Siena Basketball

For the third straight year, Siena is the favorite to earn the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Kenny Hasbrouck is no longer a Saint, but coach Fran McCaffery has primed junior shooting guard Clarence Jackson to fill the void. Other than Hasbrouck and the always hustling Josh Duell, Coach Caff returns every essential piece of Siena's journey to the second round of the Big Dance last season.

Ronald Moore, Alex Franklin, and Edwin Ubiles, all of whom are candidates for the MAAC's preseason First Team, are poised to lead this experienced team back to the postseason.

After averaging a career-high 8.7 points and 6.4 assists per game, Moore is McCaffery's floor general. This senior's late-game heroics in Siena's first-round match against Ohio State brought on the national spotlight and multitudes of Facebook friendship requests. Moore, a quick guard who has improved every year under Coach Caff, should have a fantastic senior campaign.

Although he is undersized for his position, Franklin can muscle his way to the hole. If he is able to stay out of foul trouble this season, he can be a lethal offensive weapon for the Saints.

Ubiles is probably Siena's best returning player. His 2008-09 production took a step down from its 2007-08 status, but Ubiles still led the team with 15 points per game. As a senior, Ubiles will need to keep his head in the game 24/7, something he's struggled with during his career.

Devoted and motivated, junior Ryan Rossiter has grown tremendously as a player. The Saints' coaching staff would be thrilled if their starting center has elevated his game half as much this offseason as he did last year, but they'd be happy with the Rossiter of 2008-09, who averaged 10 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game.

Because of his dedication, Rossiter is a role player; however, he has the skills to be a game-changer as well. Expect this big man to make huge contributions as the Saints rise to the top of the MAAC.

Moore, Franklin, Ubiles, Rossiter, and Jackson will likely be Coach Caff's starting five, but the coach will have plenty of reliable options to choose from off the bench.

Freshman O.D. Anosike and sophomores Kyle Downey and Owen Wignot will be the first to check in at the scorer's table.

A long, athletic power forward, Anosike is the MAAC's highest-rated incoming freshman. He runs the floor well, which will enable him to fit in with Siena's fast tempo of play, and he should improve the Saints' rebounding statistics. As of now, his offensive game doesn't consist of much more than layups and foul shots, but you can bet that will change after a year or two under the Siena coaching staff.

Downey and Wignot each accomplish what is asked of them, and they do it pretty well. However, neither will erupt for a large point total on a given night.

If McCaffery uses the same nine-man system that he applied in 2008-09,  junior Steven Priestley and freshman Jonathan Breeden will be the likely candidates for the final spot in the rotation.

Coach Caff scheduled up last season, enabling his team to gain confidence by competing with some of the nation's best programs. Although the Saints couldn't upend any of the top opponents they faced during the regular season, premier schools are now afraid of scheduling Siena because of what the Saints have accomplished in each of the past two postseasons.

Georgia Tech, the only willing program to slot Siena, is by far the best opponent on the Saints' schedule. To Coach Caff's disliking, a win against the Yellow Jackets will be the only one considered an upset on Siena's schedule. Temple and Saint Joseph's, who were once considered threats, will be undergoing rebuilding years and should, on paper, each receive a beating from Siena.

Siena cruised by Northern Iowa in last season's ESPNU BracketBuster, but the return game won't be as easy because it will be played in Cedar Falls.

Other than Georgia Tech and Northern Iowa, Siena's opponents shouldn't stand much of a chance, unless they catch the Saints on an off night.

When conference play rolls around, Siena will likely roll over its opponents at the Times Union Center. However, road games against Niagara, Rider, Manhattan, Iona, and other conference foes will not be translated into wins without a persistent Siena effort.

Siena is still the preseason No. 1 in the MAAC, but the aforementioned Niagara, Rider, and Manhattan all have the teams and experience to pose a threat to the title.

With the plethora of vacant coaching jobs this offseason, Siena fans nervously searched every possible news source to find out where their beloved coach would end up for the 2009-2010 season.

Capital 9 News relieved Saints Nation of its anxious anticipation, announcing Fran McCaffery and Siena had agreed on a contract extension as of Tuesday evening. The specifics of the deal have not been released, but Siena will host a press conference on Wednesday to officially welcome McCaffery back to the small college in Loudonville, NY.

Having McCaffery walk the sidelines in front of the Siena bench is vital to the future success of the Saints' basketball program.

Ordinarily, a mid-major that wins tournament games in two consecutive seasons will suffer when its coach bolts for a lucrative deal from a big-time program. As the coach leaves, so, too, leave the players and recruits. More often than not, a mid-major that loses its coach needs to endure a stretch of rebuilding years.

With McCaffery as its coach, Siena will not need to rebuild like it did in the early years of McCaffery's reign. McCaffery has built a reputable program in upstate New York.

Inheriting a team that went 6-24 in 2004-2005, McCaffery knew hours of recruiting and a lot of hard work laid ahead of him.

Jack McClinton, the three-time All-ACC guard for Miami, was a freshman on the 6-24 team, and McCaffery was unable to persuade the talented guard to stay with the rebuilding program. With McClinton out of the picture and a few decent returning players, McCaffery more or less needed to start from scratch.

The new head coach hit the recruiting trail, signing Kenny Hasbrouck, who became a four-year letter-winner and was named the MAAC Player of the Year in 2008-09.

After one season, the Saints were once again a winning team, with a 15-13 overall record.

By 2006-2007, McCaffery coached Siena to 20 wins and earned the Saints a spot in the MAAC Championship.

The year after that, they upset fourth-seeded Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State was their tournament victim in 2008-2009.

McCaffery brought in talented recruits every season, building his team to be strong for many years. Edwin Ubiles, Alex Franklin, and the clutch Ronald Moore will all be back in Loudonville for their senior year.

Ryan Rossiter is the most fundamentally sound player in the MAAC, and Bill Raftery loves him for that. The Staten Island native will be a junior next season. Also in Rossiter's class is the sharp-shooting Clarence Jackson, who will assume the void left by Hasbrouck at shooting guard.

This year's freshmen didn't receive too much playing time, but Kyle Downey and Owen Wignot stepped up when they were needed.

Three good recruits are already committed to play for McCaffery next season.

It's not just McCaffery's knack for signing talented basketball players that makes him a valuable coach. He also knows how to win—he nearly out-coached Rick Pitino in the second round of this year's tournament.

Obtaining all this information really makes you think the coach, who also took Lehigh and UNC-Greensboro to the NCAA Tournament, is building a mid-major powerhouse at Siena.

This team went 13-5 in MAAC play in 2007-2008 before trampling over the bulk of their competition this season en route to a 16-2 league record.

Hasbrouck and the injury-plagued Josh Duell are the only notable graduates, so it is easy to conceive that the Saints will once again be the juggernaut of the MAAC.

As long as McCaffery stays in Loudonville, talented recruits will sign on to the program and the Saints will win lots and lots of games. It's looking like Siena will be a threat for years to come.

So my last selection in our series started a wee bit of controversy.

Now with the recent news that Virginia Commonwealth's Anthony Grant was taking the reigns of the Crimson Tide basketball team in Tuscaloosa we have one candidate officially off the board.

With Oklahoma's Elite Eight appearance, Sooner coach Jeff Capel may quickly become out of reach as well.

With no official overtures towards Tubby Smith the Virginia fan base is quickly growing worried.

Can you blame them?

Virginia unceremoniously ousted Dave Leitao just two weeks ago and people logically thought that athletic director Craig Littlepage was prepared to make a marquee hiring.

Well now the question must be asked—what if he can't?

Does Littlepage have a Plan B if the big names he has courted turn him down?

Well no fear Mr. Littlepage, I have you covered.  Two names have emerged as darkhorse candidates and, unlike the Xavier debate, these men would love the opportunity to come to Virginia and restore the program.

Will Virginia love them?

Well let's start with a man that was a few minutes from a Sweet Sixteen appearance just one week ago—Siena coach Fran McCaffery.

WHY MCCAFFERY WILL COME TO UVA

Even if McCaffery may not have the name recognition as some of the hot commodities in the coaching carousel, he certainly has some attractive qualities.

First, McCaffery knows the ACC area well.  McCaffery spent six years as head coach of UNC-Greensboro. 

While there he was able to establish contacts and pipelines that could only be improved with a job in the nation's most prestigious conference and a 131-million dollar arena to boot.

McCaffery is currently the coach at Siena, having led the team to two straight MAAC titles and three straight seasons of 20+ wins.

He helped orchestrate the fifth best turnaround in the history of college basketball, showing an ability to turn around a program quickly.

With Virginia facing its lowest win total in almost 40 years, it seems like a good quality to have.

McCaffery has also notched some impressive victories in these past two seasons, beginning with a win over the 20th ranked Stanford Cardinal last year.

The Lopez brothers were no match for the upstart Saints and the victory gave Siena its first win over a ranked opponent since 1989.

This year Siena impressed many by taking down Ohio State in a double overtime thriller in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

The fact that the game was in the Buckeye state only makes the gutsy effort even more impressive.

Siena backed that game up with a comeback against Louisville that actually gave them a 63-59 lead before ultimately falling 79-72. 

The Saints may have ultimately lost but they proved to everyone just how far they have come under McCaffery.

Now, at just 49 years of age, McCaffery seems to be one of the rising stars in coaching.

This has certainly been noticed by Virginia's athletic director.  Before becoming the AD for the Cavaliers, Littlepage had a small stint as head coach of the Penn Quakers.

During that time, one of his assistants was none other than Fran McCaffery.

Littlepage gave McCaffery his first ever coaching position—will he give him his first job at a power conference?

Most importantly to Littlepage, McCaffery runs his program the right way.

Besides just winning, McCaffery has done a tremendous job bringing in good players with good character.  He has maintained a 100% graduation rate, something that matters a great deal to the University of Virginia which demands "uncompromised excellence". 

While the term "student athlete" is a punchline at some schools, Virginia has constantly held high academic standards. 

Those stringent requirements, which are usually far above the NCAA minimum requirements, have frustrated Virginia fans at times. 

However, McCaffery is used to balancing high academics with high success and although he may be a novice to ACC basketball he is a pro when it comes to the vision of Virginia basketball hopes to achieve.

Virginia is still searching for a face to lead them into a new era in the John Paul Jones Arena and even if McCaffery is not the instant hit people want, he is a solid long-term fix.

McCaffery is a wonderful ambassador for basketball.  His personality and demeanor help make players comfortable but also make them want to play hard on each and every play.

Just looking at Siena, you see a scrappy team that overachieves and plays to the whistle with strong defense and smart plays.

Anyone who has watched Virginia the past two years must ask—who could ask for anything more?

Besides, how many other coaches have 13 years of head coaching experience and are still under 50 years of age?

McCaffery may not be the sexy pick, but he may be the right one. 

WHY MCCAFFERY WILL NOT GO TO UVA:

Remember the old saying, "Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me"?

If Fran McCaffery is named the head coach of Virginia basketball, we will all be fools and Craig Littlepage will be out of a job.

Now I mean nothing against McCaffery, I have explained all his accomplishments and he certainly could be a great coach for Virginia.

This hire though means more than just finding a coach.

It means finding a symbol for Virginia basketball.

Virginia fans were promised a special hire in 2005 and we were tempted with rumors of Tubby Smith for weeks.

Instead, we were rewarded with Dave Leitao, a long-time assistant at the University of Connecticut when current Virginia president John Casteen was president of the Huskies.

Leitao certainly had some good credentials but he was ultimately unproven.  His teams at Depaul had underachieved despite putting up good records. 

Some had to wonder if Virginia's coaching search had gone beyond Casteen's Rolodex.

He was a risk and although their was some success their was also heartbreak.

Well if Littlepage hired McCaffery, it would simply appear that Virginia only looked at a former colleague and decided to take another risk.

Isn't crazy defined as trying the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results?

Virginia fans were promised a marquee name, Littlepage is supposed to repent for his former hiring sins.

McCaffery could be successful at Virginia, but he may never be given the chance if the Cavaliers cannot get over the dreams of Tubby Smith dancing in their heads.

This hire is supposed to rejuvenate a program, it is supposed to open minds and checkbooks to thinking that Virginia can achieve its past glory.

This search is more than about wins and losses.  Many coaches can win but a select few can become program-defining leaders.

McCaffery potentially could do that, but not unless people think that he can.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I think there is quite a bit to like about Fran McCaffery.

He is young but experienced.

He is firm but courteous.

His players are winners on and off the court.

Most Virginia fans agree that it's easy to like him...just not as much as Tubby Smith or Jeff Capel.

If McCaffery were hired to be the Virginia basketball coach people would be happy for him.  It would be a great opportunity for him and a chance for Virginia to atone for an 11th place finish in the ACC last year.

There are no sure things in life.  Even a Hall of Famer is not guaranteed success everywhere.  It needs to be the right combination of circumstances.

Unfortunately for Craig Littlepage, he has put himself in the tough situation where he needs a sure thing.

He needs an instant success or everyone will be pointing the finger squarely at him.

McCaffery won't get Virginia on ESPN or get the big-time donors to pony up in troubled economic times.  At least, not until he wins.

That kind of pressure could break even the best of coaches and Littlepage does not want to do that to his friend.  That's why I think he won't.

On the other hand, if Virginia can't find get their dream date (or dates) to the prom, McCaffery might want to keep his tuxedo on just in case.

With 3.9 second to go in the second overtime, Siena's Ronald Moore jumped into the spotlight.

From the same spot he hit a three at the end of the first overtime, Moore hit another one, but this time a game-winner to lead the Saints to a 74-72 victory over the Buckeyes.

Moore's clutch shots pushes Siena to a 27-7 mark on the season and the right to play number one overall Louisville on Sunday.

Evan Turner of Ohio State had one more shot to force a third overtime but missed as the clock expired.

Adding to the fortuitousness of Moore's shots, Ohio State coach had told his guys to foul him before he shot the ball in the first overtime. However, they failed to, and he hit the three to cause a second overtime.

On the game winner, he was supposed to pass the ball, but didn't since all his teammates were covered.

The small New York college has a history of surprising wins in the NCAA Tournament, having beaten Vanderbilt last year.

When Turner's shot rimmed out, Siena coach Fran McCaffrey ran up to his point guard and carried him off the court as Siena fans were chanting his name. Edwin Eublies had 20 points to lead the Saints, while Moore had 11 and Kenny Hasbrouck had 12 points and nine rebounds.

Ohio State had a 72-71 lead after Turner, who led the Buckeyes with 25 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, hit a driving layup with 17.9 seconds to go.

But Moore went up the right wing and calmly hit a three to put the Saints up 74-72.

The Buckeyes, though, let this game slip out of their hands as they had a 41-30 lead with 14:31 to go in the second half.

However, the Saints went on a 9-0 run putting the game at 41-39.

Date: Sunday, Mar. 22
Time: TBA PM EST
Site: University of Dayton Arena (13,266) in Dayton, OH
Series History: UofL trails 0-1 all-time (0-1 in Loudonville)
Last Meeting: UofL 71, Siena 78 (Dec. 10, 1953 in Loudonville, NY)
National Rankings: UL No. 1 AP, ESPN/USA Today, (Mar. 16)

Louisville and Morehead State played each other for the second time this season on Friday, and pretty much played the exact same game. Morehead hung with the Cards for the entire first half, trailing by just two at the break, 35-33.

The second half was all Louisville, and number one seeds moved to 100-0 all-time against 16-seeds, as the Cardinals dominated the Eagles 39-21 in the half for the final 74-54 margin.

Samardo Samuels led Louisville (29-5) with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go with his seven boards. Samuels benefited from getting up the court quickly and into position before the Eagles were even set on defense.

Earl Clark also reached double digits, contributing 12 points to go with five boards and five assists.

Terrence Williams scored 13 points in tonight’s game to reach 1,521 for his career. The senior forward moved past former Cardinal, Nate Johnson (1996-2000), for 18th place on the all-time U of L scoring list.

Williams is one assist short (527) of second place on the all-time Louisville list. He also led the Cardinals with nine rebounds in the win, which gives him 938 for his career and places him seventh in school history.

Kenneth Faried, the OVC Defensive Player of the Year, had 14 points and 11 boards. Morehead’s lone senior Leon Buchanan led the Eagles with 17 points, while Maze Stallworth chipped in 14 points.

In the other Midwest First Round game in Dayton, the Siena Saints went toe-to-toe with the Buckeyes of Ohio State for 50 minutes before Ronald Moore hit his second three of the overtime periods (and second of the game) with 3.9 seconds to play.

Evan Turner then rushed the ball up the court following a timeout, but his attempt to tie it was off to the right and Siena held on for the 74-72 double overtime victory.

The Siena Saints pulled the first-round upset for the second consecutive year, taking out Vanderbilt last year and now the Buckeyes in 2009.

Siena (27-7) went 16-2 in MAAC play and played an out of conference schedule that included six NCAA tournament teams. The Saints defeated Cornell and Northern Iowa, and fell to Tennessee, Oklahoma State, at Pittsburgh and at Kansas.

Although the Saints lost those matchups, they grew from the experience of playing bigger, stronger players from bigger, stronger conferences.

“We didn’t have one game this year that we could sort of mail it in,” said coach Fran McCaffery. “I think that helped our focus and it made us a tough road team.

"This year, with the so-called target on our backs every night, they were able to focus and do the things necessary to win, especially at the end of the game. Obviously that’s what you need in this environment.”

Siena is one of the most balanced teams in the field. Four players average double figures with senior guard Kenny Hasbrouck, the MAAC player of the year, leading the way at 14.8 points.

6'6″Junior Edwin Ubiles is right behind Kenny putting in 14.6 points per contest. Junior forward Alex Franklin adds 13.6 points and 7.3 rebounds, while sophomore Ryan Rossiter (the tallest Saint at 6'9") averages 10.0 points a game and leads Siena with 7.8 boards.

Ronald Moore, the First Round hero, is the shortest player on the squad by three inches. Listed at a generous 5'11", Moore leads the Saints in assists—dishing out 6.3 per game.

And apparently he has ice water for blood, as he nailed a three with time expiring in the first overtime to send the game into the second OT, and then calmly drained the aforementioned three to give Siena the win.

McCaffery’s bench isn’t terribly deep and against Louisville he’ll need some of his reserves to come up big.

Bobby E’s Gamebreaker: FATIGUE!!!

Coming off a double overtime thriller that ended early Saturday morning, Siena is going to need to dig deep to find the stamina that will enable them to keep up with the Cardinals.

Louisville’s relentess defensive pressure wears teams down as evidenced by their last three games in which they either trailed at the half (final two BIG EAST tournament games) or led by just two (Morehead State), but went on to win big as their opponents succumbed to the pressure and folded in the second half.

If Siena comes out weak in the knees, and Louisville jumps on them from the start, the start will be the finish for the Saints and this one will be over quickly.

As Jameson Fleming wrote, a handful of mid-major stars have seen their tournament hopes vanish this weekend. While Siena doesn't have a stud like Davidson's Stephen Curry, Tennessee-Martin's Lester Hudson, or VMI's Holmes twins, the Saints have a deep lineup of quality mid-major players who, with a win tonight, could live up to their season-long expectation: a berth in the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

If the Saints falter in tonight's MAAC Championship against Niagara, Fran McCaffery's squad will be added to the list of mid-major dissapointments.

Coached by Joe Mihalich, who is the most likable coach in the MAAC, Niagara has had its most successful season of the decade. At 26-7, 14-4 MAAC, the Purple Eagles split the season series with the Saints and finished a mere two games behind the regular-season champs.

The two finalists for the MAAC crown are so even that tonight's game is nearly impossible to predict.

The following is my breakdown of the two teams.

Offense

Both teams have six prominent offensive threats, but percentages make Siena the more effective offensive team. The Saints shoot 47.4 percent from the floor and 33.4 percent from deep compared to Niagara's 42 percent and 31 percent respectively.

Despite the disparity in percentages, both programs score about 77 points per game.

Note that Niagara's leading scorer, Tyrone Lewis, has converted on a meager 10 of 51 field goals in three games at the Times Union Center this season.

Edge: Siena

Defense

Again, both teams are equal in this aspect of the game, but Niagara is slightly better. Bilal Benn, who posted 20 points and 19 rebounds in last night's semifinal win against Rider, led the MAAC in rebounds per game. Benn, accompanied by teammate Tyrone Lewis, topped the MAAC in steals per game. As a team, the Purple Eagles held opponents to 40.4 percent field goal shooting compared to Siena's 44 percent.

Ryan Rossiter is the league's second-best shot blocker, and Kenny Hasbrouck is notorious for playing tight defense. However, the Purple Eagles are deeper on the defensive end.

Edge: Niagara

Bench

The two best sixth men in the league will come off of the bench tonight to give their team a boost of energy.

Siena's Clarence Jackson averaged 8.8 points in 15 minutes per game and was extolled as the MAAC Sixth Man of the Year. Niagara's Demetrius Williamson played 20 minutes per game and averaged 7.7 points.

Fran McCaffery has shown more trust in his bench than Joe Mihalich has—four Saints have averaged at least 10 minutes per game off the bench.

Jackson is the superior sixth man and the Saints have the deeper bench.

Edge: Siena

Coach

Fran McCaffery and Joe Mihalich are the MAAC's supreme coaches. They have each shown that they can recruit, enhance their players' skills, and coach a basketball game better than any other MAAC coach.

McCaffery's temper has the potential to get his team into trouble—he is not afraid of the referees or of being whistled for a tech.

Although the Purple Eagles have lost a few close games this year, Mihalich is the more reliable coach.

Edge: Niagara

Conclusion

Ever since MAAC play commenced, I have had Niagara slated as my pick to win the league. However, I forgot to factor in Siena's home-court advantage in the conference tournament. At home, the Saints are 16-0. Niagara didn't even resemble a threat to the Saints' unblemished home record when they travelled to Albany—the Saints easily handled the Purple Eagles, 82-65.

I think this one will be a tighter game, but the home-court advantage will have a large role in deciding the winner.

Final Score: Siena 86, Niagara 82

Six MAAC teams won their BracketBuster games this weekend. Most importantly, though, the top four MAAC programs all emerged victorious.

The weekend tipped off with Niagara (22-7, 12-4 MAAC) playing host to Illinois State (22-6, 11-5 MVC). The Purple Eagles' swarming defense was too overwhelming for Osiris Eldridge, Champ Oguchi, and the rest of the Redbirds, who shot a meager 37.9 percent from the floor and four-of-18 from deep.

The Purple Eagles forced 15 turnovers and recorded 15 steals, five above their season average.

Overall, it was a successful game for Joe Mihalich's team. They improved to 22-7 and defeated an Illinois State team that was hyped to be one of the top teams in the Missouri Valley Conference, which is notorious for being among the toughest mid-major conferences in the country.

Niagara lost by 17 at MAAC foe Siena, but the Purple Eagles have an opportunity to take revenge this Friday when Siena travels to the Gallagher Center, where Niagara is 9-2.

Niagara stands a chance of getting an NIT bid, especially after defeating Illinois State.

Manhattan (16-11, 9-7 MAAC) is alone in fourth place and used its defense and an explosive second half to beat William & Mary (9-18, 4-12 CAA), 54-39. The Jaspers forced 16 turnovers and held the Tribe to 27 percent shooting from the floor and three-of-23 from long range.

Patrick Bouli suffocated W&M's leading scorer, David Schneider, holding the guard to seven points on two-of-12 shooting from the floor.

Manhattan only scored 19 points in the first half, but their defense only allowed 20. Fortunately for the Jaspers, the defense remained intact in the second half, but the offense was fluid and affective. Manhattan shot 57 percent in the second half and was led by Darryl Crawford (17 points), Chris Smith (12 points and 13 rebounds), and Antoine Pearson (11 points).

Starting center Herve Banogle left the game early with an injury. The senior from Cameroon corrals 5.7 rebounds per game, so the Jaspers desperately need him back for Friday's game at Fairfield.

Manhattan is hot, having won five of its last six games, and looks to ride the momentum into the conference tournament in the beginning of March.

Siena (22-6, 15-1 MAAC) is rolling. To put it in Kenny Hasbrouck's words, the Saints are "clicking."

The Saints have been unbeatable at home all season long and Saturday's game against Northern Iowa (18-10, 12-4 MVC) was no exception.

Sparked by Clarence Jackson's hot hand and the Panthers' cold touch, Siena rode a 40-19 lead into halftime.

It looked like Fran McCaffery's team could have run away with the game, but their defense let up in the second half, when the Panthers scored 56 points. Fortunately for the Saints, their offense was consistent.

The final score, 81-75, is not as impressive as a 20-point rout would have been, but the Saints should be able to use this victory to enhance their tournament seed.

It's been a question all year long as to whether or not Siena has any chance of receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. A loss on Saturday would have shattered any hope, but if they win out until the MAAC championship, they have a chance.

Rider (16-11, 10-6 MAAC) defeated UMBC (12-15, 6-8 America East), 71-65. Ryan Thompson (16 points and nine rebounds) was the star for the Broncs, as usual, but he was complemented by Justin Robinson (15 points) and Harris Mansell (15 points).

The Retrievers are weak this year and Rider should have handled them easily, but turnovers and poor three-point shooting hindered the Broncs for most of the game. Rider won because it got to the charity stripe more than its opponent did.

The Broncs had lost two MAAC games in a row before upsetting Niagara in dramatic fashion, and they have two winnable games against Loyola Md. and Fairfield to close out the regular season. One win would secure the Broncs' spot in third place.

The MAAC Tournament begins on March 6.

The seventh annual ESPNU BracketBusters pairings have been announced, and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is reaping the benefits.

Three of the 10 MAAC games will be televised.

ESPNU is televising five total BracketBusters games, while ESPN360.com is showing two. ESPN2 is offering six contests (also simulcast on ESPN360). So for the MAAC to get three of 13 total is a great deal for the conference.

The three televised games are Hofstra (14-8, 6-5 Colonial Athletic Association) at Fairfield (14-9, 7-5 MAAC), Illinois State (18-4, 7-4 Missouri Valley Conference) at Niagara (17-6, 8-3 MAAC), and the game everyone should have their eyes on, Northern Iowa (16-6, 10-1 MVC) at Siena (18-5, 12-0 MAAC).

Game time and network assignments will not be announced until next Monday, and the games will be played either Friday, Feb. 20 or Saturday, Feb. 21.

Other MAAC BracketBusters games are Canisius at Bowling Green, Iona at Boston University, Loyola (MD) at Drexel, Manhattan at William & Mary, Hartford at Marist, University of Maryland Baltimore County at Rider, and St. Peter's at Youngstown St.

In last year's BracketBusters games, the MAAC produced six winners in Canisius, Fairfield, Loyola, Niagara, Rider, and Siena.

Each conference has the opportunity to select participating teams prior to the season, and matchups are then determined by ESPN in conjunction with the conferences.

As a part of the agreement, home teams for this month's BracketBusters pool will visit their opponents' home court in November or December of the 2009-2010 season.

Other marquee matchups include Butler at Davidson, Utah St. at St. Mary's, Virginia Commonwealth at Nevada, and George Mason at Creighton.

I know this may seem a little bit premature to be talking about this subject, but we are almost halfway through the conference schedule already.  When I previewed the Saints at the beginning of the year, I mentioned that Manhattan's 2003-04 conference record of 16-2 was "within reach barring injury."

They were lauded in preseason articles and projections, including some by myself, before being brought back down to reality in the Old Spice Classic where they lost all three of their games.  They have rebounded and since the tournament gone 12-2, with the only losses at Pittsburgh and at Kansas. 

Siena has an unblemished 8-0 record in MAAC play right now.  This matches the best start in MAAC history also by the Manhattan 2003-04 squad.  The Saints recently finished their first three game road trip.  It is the first of two three-game road trips in MAAC play for Siena this year.  

Siena is averaging winning by almost 10 points a game in the MAAC this year, 9.87.

At this point they have won at Loyola, at Manhattan, at Marist, and at Fairfield.  They also have beat Marist, Fairfield, St. Peter's, and Rider at home.  

The remaining 10 games, in chronological order, are Niagara, Iona, Canisius, at St. Peter's, at Rider, Loyola, Manhattan, at Iona, at Niagara, and at Canisius.  

Looking at the remaining schedule a couple things jump out.  First they have yet to play Niagara, Iona, and Canisius. Without having played one game against any of these three teams it is hard to have something to judge them by.  

I will attempt to do this anyway.  

First I will start with Canisius.  The Griffs are 1-7 in league play so far. There are many reasons Canisius is 1-7, the biggest being they just can't put the ball in the basket.  They are shooting 39 percent from the field, 25 percent from downtown, and 58 percent from the charity stripe.  

The team in preseason rankings was picked to finish eighth and looks like that may be a stretch.  This is a team they should beat at the Times Union Center and on the road. They have to be careful not to overlook them though as Canisius' only win came against a top-five MAAC team, Rider.

The Saints play Niagara Saturday and it should be a tough matchup. Niagara is at 5-2 in conference play and coaches around the league have said they could win this conference if Siena slips up.  

The Saints do have a week off to prepare for this game which they will need.  The second time they face them will be in the second three game road trip.  They have an 11 day break before the game to get ready.  Their practices are essential to them getting ready for these two games.  The game at Niagara could be the toughest of the year in the MAAC for the Saints.

Iona's 4-4 record may put them in the middle of the MAAC, but the four wins have came in the last five games. They beat Fairfield at home and Niagara on the road.  The one loss in the five games was by one point at Rider.  They are a dangerous team that keeps improving, three of the four losses have been by a combined four points.  

Siena has yet to be beaten at the Times Union Center this year.  If they can beat Niagara Saturday they should be able to hold the remaining four games this year.   This leaves games at Rider, at St. Peter's, and the final trio of games away, at Iona, at Niagara, and at Canisius.  The Niagara game should be the toughest of the five, with Iona, and Rider providing more than able challenges.  

In my breakdown I have Siena splitting with Iona and Niagara, winning at home, losing away, and sweeping the rest of their games.  This would give the Saints a 16-2 MAAC record, matching the Manhattan 2003-04 record.  With the 16-2 record a possibility, 18-0 may not be as far-fetched as it may seem.  

There is still a lot of basketball to be played and they can't overlook anyone in the up-and-down MAAC.

Never in my life has such an exciting game been so hard to watch.

The Marist/Siena men's basketball rivalry is one of the premier ones the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference has to offer. These two schools hate each other.

Ryan Schneider pitted against Edwin Ubiles is the most legitimate matchup between forwards the conference has to offer.

Siena (13-5, 7-0 MAAC) won 91-85 in overtime. It was the third straight time the two teams have gone to overtime when playing in Poughkeepsie.

Holy crap, though. Make a free throw (I'll keep you waiting).

Tied at 32 apiece going into the locker room, neither team had momentum. It was just a back and forth dogfight the entire first half.

Neither team was at its best, featuring poor shot selection and a few dumb turnovers. The officiating was solid, though the refs were having no tolerance for lazy dribbling. They called four carries in the first half. I believe two were called on each team.

Siena fans traveled ridiculously well for this game. Though there were only two chunks of them, they made a ton of noise, which was important down the stretch.

At the start of the second half, Marist (7-12, 3-4) came out on fire. The team went 6-for-6 from long range in the first five minutes to the tune of a 19-4 run. Ryan Schneider was responsible for half of them, finishing with 19 points and 13 boards.

Marist led 51-36. Siena had yet to hit a field goal, and was surviving on free throws (ironic).

With eight minutes and change left in the game, Dejuan Goodwin led the Red Foxes in transition. He drove into the lane and floated up a pass for Kaylen Gregory, who slammed down the alley-oop.

Rather than taking a timeout, the Saints panicked, ran down the court, and missed a three-pointer. For all intents and purposes, the game was over.

Marist fans started leaving, Siena fans started leaving. The obligatory "start the buses" chants began.

Siena began poking away at the lead, but it stayed above double digits until less than four minutes remained left in the game. Even then it was around eight or nine.

This is where I lecture you on why foul shots are so important.

The final two minutes of the game. Make your free throws.

Marist went 8-for-17 from the stripe in the last two minutes of regulation. As much as Siena "won" this game, Marist lost it, three-fold.

The Red Foxes shot 16-for-30 (53.3 percent) for the game, and the Saints didn't do much better, shooting 27-for-48 (56.3 percent). Ridiculous.

Before giving complete credit to Marist for losing this game, Siena did have to earn the win. Kyle Downey gave it to them.

His only shot in the first half was a three-pointer to tie it at 32 going into the intermission. He hit two clutch triples down the stretch to bring his team within striking distance. He also came up with an offensive rebound/putback and a huge block of a Marist three-point attempt down the stretch.

He finished with 15 points (career high) in 18 minutes. He averaged 4.5 points and 9.6 minutes per game before last night. He was 2-for-6 from the line, but he's the only one who gets a pass.

Ryan Rossiter (16 points) hit all four of his free throws, and Alex Franklin was 10-for-15. Nobody else on Siena was better than 50 percent.

For Marist, Schneider was 3-for-4 but didn't get to the stripe down the stretch when he needed to. He's by far the Red Foxes' best free throw shooter at over 85 percent.

The Red Foxes put the ball in R.J. Hall's (21 points) hands the most during the waning minutes. He went 6-for-10, but being at the game, the four misses seemed more like 40.

Goodwin was 1-for-5 from the line, Devezin (15 points) 3-for-5, and so on and so forth. It wasn't pretty.

Siena started overtime on a 9-1 run and didn't look back. Marist was crippled by the collapse.

For the Saints, Ubiles only finished with eight points. Rossiter had 16, Franklin scored 19 to go with 10 boards, Kenny Hasbrouck scored 13, and Ronald Moore had 11 points and six assists. Siena shot 41 percent from the floor and 50 percent from long range.

Marist had similar numbers, with a 46 percent field goal percentage and 42 percent from three-point land. Decent, but the free throws negated everything.

Conference teams could have breathed a sigh of relief if Marist finished off the upset last night, but instead, Siena carries on its merry way at 7-0 in the MAAC.

Though the Saints aren't the best five-loss team in the country (Tennessee, Boston College, and I'm purposely leaving Wisconsin off this list), they certainly have the potential to make some noise in March. The five losses are to Kansas, the aforementioned Tennessee, Wichita St., Oklahoma St., and Pittsburgh. Not bad.

Keep an eye on this team. Siena needs improve its free throw shooting (64 percent), ball distribution (only 13 assists on 29 field goals last night), and roster depth (four of five starters average over 30 minutes per game) before we really start talking, but they can certainly hang with the big boys.