Siena lost by 17 to Fairfield earlier in December at the Times Union Center.

Recap: Fairfield 72, Siena 55

For more info on tonight’s game, check out the previous Siena vs. Loyola matchup from January 28th…

Recap: Siena 76, Loyola 59 | Preview

The lead got as large as 19 on a Nick Leon three pointer with 14:34 to go. From there, the Peacocks hit a big drought; going without a point for 5 minutes and 19 seconds. That allowed Siena to take all the momentum and creep back into the game.

The Saints used their defense to transition into offense, getting into the lane and drawing fouls. Siena cut the lead to 5 when John Dunne got a technical foul, and continued to pour on points at the free throw line. St. Peter’s then got a three point play with 3:15 to go to put the lead at 7 and the Saints just could not catch up.

Siena did trail by 3 with 1:07 to go when Mitch Buonaguro intelligently had Owen Wignot foul Ryan Bacon, a 56% free throw shooter, but unfortunately, he hit both. Bacon had a monster game, closing the night with 25 points and 15 rebounds, along with 6 blocks, 4 steals and 2 assists. St. Peter’s senior guard Wesley Jenkins finished with 17 points.

Rossiter closed with yet another double-double; 21 points and 16 rebounds. Trenity Burdine and Stephen Priestly saw extended minutes today none of the key players in Wignot, Downey, and Jackson were on the floor for the Saints’ second half run. Clarence left the game when he aggravated his left ankle.

Siena has not won a game where their opponents have scored more than 70 points, they are 0-8. The Peacocks snapped an 8 game losing streak against the Saints.

The Peacocks boast a BCS win over Alabama earlier in the season, but they find themselves in the middle of the conference and tied with Siena in fifth place, two games back of Fairfield and Iona who are tied for first.

St. Peter’s is led by their star shooting guard Wesley Jenkins, who is leading the team in scoring with 14 points and averaging about 5 rebounds per game.  There is also plenty of other senior leadership on the team as well.   5’11″ point guard Nick Leon is averaging about 10 points a game, 6’7″ forward Ryan Bacon is an excellent presence inside scoring 8 points a game and grabbing 6 rebounds per game, and 6’6″ forward Jeron Belin is third on the team in scoring with 9 points a game.  The Peacocks will be at a little bit of a size disadvantage to the Saints, though, and for a team that averages only 34 rebounds they will need to find a way to keep up with the Saints on the glass or else the game could get away from them.

The Peacocks are only averaging about 56 points a game, but they are an excellent defensive team, only giving up about 60 points a game.  For a team like Siena, who has had some issues shooting the ball as of late, there will be a need for a concerted effort to get high percentage shots and shoot the ball effectively.

That issue may be resolved more easily now that the Saints have welcomed back Clarence Jackson from injury.  The senior guard helped the Saints to wins over Marist and Canisius the last two games out, scoring 19 and 15 points in each respective contest.  Rahkeem Brookins continues to excel running the point, averaging an assist to turnover ratio of 4:1 over his last six games.  And OD Anosike appears to making the sophomore leap as he has averaged almost 13 points and 10 rebounds over the last four games.

Things are getting better for the Saints, but Owen Wignot’s thumb injury on his shooting hand continues to bother him, and Davis Martens may still be recovering from a sprained ankle.  The Saints will still need to continue to nurse injuries and continue to get the best out of the players and rotations they put on the floor to try and get back in to the MAAC conference race.  Iona and Fairfield are probably not coming back to the pack, so the Saints will need every win that they can get, and a difficult road win at St. Peter’s on Friday night would do a lot to build confidence for the Saints.

Siena will play four of their next five games at home, beginning on Monday night January 24th against the Rider Broncs at the Times Union Center.

The Saints appeared to have their problems solved, up double digits early at Minnesota despite an invisible Ryan Rossiter. Fans might not have noticed it early when Siena took an early double digit lead and asserted control over the Golden Gophers early at Williams Arena.

However, Siena continued to have problems defending in multiple sets and turning the ball over. Siena was able to generate traps but left open lanes. The Saints were able to hold up the Gophers shooters early in the zone but could not contain the passing lanes. Siena was able to get good passes but too many errant passes were dropped for the Saints to maintain consistent offense.

The Saints turned the ball over 24 times on Monday night, compared to just 9 turnovers on Saturday night against Vermont.

Clarence Jackson led the Saints throughout the game, playing almost a one-man show racking up a career-high 29 points on 11 of 18 shooting. Jackson created early and often, going 8 of 14 from the field in the first half. Jackson’s previous career-high in scoring was 28 in Siena’s 75-74 win at St. Joe’s on Dec. 28, 2007.

Rakeem Brookins shined late, scoring 12 points on 5 of 8 shooting. Brookins scored an old-fashioned three-point play to cut the lead to four with just under two minutes to play. He followed that up by nailing a three pointer to cut the lead to four again with just over one minute to play. Brookins fouled out with 2.3 seconds left in the game but his late scoring surge could help him in the point guard position battle against Kyle Griffin. Griffin scored three points on 1 of 4 shooting.

Siena broke out on a 10-2 run to build a double digit lead on the Gophers at 25-15 early in the first half. However Minnesota closed the gap by pounding the ball inside after Ryan Rossiter and O.D. Anosike exited with foul trouble and cut the lead to one (34-33) at halftime.

MAAC Preseason Player of the Year Ryan Rossiter was disrupted early, unable to get the ball into the block, and scored just two points in the first half. However Rossiter responded with authority by grabbing two straight boards in traffic and converted an old-fashioned three point play at 18:49 to give the Saints a 37-33 lead.

The Golden Gophers quickly came back with an 11-0 run early in the second half to take the lead, capped by an Austin Hollins three pointer at 14:08 to go. The Gophers would strike quickly on runs throughout the second half to extend the lead.

Rossiter could not maintain the consistency in the game, fouling out and scoring just 8 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. The last time Rossiter did not score double-digit points in a game was Jan. 4, 2010 when Rossiter scored 6 points in Siena’s 76-56 win over Loyola (MD).

The Saints put up an incredible three-point shooting performance, making 9 of 17 three pointers. The last time the Saints made 9 or more three pointers was Feb. 5, 2010 in an 88-68 win over Iona at the Times Union Center when the Saints went a matching 9 for 17 from behind the arc.

The Saints fall to 0-2 for the first time since the 2007-08 season when they dropped two games where the Saints gave up an average of 98.5 points.

The Saints take the floor 48 hours after falling at home to Vermont by four Saturday night. However, the turnaround will be even quicker after the Saints flight from Chicago to Minneapolis was canceled and the team’s active players caught a flight and practiced Sunday night at Minnesota.

The Saints ran wild, cutting a 14 point deficit to three with 1:15 to go by forcing turnovers and inspired by two steals from Rakeem Brookins and 10 points from MAAC Preseason Player of the Year Ryan Rossiter.

O.D. Anosike, in his first start, went 5 for 9 from the field, scoring 11 points and grabbing 5 rebounds. However, Anosike accumulated four fouls in 21 minutes of play. Anosike picked up his first two fouls on two consecutive defensive possessions in the first half.

Meanwhile, first team All-MAAC selection Clarence Jackson struggled from the field. Jackson shot just 4 for 16 from the field and made just one of his three attempted three pointers.

While Brookins and Griffin provided energy and a positive assist to turnover rate (a combined 7-6), both managed to shoot a combined 3 for 15 from the field. Siena head coach Mitch Buonaguro said Brookins will make mistakes but he got the Saints going in their comeback.

“When I put him in we were down 15, and he was in the middle of the run. He pushed the ball, made a couple really good plays,” Buonaguro said. I thought Brookins was a real plus [Saturday night], I really do.”

They will face off against a Minnesota Golden Gopher team who are led by Ralph Sampson III who scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in their 69-55 win over Wofford Friday night. Trevor Mbakwe put up a career high 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the opener as well. Freshman Chip Armelin made his debut and scored 11 points in 12 minutes. (Also read: Get to Know the Gophers)

The Saints were out rebounded by 14 on Saturday but did take 13 more shots than the Catamounts. The real problem for the Saints Saturday was shooting under 40% for the game, shooting 36.8% from the field and making just 3 of 14 three point tries.

The Saints and Gophers will meet in the regular season for the first time tonight.The Gophers won their first meeting, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 1989, 80-67.

The Gophers last game against a MAAC team was a Nov 23, 2006 loss to Marist in the Old Spice Classic tournament in Orlando. The Gophers are 3-3 all time against MAAC teams.

Siena Saints Blog: Minnesota opened up Friday night with a win over Wofford, how did you feel about game one of the season?

Steve Bailey: It was great to see the Gophers come out and beat a Wofford team that could have easily caused problems. The team smartly used its size and athleticism to bully the Terriers down low as opposed to beating them through shooting. Their shots weren’t falling from the field at a clip they would have liked, so they employed their other weapons to pick up the slack. Ralph Sampson III, who people are hoping will start using his highly-touted size advantage, scored 20 points, for instance. This will be something the team will rely on throughout the season when they know they won’t be able to out-shoot a team. Beating Wofford is a good sign – they are a quality opponent who has NCAA Tournament aspirations and one that might pick up a couple wins this season against big schools.

Siena Saints Blog: We found out Friday that the Gophers will be without Devoe Joseph indefinitely, how much of an impact is the loss of Joseph?

Steve Bailey: This one really hurts. Devoe Joseph was supposed to be one of our offensive leaders and focal point on the offense. He is one of the only guys on the team that is capable of creating his own shot off the dribble and was expected to see significant time on the floor. It’s still unclear why he is suspended, but the Gophers will have to figure out quickly what they are going to do without him, since he’ll be gone for at least a good chunk of the non-conference season, and possibly beyond.

However, it was nice to see the team do well against Wofford without him. I was worried their offense wasn’t going to flow and didn’t really know who would fill in for him. The team doesn’t have an established backup point guard, so it was expected that one of the freshmen would fill in. Chip Armelin did an admirable job in the fill in, scoring 11 points without missing a shot, so we’ll see if he continues to see increased action. It’s hard to get a good read on how the team will do without Joseph, since we haven’t faced a dominating opponent. It will continue to become clearer the further down the schedule we go.

Siena Saints Blog: What match ups are you looking forward to Monday night?

Steve Bailey: I’m excited to see Siena up close. Our non-conference schedule last year was pretty weak so it’s nice to get some quality opponents coming to town. I’m interested to see how Buanaguro does in his first game against a big school as head coach. How he gets the team prepared to go into one of the hardest places to play in the country will be a big factor in how the Saints perform. “The Barn” is a loud, intimidating place, so I’m interested to see how Siena reacts.

I’m also interested to see how Ryan Rossiter performs. Minnesota is proud of its twin towers in Sampson and Colton Iverson, so the going will not be easy down low. He’s really going to have to work hard if he wants to score. Clarence Jackson, though, will be the X-factor in the game. The Gophers have already shown difficulty guarding the perimeter and giving up open shots. If Jackson is hitting his deep shots then Minnesota might be in trouble.

Siena Saints Blog: What do you expect will happen Monday night?

Steve Bailey: In the end, I do think the Gophers will win. They are almost unbeatable at home and have a huge amount of talent this season on both sides of the ball. The Saints will have to hit the shots Minnesota gives them because they likely won’t be able to get much done down low. If Siena hangs around long enough, though, then all bets are off. I expect a close, fast-paced game, but Minnesota’s suffocating defense will be too much to handle.

November 13, vs. Vermont at 7:00pm
November 23, vs. Butler at 7:00pm
December 4, vs. UAlbany at 7:00pm
December 10, vs. Fairfield at 7:00pm
December 13, vs. Florida Atlantic at 7:30pm
December 22, vs. Georgia Tech at 7:00pm
January 17, vs. Canisius at 7:00pm
January 30, vs. Niagara at 7:00pm
February 16, vs. Saint Peter’s at 7:00pm
February 27, vs. Marist at 7:00pm

Add those to the national/regional tv games

November 14, at Minnesota at 9:00pm (ESPNU)
January 21, at St. Peter’s at 9:00pm (ESPNU)
January 24, vs. Rider at 7:00pm (MSG)
February 11, at Iona at 7:00pm (ESPNU)
February 25, at Fairfield at 7:00pm (TBD)

10 out of 15 of Siena’s home games will be on TV and 15 of Siena’s 28 games on TV.

Our Cut: The 2010 Siena Saints

2009: Siena – Oh. State

2009: One Shining Moment

2008: Siena – Vandy

Gus Johnson makes an inhumane sound

Also find your chat here!

The Dagger – Live Blog (All Day)

Hammer & Rails Game Open Thread

Basketball Prospectus Day 2 Chat
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

This will be the first meeting between the two schools, and this will be the first time the Saints travel to the west coast since their 2008 BracketBuster 93-70 win at Boise State. The tip is at 2:30 EST, broadcast on CBS and CBS HD.

The Saints will bring their high octane offense against their second straight Big Ten NCAA tournament opponent.  Last year the Saints needed double-overtime to overcome the #8 Ohio State Buckeyes in the NCAA Tournament, before losing to #1 Louisville after holding the lead with five minutes left to play.

The Boilermakers will be without Junior All-Big Ten Forward Robbie Hummel, who tore his ACL late in the year and will miss the rest of the season.  Hummel was averaging 17 points and 7 rebounds a game.  Since Hummel’s exit, the Boilermakers have struggled, going 3-2 and culminating in a 27-point loss to Minnesota in the Big Ten tournament. Purdue scored 11 points going into halftime, their lowest total since 1950 and the lowest ever in a Big Ten tournament game.

Purdue was ranked in the top 5 for most of the year, and were on their way to a possible #1 seed in the tournament before the loss of Hummel.  They went undefeated in non-conference play with wins over Tennessee, Wake Forest, Alabama, and West Virginia and tied for first in the Big Ten during the regular season with Ohio State.  While the loss of Hummel is significant, this is still a Big Ten team with major conference athletes and experience.

Hummel’s exit won’t mean that they will be without effective scorers.  6’10 Junior C JaJuan Johnson averages 15 points a game while grabbing 7 rebounds per contest, and 6’4 Junior G E’Twaun Moore averages 17 points a game.  It will come down to these two players finding a way to get to their averages, and having others step up, to keep up with the Saints in the scoring column.

While Purdue should still be able to get their points against the Saints, Coach McCaffery has been preaching to his players all week that this Purdue team is most likely the best defensive team they will face all year, if not the best overall team they have met.  The Boilermakers hold their opponents to an average of 60 points per game.  Purdue will play a traditional, slow-it-down/ugly-it-up Big 10 style game, even though they average over 70 points a game.  The biggest difference in both teams, and the one area that may be the deciding factor on Friday, is rebounding margin.

Purdue averages less rebounds per game than their opponents (33), while Siena averages more than 4 boards per game against theirs (38).  It’s going to be on Siena to hold the rebounding edge, and then to get out on the break and create quick scoring opportunities.  If Siena can produce off those breaks, it will allow them to set up their 1-2-2 press, which has been effective across the board at getting teams sideways all year.

Siena will be paced by Ronald Moore at the point, who leads the nation in assists.  The Siena frontcourt is led by MAAC conference player of the year, 6’5 F Alex Franklin who averages 16 points and 8 rebounds per game.  He is joined by Junior C, 6’9 235lb. Ryan Rossiter, who averages 14 points per game and 11 rebounds per game, getting double-doubles in 21 games this year.  While JaJuan Johnson may be the superior athlete, Rossiter has developed in to a player that many experts have said could play in the Big East.  Rossiter’s craftiness and basketball IQ, paired with the athleticism of Franklin in the frontcourt, will go a long way in determining the outcome of the game.  The Saints’ wingman is 6’6 Edwin Ubiles, who is averaging 15 ppg.  Ubiles has battled injury all year, but finished with more than 20 points in the last two regular season contests and a clutch performance in the conference tournament finals scoring 27 against Fairfield.

In last year’s NCAA tournament, Rossiter went for 16 and 15 against Ohio St. while Edwin scored 20, and Edwin led the Saints against the Cardinals with 24 points and 8 rebounds in the losing effort.

One mitigating factor for the Saints on Friday is the possible loss of two guard Clarence Jackson who was averaging 14 points per game, but rolled his ankle in practice over the weekend.  Clarence left Loudonville without crutches, and did practice today, but McCaffery still said that his playing time will be determined on whether or not he can be as explosive defensively and scoring wise as he is capable of being, and not just game ready.  He is the Saints main three point threat, so others like Ubiles, reserve guard Kyle Griffin, and probably starter in Jackson’s place Sophomore Kyle Downey will need to step up.

Neither team is much of a threat from three, though, as they both average 5 or less made per game at a clip of 32% made per team.  Spectators can expect to see a clean, hotly contested game as neither team to turns it over much, each averaging less than 12 turnovers per contest, and fouls should be kept to a minimum – Purdue fouls an average of 19 times a game, but Siena leads the nations in fouls committed with 14 per game.  If outside shooting is not the deciding factor the better rebounding team will be able to impart it’s pace on the other, and in NCAA tournament games, the team that can dictate the pace is the team that usually finds the way to win.

When Rider faced Siena this earlier this season, the Saints’ dominant performance began Siena’s record 15 game winning streak. Siena has clinched the #1 seed in the MAAC Tournament, while Rider is still in the hunt with Niagara and St. Peter’s for the #4 seed.

Friday night will feature the two leading candidates for MAAC Player of the Year on each side of the court. After a slow start to the season, the preseason MAAC POY, Ryan Thompson, has been on fire of late. Over the last 8 games, Thompson is averaging 23.8 PPG and 3.8 APG, yielding 5 Rider wins and 2 close overtime losses, one to their Bracket Buster opponent, Hofstra. Alex Franklin has scored 20+ points in six out of his last ten games, and is averaging 16 PPG – 7.7 RPG – 1.5 APG on the year. Contrast that with Thompson’s season numbers; 17.1 PPG – 5.1 RPG – 2.7 APG, and this game could be the final judgement call for MAAC POY.

The Saints physically dominated their previous meeting, with Franklin and Rossiter both posting double-doubles. The Broncs didn’t help their cause, shooting 0-15 from beyond the arc and ultimately losing by more than 20. Siena held Ryan Thompson assist-less, and to just 4 total points that night. In what could be Ryan’s last game against the Saints, it would be a tall order to expect that same result. With all of Siena’s losses coming on the road this year, look for this game to be much more competitive.