Villanova

[KingDane]

I'm not much of a siena fan. The win vs Vanderbilt will rightfully be considered among the great Capital District sports moments.

 

An anonymous source in a FL newspaper described the game as a "the confluence of siena's once in a lifetime performance against a flat and fading SEC team". Fair enough, but siena still gets to travel back to loudenville with an NCAA w and they should take pride.

 

But the Villanova game! Why bother showing up if you're going to let yourself be that embarrassed?

[UAalum72]

Any embarassment is a result of inflated expectations after the first game, not the actual performance. No embarassment in a 9-point loss to Villanova for a team that after all only beat Albany by 4 and lost to Memphis by 43.

 

I don't agree that it was a once-in-a-lifetime performance either, just that even a Siena fan said before the game that Vandy should have been about a tenth seed, not a fourth.

[I rock(ed) the Cape]

I gotta agree on that one...regardless of Villanova's seed, they were a Big East team and come tournament time, any Big East time shouldn't have a problem with someone like Siena

[Clickclack]

Watching Vandy.....they were a joke. Siena took it to them in historic fashion but Vandy had NO BUSINESS being a 4 seed. Things came together perfectly for Siena they got hot against a team that played NO D. Once they went up against a team that plays any semblance of D ('Nova) it was game over. Regardless, it was still an awesome run...what I wouldn't give to catch a break like they did.

[purplehaze]

Vanderbilt was indeed "over seeded"----the performance was a confluence of Siena being on top of their game--and Vanderbilt being flat--depending on the 3--when they should have been pounding it inside the whole game. as far as one of the great Capital District sports moments---maybe it makes the list. I would put RPI's 1985 D1 NCAA Ice Hockey Championship up near the top with Siena's 1989 NCAA 1st Round win over Stanford .

[MTS]

Vanderbilt was indeed "over seeded"----the performance was a confluence of Siena being on top of their game--and Vanderbilt being flat--depending on the 3--when they should have been pounding it inside the whole game. as far as one of the great Capital District sports moments---maybe it makes the list. I would put RPI's 1985 D1 NCAA Ice Hockey Championship up near the top with Siena's 1989 NCAA 1st Round win over Stanford .

 

 

Vandy was a good match-up for Siena no question. But they also were a better team then the Virginia team that drilled UAlbany last year. Vandy won 26 games, beat Tennessee, beat Kentucky by 41 points, and had the SEC player of the year in Shan Foster. I agree they were overseeded but they are still a top SEC team and better than almost every team Siena or Albany played this year.

 

Great run for Siena - we just ran out of gas against a hot Nova team. Next year looks even better. Hope to see the Siena-Albany game continue again - it is great fun

[Zalman B]

Vandy was a good match-up for Siena no question. But they also were a better team then the Virginia team that drilled UAlbany last year. Vandy won 26 games, beat Tennessee, beat Kentucky by 41 points, and had the SEC player of the year in Shan Foster. I agree they were overseeded but they are still a top SEC team and better than almost every team Siena or Albany played this year.

 

Great run for Siena - we just ran out of gas against a hot Nova team. Next year looks even better. Hope to see the Siena-Albany game continue again - it is great fun

 

I'm not sure I'd have Vandy this year as a better team than Virginia last year - both were 4 seeds, both struggled on the road and were nearly unbeatable at home, but Virginia was co-champs of the ACC at 11-5 in conference, and the ACC was the toughest conference last season by almost any measure (#1 in RPI, #1 in Pomeroy). Their big wins included beating Arizona (14 in RPI), Duke (15), Maryland (16) twice, Virginia Tech (34), Florida State (41), Clemson (46), Georgia Tech (52), and Gonzaga (60) by 21. By way of comparison, Kentucky '08 ended up at 57 in the RPI, even after getting healthy and making a run at the end.

 

Vandy had a great year, up until the Siena waxing, but they finished 3rd (10-6) in a weaker conference. The SEC is 4th in the RPI as a conference and 6th in the Pomelroy Rankings (just one spot above the mid-major MVC). Besides the two victories you mentioned above (Tenn. & Kentucky), their victories vs top 60 RPI teams were (37) South Alabama (in 2OT), (42) Massachusetts, & (40) Mississippi St. (OT), all at home. They got a ton of publicity and credit with the huge win over Tennessee, but that one win doesn't make them a great team.

 

We liked our matchups from an individual perspective last year, because the strength of UAlbany was the guard play (J. Wilson and Siggers) and so was Virginia's (J.R. Reynolds and Sean Singletary). Unfortunately, we learned (as you did vs. Nova) that on a 1-to-1 basis a very good ACC/Big East Guard is better than a very good AE/MAAC Guard, and probably equal to even the very best the conference has to offer. Siena's good matchup vs. Vandy was based (at least in my mind) not so much on individual matchups but on style of play. Siena has the athletes that could stick with Vandy, and Vandy's weakness (as a team) was that they didn't play defense very well. Siena did what they had to, hitting the shots available (Fisher was insane - if he comes here for grad school can he help coach our 3 point shooters?) and playing good D. I was also impressed that they kept Foster from really taking over at any point.

 

It was a great win for Siena, and the potential is there for another run next year, but enjoy the feeling of an NCAA win for a while before you look forward. Barring something very near a perfect regular season, Siena isn't going to get an at-large bid (no MAAC team will) so it's going to come down to the conference tourney for the chance to go back to the NCAA and do more damage, and anything can happen there.

 

Congrats to the Saints and their fans on a super season. You'll always be welcome if you want to come play at the 'cue.

[saints73]

Unlikely to happen, but a MAAC team could absolutely get an at-large bid. Case in point would be Manhattan in the mid 90's.

If Siena does well in the Old Spice Classic and in conference play, they could definitley get one.

[bob87]

Unlikely to happen, but a MAAC team could absolutely get an at-large bid. Case in point would be Manhattan in the mid 90's.

If Siena does well in the Old Spice Classic and in conference play, they could definitley get one.

 

 

That Manhattan team was 25-4 and may have been the last team in. They were a 13 seed. There are now more games, more D1 teams competing for the same # of bids and bigger power conferences taking up more at large bids than they did even a decade ago. I wouldn't be counting on an at large bid out of the maac anytime soon short of something like 27-4 or 28-4.

 

Obviously any team that is good enough to win 2 or 3 games in next years Old Spice field ought to be good enough to win 3 games in the maac tournament.

[Dane Pound]

Manhattan validated their at-large by winning their first round game that year, something many of the power conference teams fail to do with their at-large bids each year.

 

They didn't need it because they won the tourney but that Manhattan team three or four years ago (The Flores team) would have gotten an at-large. They handled Florida in the first round and very nearly beat Wake Forest to get to the sweet 16. They had an rpi in the 30s that year I think.

[bob87]

Manhattan validated their at-large by winning their first round game that year, something many of the power conference teams fail to do with their at-large bids each year.

 

Vandy comes to mind there, although Nova probably was the last at large in this year and they validated their bid with 2 upsets in this years tourney.

[bob87]

They didn't need it because they won the tourney but that Manhattan team three or four years ago (The Flores team) would have gotten an at-large. They handled Florida in the first round and very nearly beat Wake Forest to get to the sweet 16. They had an rpi in the 30s that year I think.

 

Looking at the maac site, the teams that advanced to the second round before this year

1990 La Salle (4)/29-1

1995 Manhattan (13)/25-4

2004 Manhattan (12)/25-6

 

That LaSalle team actually underplayed their seed losing to the 5 in the second round. Also Manhattan in 2004 was a 42 according to Pomeroy RPI so they were certainty no lock to make the NCAA as an at large with a loss in the maac tourney and the drop in RPI that would have resulted in.

[Dane Pound]

I thought Manhattan had a higher RPI than that because they were being mentioned as a dreaded "bubble team" that year. You're right, a loss and they might very well have dropped to the NIT. Still a heck of a team.

[KingDane]

Unlikely to happen, but a MAAC team could absolutely get an at-large bid. Case in point would be Manhattan in the mid 90's.

If Siena does well in the Old Spice Classic and in conference play, they could definitley get one.

 

 

Absolutely agree - 'could definitley get one'. Maybe two. A lot of people are calling the MAAC the new SEC.

[purplehaze]

They didn't need it because they won the tourney but that Manhattan team three or four years ago (The Flores team) would have gotten an at-large. They handled Florida in the first round and very nearly beat Wake Forest to get to the sweet 16. They had an rpi in the 30s that year I think.

 

Looking at the maac site, the teams that advanced to the second round before this year

1990 La Salle (4)/29-1

1995 Manhattan (13)/25-4

2004 Manhattan (12)/25-6

 

That LaSalle team actually underplayed their seed losing to the 5 in the second round. Also Manhattan in 2004 was a 42 according to Pomeroy RPI so they were certainty no lock to make the NCAA as an at large with a loss in the maac tourney and the drop in RPI that would have resulted in.

The 1989-90 LaSalle team with Doug Overton and Lionel Simmons was probably the best MAAC team ever---They won the first MAAC tournament played at the Knickerbocker Arena. Beat Siena in the semis. Fordham in the Championship. Back when D1 hoops at UAlbany was but a glimmer in our eyes.