Steve Amedio: I definitely think Fairfield deserves the preseason No. 1 designation, even without Anthony Johnson. Johnson, as good as he was, wasn’t the best player on last year’s team. Derek Needham was, and he’s still there.

Needham had one of the best freshman seasons in league history. He’s only one of four conference freshmen ever to average at least 15 points per game. The others are Lionel Simmons, Keydren Clark and Jerry Johnson. Pretty good company. Since I started covering the MAAC in 1989, Needham is clearly one of the top seven or eight “elite” guards to ever play in this league. Needham does a lot more than just score.

Siena Saints Blog: How much momentum does Fairfield get from playing in the postseason (CIT) and won at George Mason in the biggest comeback in postseason history (coming back from down 27 in the 2nd half to win 101-96)?

Steve Amedio: There’s usually not too much carryover from one season to the next, particularly for a team with so many changes as Fairfield. Neither Nero, Edney nor Hawkins played much last year (Hawkins played the first half of the season; and, Nero and Edney didn’t play at all). Those are three of the first six or seven guys they will rely upon this year. I’m sure the MAAC tournament and the CIT helps a little for Needham, Nickerson, Olander: players who are still learning and gaining experience. But, it’s an entirely different team this season. Guys will have new roles, chemistry needs to be established, etc.

The thing about the big comeback against George Mason, according to Ed Cooley, is motivation. “When we’re behind in games, I can bring that up and tell the guys they know how to come back from a deficit,” Cooley said.

Siena Saints Blog: Fairfield and Siena face off pretty early this year in Albany for a key matchup (Dec 10th) – how crucial will this game be for both teams and who has the advantage?

Steve Amedio: Home court is big in the MAAC, and Siena has a lengthy home-court winning streak. So, I guess my initial reaction is that Siena has the edge.

Anyone who was at last year’s MAAC tournament championship game between these two teams witnessed how big an edge Siena’s home court can be when there are 10,000 loud fans in the building. The noise level there in the second half definitely affected Fairfield’s play … I think the Stags got rattled a little in the second half.

Again, though … different players this year, different roles, different chemistry. I’m not sure much of what happened last year will carry over.

My perception is that the league will be very balanced, particularly the top four and, maybe, top five or six teams. There won’t be any 17-1 team this season like Siena was last year. So, whichever team loses this meeting will have plenty of time left to make up that outcome. My guess is that the first place team finishes with a minimum of four or five losses this season.

Steve Amedio has covered the MAAC for over 20 years and is currently churning out previews on every MAAC team. Amedio is in his third year producing the Keepin’ Track of the MAAC blog.

Siena Saints Blog: Who do you think was the biggest All-MAAC Team snub?

Steve Amedio: This one is easy: Frank Turner, Canisius, who got picked for the third team. The guy has been underrated his entire career. He currently ranks 4th in scoring, 5th in Field Goal percentage, 2nd in assists, 1st in steals and 15th in REBOUNDING and he’s only 5-foot-10! Without him, Cansius wins a lot fewer games. Second team? OK, maybe. But, third team? That’s a travesty. The knock on him, early in his career, was that you could turn him over. Not any more … he’s third in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Not to knock other players, but he’s had a far better season than Iona’s Scott Machado, who plays the same position and was voted to the second team. I have no problem with Machado being on the second team. He had a nice season. But, Turner had a better season. And, I think he’s had a better season than Ryan Thompson, who is on the first team. Thompson had a terrific six game stretch in February, but I don’t think you should be on first team for six games. If he had 25 good games this year like everyone expected, Rider would have finished third, as predicted, and not have a 16-15 overall record.

I also think Ubiles should have been first team, but not so overwhelmingly so like Turner. On the women’s side, I think Brittane Russell of Canisius also should have made first team, rather than second team. She is one of five players nationally in the last 20 years to record career totals of 1,200 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists and 300 steals. She is 15th nationally in steals this season. She is 10th in scoring in the MAAC this season, 1st in steals, 4th in assists. She is just a disruptive defensive presence on the court and should clearly be the Defensive Player of the Year. That should count for something, too.

Siena Saints Blog: Who is your dark horse team for the MAAC Basketball Championships?

Steve Amedio: Let me go on record as saying that Siena will win the tournament, and with ease. The only team this dominant relative to everyone else I’ve ever seen was the La Salle teams of Lionel Simmons (1986-97 through 1989-90). This Siena team isn’t that good, but the distance between it and everyone else is as great as I’ve ever seen. Heck, the conference’s second-best team, Fairfield, played the entire season without two key starters and half the season without a third key starter. If there is a team that will cause some trouble, my pick is Saint Peter’s. The Peacocks have two good post players, two good perimeter players and a little bit of depth. That said, they’ll have to play Siena in the semifinals, so their season ends there.

Siena Saints Blog: Who do you think the coaches will give Player of the Year award to?

Steve Amedio: My guess is that Alex Franklin of Siena will be the Player of the Year. He is the league’s most-unstoppable inside force, and has been consistent from start to finish. If Ryan Rossiter got the award, though, I’d have no complaint. But Franklin is a senior and Rossiter is a junior. My only “pulse” about how coaches vote is that they almost always favor the senior when it comes time to vote for the top award.

Siena Saints Blog: Who should the Saints be scared of more: Rider or St. Peter’s?

Steve Amedio: I think that one’s pretty clear. Siena has beaten Rider by 22 points in Albany and by 26 at Rider. Rider doesn’t seem to match up very well with Siena. Their team chemistry just doesn’t seem to be there this season, and Siena plays hard and well on the defensive end and has kept Ryan Thompson in check so far. I actually thought Saint Peter’s had a shot at Siena when they played in Jersey City, N.J. Siena was without Edwin Ubiles, but still won by eight with a great defensive effort. My thought, though, is that Saint Peter’s matches up a little better with Siena. Still, the matchup definitely favors Siena by a lot should they play Saturday.

Siena Saints Blog: It’s simple, sometimes, to overlook the Women’s side of the MAAC but are we seeing the best MAAC player ever finish this week in Marist’s Rachel Fitz?

Steve Amedio: Rachele Fitz is certainly among the best ever in the MAAC, but not in the Lionel Simmons’ class as far as being head and shoulders above everyone else on the men’s side. Fitz is like Chinese water torture, she hurts you little by little. Her game is a lot more subtle than most real stars, but she does everything well. Anyway, she’s in the discussion along with Loyola’s Patty Stoffey and, maybe, Siena’s Melanie Halker.

Siena Saints Blog: We got your prediction on the Men’s side, how do you see the women’s tournament ending up? Will Marist’s reign on the conference end?

Steve Amedio: Will Marist win the tournament? Yes but they appear more vulnerable than in the past. They don’t have a presence yet, and only get consistent scoring from three players. But that’s enough for a team that lost just three times. Throw out Sunday’s loss at Manhattan, that was a fluke. Iona, though, forced Marist to go overtime on Friday in a game that Marist needed to win to clinch the regular-season title. The Gaels are very good, clearly the second-best team in the league and the one team at least capable of pulling off an upset. That said, Marist is extremely well coached, can play in a variety of ways and is the most-intelligent team on the court in the league. They rarely make mistakes.

• Big Game: Siena Could Take Control and Big Game: Fairfield Looks to Upset Siena
  

  Friend of the site, MAAC Official Blogger Steve Amedio points out that the Saints are first in the MAAC in points per game, scoring margin, field-goal percentage, rebounding offense, rebounding margin, assists per game and steals. Oh and Siena’s last in the MAAC in three point field goals per game. He has quotes featured in our media luncheon video and previews the Fairfield side of the story as well.

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• Thoughts on Fairfield
  

  Times Union’s Pete Iorizzo delivers a six-pack (must be 21 or older) of thoughts on the Fairfield Stags. To summarize the six-pack: Cooley did a great job last year without a lot of players, the Stags have played a very weak schedule, Derek Needham is the Rookie of the Year, Anthony Johnson has come back from life-threatening injuries to being a top scorer, the Stags are good offensively and have a chance for first place with a win.

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.

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.

The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s official blogger, Steve Amedio combines his years of experience covering the MAAC with insightful opinions on his site: Keepin’ Track of the MAAC. Recently he outlined all ten teams and how they’ve fared so far, finishing with Marist. In our first part, we get his evaluations on the Saints so far this season. We’ll have more conversation on the MAAC with Steve Amedio as Siena breaks after visiting Northern Iowa…

Ryan/Siena Saints Blog: I think Siena has been very good at beating the teams they’re supposed to beat: going undefeated at home so far but dropping games to the likes of Temple, St. John’s and Georgia Tech. I think Saturday’s game at Northern Iowa is a real test and if Siena can pull off the win, it would be the statement win of this third of the season (Siena will be off 12 days after that game) What’s your evaluation of Siena so far?

Steve Amedio/Keepin’ Track of the MAAC: Pretty much as expected. The three losses have come against very good teams, and all on the road. Siena clearly wore down against both Temple and St. John’s late in the games. I didn’t think they’d beat Georgia Tech. I keep in contact with Paul Hewitt, and I knew they were going to be real good this season. They’ve got two or three future NBA players on that roster.

Siena needs to find some depth so it can be fresh at the end of close games.

Kyle Downey had back problems over the summer and didn’t work out at all until September. He wasn’t 100 percent when the season started. Owen Wignot didn’t give them much in the first few games, although he’s started to play better. Kyle Griffin, the transfer 6-3 guard from La Salle, becomes eligible for the Dec. 23 game, and he should help. I’ve been told he’s been looking great in practices, a real coach on the floor type with great range who can also play some time at the point. Davis Martens, who is from Germany, is eligible as of Dec. 31. He’s a 6-9 forward with good “skills.” He can shoot.

Otherwise, Siena has looked terrific of late. Its win over UAlbany was the best it has played all year, particularly on the defensive end. It had a nice win at Iona, which is a pretty solid team. Moore makes the team go. I’ve  covered the team since 1985. He is the best “pure” point guard I have seen here. He’s not as good a player as, say, Marc Brown or Doremus Bennerman, both of which played the same position. But, as far as running a

team [and] being a distributor, Moore is the best I’ve seen. The fact that he leads the country in assists attests to that.

As for Northern Iowa, I guess you could call it the chance at a “statement” win. Northern Iowa is very good, 6-1 so far and has beaten Boston College, Iowa and Iowa State, three quality victories.

That said, Siena hammered Northern Iowa here last year. Northern Iowa plays a very deliberate style. If Siena can force the tempo, like it did last year, it has a decent chance of winning. Last year, Northern Iowa’s “bigs” were pretty much non factors; they couldn’t contend with the quickness of Ryan Rossiter [and] Alex Franklin.

Still, they’ve pretty much got everyone back from last year so they’re better. That’s a long trip for a single game and it’s a tough place to play. It would be a very nice win if Siena can get it, but it won’t be anywhere as easy to do that as it was last year.