scoring averaging 13.4 ppg. They are considered a perimeter-based offense and have already attempted over 200 shots from beyond the arc, hitting 33% of them. This outside mentality has hurt St. Joe’s on the glass, however, as they have been heavily out-rebounded in nearly every game. St. Joe’s does have an experienced squad as they start two seniors and two juniors.

Look out for Franklin and Ryan Rossiter having huge games in the post since 3 out of the top 4 players receiving the most playing time for St. Joe’s are guards 6′5″ or shorter. If the Saints look to take advantage of their height and athleticism by driving to the basket and not getting into a 3-point shooting match, their home winning streak should be secure.

You can take a look at my season ending essay to get a feel of what I was thinking going into this essay. I’ve been working on other writing projects, and working in general like we all do, but my time between the final buzzer against Louisville until now has been far from idle.

I have studied and reveled in all the polls. Yes, all the polls in which the Siena Saints have been ranked in the Top 25. The Men’s Basketball team has been projected by numerous sporting publications to start the season as one of the best 25 teams in the country. Many have begun to believe, others still think the ranking is too high. It’s difficult to absorb the ramifications. As I promised to do in my season-ending essay I will not look to the future with rose-colored glasses, those days are over. In examining the goings-on of the men in green and gold I’ll take a look with close scrutiny while still maintaining the game to game enjoyment and growth of the program.

We live in a reality as Saints fans that is more clear-cut than ever before. But as a fan who has endured much, I write as a semi-impartial journalist who is here to make even clearer the realities that truly exist in the world of Siena men’s basketball fandom.

The Saints enter the season as the favorites once again, voted to finish first in the MAAC almost unanimously for the second consecutive season, with the sole dissenting vote coming from Tommy Dempsey, the head coach at Rider. A lot of Siena fans bashed the vote, but if you look at it objectively, it makes sense. I picked Rider to finish second – they return possible player of the year Ryan Thompson with experienced scorers and possess one of the best starting five players in the conference. Niagara should be a tough out once again, and the conference looks to be as difficult to win from top to bottom as it has ever been.

Anything can happen in March, before the big dance. Anything. Dempsey knows this, Joe Mihalich knows this, and everyone has to accept it. It’s the price of being a fan.

Am I trying to hedge my bets that Siena won’t win the MAAC tourney and get to the big dance? Hardly. I just know that as a lifelong Saints fan, and as a sports fan, and as someone who understands the complexities of competition it is difficult for any team to repeat, much less do it three times in a row.

If the Saints are fortunate enough to win the MAAC tourney for the third consecutive time it will be the first time in 20 years that a team not named La Salle has accomplished the feat. Siena has the personnel, it’s been well documented. Coach Fran McCaffery has said that this year’s team belongs to the senior PG Ronald Moore. He is the floor general, he has sneakers made of pure speed, and his basketball IQ and instincts are exemplary. He will make the team go, but add returning seniors Edwin Ubiles, Alex Franklin, junior Ryan Rossiter prowling in the post, and junior Clarence Jackson to the mix, you have a blend of players who know the McCaffery system and are going to spend forty minutes a night running and gunning until their opponent is gasping for air. The leadership, experience, and ability to create within the coach’s system should provide for fireworks and offense that will enthrall anyone watching a Saints game this year.

Now is the time to enjoy what’s going on, but to also understand that the future is bright in Loudonville, while also uncertain and possibly maddening. The pipeline seems to be working as coach continues to recruit well and to add players who are not only skilled but fit well in his system. This is the first time in the history of the Siena Saints when continuity seems to be working, and the coach is not only reloading each year, but truly building a program. The 2009-2010 season has one minimum goal – yes, one main goal – to return to the NCAA tournament and try to win at least one game in the big dance. Why just this one goal? Because if it doesn’t happen then everything the program has worked for will take a step back due to the amazing pre-season hype and rewards extolled on the players and coaches. If the Saints make it to the dance and lose, then at least they had the shot. Gonzaga, in making the progression they’ve made to get where they are today, lost a number of first round games in a row, but the fact that they continued to make it year after year is what got them to their perch. It’s what enabled them to be able to play BCS schools on a regular basis. It is the one goal that Siena needs to continue to set and attempt to make – returning to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament year after year.

Professional golfers repeat the cliché when playing in tournaments that the event can not be won on the first day, but it can be lost. The same can be said for mid-major basketball programs. Close is nice, but without getting over the hump continually then programs can not evolve in to perennial threats.

This is where Siena is trying to get to, and the last two years were huge hurdles that were leapt. The mountain is large, though, and the summit is still far away. If the Saints are fortunate enough to make the sweet sixteen this year then they’ve come pretty close to reaching their goal, I’d go as far to say as they made it. Then, next year, the journey begins anew, albeit starting closer than they’d ever started before.

This is not a primer on how to be a Saints fan – you all know how to do that already. It is just one voice saying things that need to be said. It’s cautious optimism, hiding a passion that knows that every non-conference win is a step closer to that holiest of college basketball grails – the at-large bid. The schedule isn’t as strong as last year, but with a pocketful of non-conference wins Siena will continue to garner attention based on all the looks that were given to them in the preseason.

I can’t wait to see the development of Kyle Downey and Owen Wignot, who should develop to be a huge addition off the bench as possibly the sixth man. He will be challenged by OD Anosike as the other player off the bench who could have a growing impact in the frontcourt, even as a freshman. There is a depth to this team that has possibly never been seen before– freshman guards Denzel Yard and Jonathon Breeden adding their versatility to the backcourt, La Salle transfer Kyle Griffen, and big man Davis Martens coming in midseason to give the Saints more options.

Capital District residents have been waiting for this era of Saints basketball to arrive since the 1989 win over Stanford in the NCAA tournament, and it is finally here. On Friday, the Saints will open the season on the road against Tennessee State. Road wins are always tough to come by, and the opening game result will go a long way to setting the tone for the season. The non-conference schedule doesn’t let up, with the home opener against CAA powerhouse Northeastern coming the following Tuesday. Temple, St. John’s, Georgia Tech, St. Joseph’s, Mount St. Mary’s – each win is step closer to what every Siena fan wants – a 25 win season and a chance to win the MAAC championship.

Get nervous before every game, listen to the General and Tommy Heurter, watch Sportscenter if we get ranked in the top 25 for highlights, read up on the next game and prepare if we don’t. It’s a long season, but the offseason has been more than rewarding. Let’s hope there are plenty of prizes on the way as the men of the Green and Gold pursue their third straight MAAC championship and postseason NCAA berth.

Get ready to march, and if the Saints are playing in March, get ready to scream. I’ll be right there next to you, ready. Have fun, Saints fans!

If you’re looking for the short list, here’s how the non-conference shapes up so far…

11/13 @ Tennessee St
11/17 vs Northeastern
11/21 @ Temple
11/24 vs Delaware
11/27 vs St Johns (Philly Hoop Group Classic)
11/28 vs Brown (Philly Hoop Group Classic)
12/2 @ Georgia Tech
12/5 vs Albany
12/12 @ Northern Iowa
12/29 St Josephs
2/20 @ Bracket Buster

If I was a champ on it, perhaps Tom Perotta would have recruited me.

While NBA teams were executing the debatably successful ‘Hack-A-Shaq’ technique on Shaquille O’Neil, Canisius decided to employ the same practice on the entire Siena team last night in a 91-73 loss at Times Union Center.

Was it a bad strategy? Well, even when you’ve got a decent match-up size-wise, when you’re out-manned physically and athletically perhaps it is the only response.

As can be observed over the past few years, Fran McCaffery prefers to use his team’s athleticism to drive and draw fouls. But Canisius drawing 17 in the first half? When you’re facing a team with the ability of Siena, even if you can make a moral victory out of being down seven points at the half you can’t like you’re chances in the second half being in such foul trouble.

Being the devil’s advocate, I have to address Siena’s penchant for playing down or allowing runs. In this game Siena was able to absorb Canisius’ runs, equal them in rebounds by the end of the game, and use the turnover advantage to run out to an eighteen point win.

Watching the play of Canisius in the first half it was reminiscent of a lower seeded team giving all they could and taking it to a larger seed in the NCAA tournament. But, like most situations play out in March Madness, the better team was able to run out and prevail.

Siena stands at 11-0 in conference play, and with seven games left, some of them obvious challenges on the road, the Saints are maintaining the status quo. They have only a few dominant wins, but also a few character building victories in the process – Iona, Marist, and St. Joseph’s being the tilts that have allowed Siena to reacquire their swagger.

As long as more positives can be taken from each game, and more wins drawn than losses, this “team of destiny” can keep making history in the attempt of becoming the best Siena basketball team ever to step on the court.

Seems our free throw problem has diminished. Now its just the sloppy turnovers that have to go…

PHILADELPHIA — Ryan Rossiter hit two free throws with 2.4 seconds left as Siena rallied from an 18-point second half deficit and defeated Saint Joseph’s 75-74 Sunday night.

Clarence Jackson had a career-high 28 points, Edwin Ubiles 12 and Rossiter 11 for Siena (7-4), which has won five of its last six games.

Idris Hilliard had a career-high 20 points and Ahmad Nivins 15 for the Hawks (5-6), who committed 19 turnovers.

Saint Joseph’s led 44-39 at the half, then went on a 17-4 run to lead 61-43 with 15:05 left. The Saints’ pressing defense then sparked a 19-4 spurt, cutting the lead to 65-62.

Saint Joseph’s moved ahead 68-64, but Jackson scored twice to forge a 68-all tie with 4:36 remaining. Ubiles hit a 3-pointer with two minutes left to give Siena its first lead of the second half, 73-72. Then, a layup by Hilliard with 12.7 to go put the Hawks back on top.

The Hawks’ Tasheed Carr then stole the ball and was fouled with 9.5 seconds left. But Carr missed the first of a 1-and-1, leading to Rossiter’s game-winning points.

Tennessee really played poorly and Temple controlled the tempo for all forty minutes. The Volunteers were beaten of the dribble, made lackluster passes and did not get out and defend Dionte Christmas. Christmas finished up with 7 3-pointers and 35 points on the afternoon. After the loss, Bruce Pearl talked about how young his team is and that they’re not forcing enough turnovers. They forced 13 on Saturday. Last year at this time they were averaging 22 forced turnovers per contest. That is Pearl’s system, he’s got the guys to do it, they just need some time together. I still think this team will be playing very late into March.

Kansas vs. UMass was really an awesome game. It’s too bad it had to compete with Memphis @ Georgetown– hard to pass that up, but we’ve got to watch the Jayhawks when we can. It was back and forth pretty much the whole game, with the Jayhawks constantly trying to catch up to the Minutemen. UMass had a plethora of three point shooters who picked the team up with a 3 every time they needed to stop a Kansas run. This is what we don’t have– established three point threats. This is why I don’t see us beating Kansas. Chris Lowe, their PG has 533 career assists, and can shoot from beyond the arc. He’s chasing the all time record in assists at UMass 633. Tony Gaffney is also a treat to watch. He may be 6′8″, but he was beating Kansas defenders to the bucket on Saturday afternoon. Oh yeah, he finished up with 13 boards and 6 blocks too.

To upset a major (ranked) team, you need to have (at least) one athlete who is just phenomenal. Temple has Dionte Christmas, UMass has Tony Gaffney who is an extremely tough assignment, and of course, Davidson has Stephen Curry. Siena is the complete opposite, we’ve got a team of role players. Edwin Ubiles might be that guy, but I sincerely doubt he will break out and have that kind of night against that caliber of an opponent. Let’s face it; if the aforementioned guys are on Earth, Edwin is on Neptune.

FYI– Xavier is still unbeaten.

Congratulations to Sam Bradford who won the Heisman Trophy Saturday night. Sam, this national championship better come quick because lots of people are starting to focus on how Oklahoma hoops looks unreal.

Ken Pomeroy is routinely described on college hoop blogs as the Bill James of college basketball. Ken was a writer for ESPN and his work has been cited in Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

You can get it on Amazon, or if you like BP and Baseball Prospectus go to their redirect, or at your local bookstore. So let’s kick off some questions!

Siena Saints Blog: It seems like just yesterday we were talking about the first Old Spice Classic, the MAAC sponsored non-conference tournament, that showcased Marist in their first win over a Big Ten school. Of course the coach of that school would, after the trip, resign…  Siena won’t face the prospect of that going up against Bruce Pearl’s Tennessee Volunteers in game one (Noon/ESPN2) and following that up against either Wichita State/Georgetown Friday, will this Thanksgiving weekend be feast or famine for the Saints?

Ken Pomeroy, Basketball Prospectus/Kenpom.com: So you’re saying Minnesota fans have Jared Jordan and Matt Brady to thank for Tubby Smith leading them back to respectability (or possibly more)? It’s funny how college hoops works like that.

Anyway, it’s never too early to firm up those holiday plans, and if you’re headed to Grandma’s house for Turkey Day, it’s worth making sure that there will be a private room set aside with access to ESPN2HD. I think that first game between Siena and Tennessee is captivating whether one has a rooting interest in it or not. You have one team which will be highly ranked and another which has legitimate aspirations to put together an at-large resume, which is saying something considering the conference they’re in. Plus, Siena will be willing to run with UT, so it won’t bore grandma.

Your readers surely know more about Siena than I do, so I’ll just say that I don’t expect Tennessee to be much different than last season. Occasionally, they’ll look like one of the best teams in the country, and occasionally they’ll struggle to look like a top 25 team. They have a bunch of exciting newcomers to go along with JP Prince, Tyler Smith, and Wayne Chism, so it’s probably best to catch them in November and not March.

How crazy would it be if Siena knocked off Wichita State in the second round? The cruel chain of events that sent Dan Monson packing eventually led to a coaching vacancy in Wichita the following offseason and the Shockers have struggled making the transition to a new coach. It would be like the MAAC is single-handedly taking down a program.

Given the field in this tourney, Siena would have to feel great about coming up with two wins somehow. If they do that, they’ll start to get some overdue attention beyond MAAC beat writers.

SSB: Would you evaluate the MAAC as a mid-major or a low major conference?

Pomeroy: We’re delving into the land of arbitrary distinctions and I try not to spend too much time trying to label things. There’s a million ways to rank conferences or establish their “goodness”.  I think just about any one you pick would have the MAAC in the bottom half of D-I, perhaps on the edge of the bottom third. I mean, on the one hand the conference has a couple of non play-in game tournament wins this decade. On the other, their champ was placed in the play-in game just two seasons ago. And although it was a horrible decision to put Niagara in that game, just being considered for it says something. Were I the MAAC commissioner, I might borrow Dan Hawkins’ line for a conference motto. “It’s Division I basketball! It’s the MAAC! It ain’t intramurals!” That about sums it up.

SSB: If you were on the NCAA Selection Committee (we might have a better field), but if you were, what would you use as criteria to select teams to the NCAA Tournament? What tools do you think they favor more and which would you favor more?

Pomeroy: If I was on the committee I would be criticized as not being a “basketball person” and would probably find myself in the corner of the meeting room talking to myself. In general my criteria wouldn’t be any different than the committee’s – find the best teams. What determines that should be fairly easy to figure. If it’s offensive rebounding in the last 5 minutes of the game, then let’s use that. Realistically, it’s probably not that complicated. Recent research suggests that road performance is pretty important. Not simply road wins, but playing well on the road, be it a close loss to a great team or lopsided wins against lesser foes. As far as what the committee does, I don’t think they are nearly as analytical as I am (who is?), but in general they agree with the notion that the quality of a team goes beyond simple wins and losses. A team can play very well and lose, and likewise play poorly and win.

SSB: We are in a season of change with the new three point line, if you can change THREE things in the state of college basketball, what would you change and why?

Pomeroy:

1. Get rid of the play-in game and remove an at-large bid from the field. I mean, I don’t really know anyone who’s passionate about the play-in game.

2. Reduce the number of timeouts for each team to three. Anything to reduce the number of stoppages towards the end of the game, but also to discourage coaches from stopping the game every time the opponent goes on 6-0 run.

3. We need a more consistent view of intentional fouls. The end-of-game foul parade is not an attractive part of the game and clearly most of these fouls would be ruled intentional were they committed at other times in the game. I’d like to see that cleaned up.

SSB: If you had to put a percentage down on each game: Siena picking up a win @ Kansas, @ St. Joes or @ Pittsburgh? And then % of one of the 3.

Pomeroy:
Kansas: 5%
St. Joe’s 30%
Pitt 5%.

That would give them a 37% chance of winning at least one of those.

SSB: Do you think we will ever be able to measure the effects of transfers coming down from larger conferences into mid/low major conferences?

Pomeroy: Oh sure. There’s enough data out there to do it now, so maybe that’s an idea for next season’s book. One limitation is that a player taking a step down usually hasn’t played many minutes at the higher level. Subjectively, it appears to me that some things transfer well, like usage, rebounding and blocks, regardless if you’re moving down or up. What is affected most is the efficiency stats like field goal percentage and turnovers. Louie McCroskey’s year at Marist seems to confirm that.

SSB: One of the teams I still think has been a real good dark horse these last 2 years has been Fairfield, it seems like we have talked about them being a real contender for the conference title…

Pomeroy: I think that’s a reasonable goal for them, not that I would expect it of course. To challenge Siena they would have to significantly improve their defense.  Their offense is going to cause a ton of problems for MAAC opponents.

SSB: Give me a MAAC top 3 if you had to choose today…

Pomeroy: Siena, Rider, Fairfield. I’m really interested to see how Rider does without Thompson. On the one had, the guy had a tremendous combination of shot-blocking and rebounding ability, so you’d think the defense would take a hit. But Rider’s D stunk two seasons ago in Thompson’s junior season, so maybe his influence isn’t as much as people might think.

SSB: So, Marist, the cupboard was left pretty bare.. I’m afraid to ask what you think of them

Pomeroy: Let’s say 8-10 in the league. Too bad Jay Gavin got away. With him, Marist would have had one of the best backcourts in the league.

SSB: Okay, a few national questions: What do you think of Tom Crean heading to Indiana? Can he restore the tainted legacy?

Pomeroy: I’ll always give Crean the benefit of the doubt because one year at Marquette, he (or someone on his staff) made sure that rebounding percentages were listed at the end of the official box score that the school produced. A man with that kind of outside-the-box thinking is destined for success. The early returns are looking favorable for the Hoosiers and really, it’s Indiana. A coach with some experience running a major program would have to work hard, or make a bunch of illegal phone calls, to screw it up.

SSB: Who is your National Title Darkhorse…

Pomeroy: Good question, because any pick besides UNC is a darkhorse. For a mild shocker, I’ll take Texas. For an out-of-the-blue contender, I’m intrigued by Wake Forest. A trio of big freshmen coming in and a returning core that should improve offensively.

SSB: College Basketball Prospectus 2008-2009 comes out October 28th, your name is on the cover among others. What are we going to find in this 336 page book? Already #16,920 in books on Amazon (as of October 7th) but who’s counting…

Pomeroy: Ah, yes. I thought we were never going to get to that. With this kind of publicity, the book can get into the top 15,000. (Ed. Note: It is now #12,508 in books) My commercial goes like this…The book will contain the kind of content that fans have found at Basketball Prospectus for the past year. Gasaway and I have put together in-depth previews for each team in the power conferences and some content on the other top conferences that can be expected to send multiple teams to the tournament. There’s another section with more general content about the game including some insight from Kevin Pelton, Will Carroll, and John Perrotto, And even though there are plenty of stats that you won’t find anywhere else, except possibly at kenpom.com, you don’t need a Ph.D. in Math to get a lot out of this book. The analysis is of the kind that won’t be found in another preview at your bookstore.

SSB: What else can we look forward to on Basketball Prospectus for this year? Also who else collaborated on the books content and will continue to write there?

Pomeroy: I’m really excited about our eight-part series on what makes Tyler Hansbrough the hardest worker in the game today. Seriously, though, it’s hard to know what you’ll see this season. Basically, we react to events that happen during the season so we’ll just have to wait and see. The cast is pretty much the same as last season, except I’ll be doing less writing due to a number of other commitments I have over the next few months. But the site will still have the kind of analysis you can’t get at other sites.

SSB: Great stuff Ken, it’s always interesting picking your brain about college hoops. Best of luck with the release of the book.

Pomeroy: Thank you Ryan, take care.

There you have it. Go Buy Basketball Prospectus 2008-2009 on October 28th.