Know Thy Enemy: The Siena Saints

Folks, I'll take it. If you had told me in November that this team would earn a 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament I would have gladly directed you to the Nut House.

Flash Forward: It's selection Sunday and Vandy was awarded the 4th seed in the Midwest Regional. Perennial choke artists Kansas are the top team in the region. Georgetown (the worst university ever) locked up the 2 seed, and the Badgers of Wisconsin got the 3 spot.

Vanderbilt will take on the Siena Saints on Friday March 21 in Tampa, FL. I'm tickled to death with the first round draw against Siena. Quite honestly, I don't really know a whole lot about this Siena team. This appearance marks the school's 4th overall bid to the NCAA Tournament, most recently in 2002. The Saints won the MAAC Conference Tournament beating Rider 74-53 last Monday March 10th. Siena's record currently stands at 22-10, with a 13-5 mark within the MAAC. Siena's campus is located in Loudonville, NY and boasts an enrollment of 2,900. The Saints knocked off tournament 3-seed Standford(ranked 20th at the time) 79-67 back in mid-November. Siena is in the midst of a 6 game winning streak and has won 9 of its last 11 games. Siena's starting five consists of:
6-6 Soph. G/F Edwin Ubiles (17.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG)
6-7 Jr. F Josh Duell (5.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG)
6-3 Jr. G Kenny Hasbrouck (15.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG)
6-5 Soph. F Alex Franklin (15.2 PPG, 8 RPG)
6-0 Soph. G Ronald Moore (8.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG)
Key reserves include:
5-9 Sr. G Tay Fisher (7.7 PPG, 1.2 RPG)
6-7 Soph. F Cory Magee (1.5 PPG, 2.7 RPG)

The size differential immediately jumps out at me as Siena doesn't have a player taller than 6-9 on their roster, and no one taller than 6-7 sees significant playing time. If Vanderbilt can assert themselves down low and get a solid outing from A.J. and Ross they shouldn't have too much trouble putting Siena away. Defensive intensity and rebounding are obvious issues of concern for Vandy, and we can only hope the team will take the time to address these issue before Friday.

Check back later for more.

Go 'Dores!