Game Thread: Siena

[Clickclack]

The annual game for the bragging right in the Capital Region is upon us. Since we don't have another game before Siena I think it time we kick of the Albany/Siena week. Siena comes into this game with a record of 2-2 as of today with one more game to go before the showdown. They have righted the ship after an 0-2 start and took care of business when they needed to. UA on the other hand had a very good start and a terrible loss against Sacred Heart (268RPI) and then a shellacking by UCONN, to be expected I guess. I don't think anyone realistically thought we had a chance, I pegged it as a loss.

 

Siena in my opinion has been mostly mediocre in the early going. They struggled mightily against Dartmouth before closing the game out in the second half, but it wasn't easy and they got blasted by Stanford by 20. They got beat by Holy Cross (a very respectable opponent by all accounts) but they did not play well. In the first 4 games they have been sloppy, their most solid effort came against NJIT but even that game in the first half was very very sloppy. They play allot of freshman and in my opinion we need to take advantage of their inexperience. Their weakest position in my opinion is still the PG position. When they feed Haddix in the post, it's not coming out; it's like a black hole. We should immediately collapse on him and force him to take a contested shot, he has ZERO court awareness (1 assist in 4 games). I like Gifford's chances against him, he towers over him and has been playing better as of late. Haddix will get his, but he alone can't beat us. They guy who scares me the most is Franklin, he is a game changer. We gota keep him of the boards and limit the impact his energetic play can have on Siena in firing them up. Ubiles has been playing better after a very rough start but he is only a freshmen so you never know what your gona get from him.

 

In my opinion the relentless driving into the lane by Siggers and Wilson will be a major problem for Siena. Their starting center is 6'6 and hasn't registered a block all season. There is no intimidator in their staring lineup, we MUST take advantage of this and get Haddix into foul trouble and make him sit. Our bench is much deeper so we can better absorb foul trouble then they can. All in all I think UA is more experienced and a more talented team. Jamar and Siggers should be our 1-2 punch and our team defense in the first two games has been phenomenal. Sacred Heart was bad all around and the UCONN game I write off because only a handful of teams can hang with them.

 

I totally expect us to win this game, as I think we are a better team overall. We've talked about this game for a year and there has been allot of smack talk back and forth. Come this Saturday bragging rights are up for grab. For me this is a big game, a win would be very nice since we could make fun of them for an entire year, can't put a price on that. I mean we already have enough on Hayseed nation to crack on them but this would be very nice.

 

Just a snipet from BlueRibbon......

 

BACKCOURT: B+

BENCH/DEPTH: B

FRONTCOURT: B+

INTANGIBLES: A

 

What a difference a year makes.

 

McCaffery did a magnificent job making the Saints a factor last season, and his challenge this season will be trying to bring Siena back to the top of the MAAC.

 

Finding a point guard is a priority. If Moore can come in and do the job, the Saints will be stronger at other positions. However, he is a freshman and may need time to grow into the position, physically and mentally.

 

Haddix and Hasbrouck give Siena two of the top 10 players in the league and Ryan and Fisher are solid complements. Several of the freshmen will also need to contribute right away for Siena to maximize its potential.

 

The Saints will also need to tighten up defensively.

 

"If you are going to take a step, you need to stop people and make them turn it over," McCaffery said.

 

With more players and more talent, the Saints could be ready to take that next step this season.

[Oldtimer]

Siena will be tough--they are always tough. McCaffrey is an experienced coach and will have his team prepared. Haddix is a great competitor and is gaining confidence that his injuries are history with every game. If we take them lightly, we are in for a long night. Man for man we are a better team(with the exception of Haddix), but we have to play tough hard-nosed defense and get everyone involved in the offense! GO GREAT DANES, WIN ONE FOR THE FROG!!

[ALBANY ALUM '94]

Siena will be tough--they are always tough.  McCaffrey is an experienced coach and will have his team prepared.  Haddix is a great competitor and is gaining confidence that his injuries are history with every game.  If we take them lightly, we are in for a long night.  Man for man we are a better team(with the exception of Haddix), but we have to play tough hard-nosed defense and get everyone involved in the offense!  GO GREAT DANES, WIN ONE FOR THE FROG!!

17960[/snapback]

well...you are being kind to Siena as we should dominate them on the perimeter. we have a lot of fouls to give to Haddix and make him think about entereing the paint to score.

 

Danes by 10+

 

lets go Danes!

[KingDane]

I'm confident, but not overly so. The lopsided loss to Sacred Heart was a tremendous disappointment and a reminder of just how wrong things can go.

 

The fact of the matter is - this is the biggest of the games since the rivalry re-began. Last season was one of real success, except for the loss of bragging rights. You can wave all of your achievements in their face, but when they beat you head to head they have a strong argument and reason to remain a little cocky.

 

This year we need to kick Siena's ass AND win the AEast. Go Danes, stay focused. I'm coming up to see it.

[megowen70]

Is there any connection for live play by play (audio or video) through the UAlbany website?

e.g. Several MAAC schools have audio, live video, and gametracker feeds. (NO! I am not interested in seeing if Siena is one of those schools and watching or listening to the game with a Siena feed!!!!!)

[UAalum72]

Is there any connection for live play by play (audio or video) through the UAlbany website?

e.g. Several MAAC schools have audio, live video, and gametracker feeds. (NO!  I am not interested in seeing if Siena is one of those schools and watching or listening to the game with a Siena feed!!!!!)

17966[/snapback]

There's a link to radio Fox 980 in the 'Schedule' on the main UAlbany athletics web page

[SienaTony]

A quick note on the game, I’ll focus a little bit more tomorrow after we play Hofstra. But needless to say I totally disagree that Albany is better man for man, and I tend to think the odds makers will disagree also. Other than a total meltdown tonight against Hofstra Siena will be favored in the game

 

Here is how I see the game, Siena is much quicker and has better athletes than Ualb upfront. Albany really doesn’t have anyone who can check Haddix and Ubiles and Franklin are much quicker than Albany’s forwards.

 

Albany has better shooters than Siena, Siena will have to defend the perimeter against Alb. My guess on the keys to the game is how well Albany handles Siena's pressure and as we saw against UConn Albany had trouble with more athletic teams, and while Siena is no where near as Athletic as UConn they are considerably more athletic than Albany ( other than Siggers and Wilson) Albany has very little athleticism

 

I assume Albany will sag in on Haddix, which will give our outside shooters some open looks. I don’t think Albany will play much man to man since Siena is quicker for the most part and Albany really doesn’t have anyone that can check Haddix one on one

 

 

If Siena knocks those open looks down Albany is in for a long night. If Albany handles Siena’s pressure and hits their open shots then it could be a long night for Siena.. There you have it… no smack intended just my honest look at the game. The team that controls tempo and Shoots better from the field will win.

 

Side note 10,000 tickets have already been sold, could this be our first sell out for the Siena/Albany game

[quackman]

and here are my thoughts ...

 

This is a game of two players:

 

Can Wilson get back on track after a subpar performance? He is the only guy on either team that can get his own shot whenever he wants it.

 

Can Haddix get enough touches to dominate in the post. If he gets into foul trouble, Siena's chances of winning the game go way down.

 

Interesting matchups to watch all over the floor: Haddix vs. Gifford, Connolly or Covington (advantage Siena); Ryan vs Wilson (Advantage UAlbany); Siggers vs Ubiles (toss up); Lillis vs Fisher(Adv. UAlbany)). Hasbrouck vs Wilson(Advantage UAlbany, though Hasbrouck will get his points as well). I think Siena's bench is a little bit stronger than Albany's.

 

Should be a fun game ... if Siena can win tonight, they'll come into the game with a bit of a swagger while UAlbany has to be angry after the last two losses. Throw in 10,000 plus fans on a Saturday night in downtown Albany and you have the makings of a great game.

[NYR]

I assume Albany will sag in on Haddix,  which will give our outside shooters some open looks.  I don’t think Albany will play much man to man since Siena is quicker for the most part and Albany really doesn’t have anyone that can check Haddix one on one

17969[/snapback]

 

Tony- If you see Albany in a zone more than once or twice on Saturday it will be a lot. We are a horrible zone team because quite frankly I don’t think we practice it. For the untrained eye (I’m not saying your eye is untrained) you’ll know we’re in a zone when everyone on the floor starts flapping their arms up and down (including Coach Brown). This bothers the hell out of me. I am a big fan of disguising a zone as long as you can…especially when you play man 98% of the time.

 

We also don’t tend to "sag in" to defend quality big men. I expect us double Haddix across with another forward and our guards to rotate away from the ball. We are actually very good at this. If Siena is successful, Haddix will need to have very good vision and passing skills. From what I have heard, he only has one assist on the year so far. I would look to his turnover and assist numbers as being a key stat. Albany’s biggest potential mistake on Haddix will be choosing not to double him.

 

As for your athletic forwards…if they give our forwards problems (Gifford, Brent, Connelly) I expect to see Ross get some minutes to pick up a guy like Franklin. Also Lillis will defend your forwards at times. I don’t expect him to get overwhelmed athletically.

 

All in all it should be a great game. With a win over Hofstra I suspect you will be favored…but that doesn’t mean your gonna win

[olddog71]

. . .With a win over Hofstra I suspect you will be favored…but that doesn’t mean your gonna win 

17973[/snapback]

 

Siena should be favored. In a potentially close game, the home team has the advantage.

[saints73]

I expect a great game!

[GODANESGO]

I have to admit I might be more excited for this year's game than even last year's. I'm down on the floor for the 4th time in a row, so I CAN'T wait til Saturday! Here are some of my thoughts on our line-up so far and how we might match up against the Aints of Loudonville...and I preface it all the same way DP did, that my real basketball knowledge is basically zero, but that's what these fan message boards are for I guess..

 

First, I think it's pretty clear that Giff needs to be our starting center. The 4 inches over Jimmie I feel does a lot just in terms taking up space on defense, and I think he showed tremendous offensive potential against a dominating UConn team. He already has great passing skills (not lazy lobs out of the paint, but he really puts some force behind the pass) and I like that he isn't afraid to put the ball on the floor for a couple dribbles, and even look for the 8-10ft jump shot, when he gets the ball at the top of the key to reset the offense. Against UConn when he started doing that, it drew his defender up towards the top of the key, opening up the basket a few times for Jamar or Jason to drive without 3 sets of arms swinging for the block. Jimmie will be important to go in and bang, like he's great at, because big men (especially freshmen) get tired quickly.

 

Same as I felt last year, I think Lillis should handle the point because I think Jamar is most effective when he's off the ball. I think Lillis coming back from injury to play the 1 last year really is what sparked our turn around last season. And I personally am totally comfortable with Iati at the point when Lillis is on the bench. I think he's a much better ball handler than most give him credit for..plus his 3-point skills will come around again eventually and that never hurts to be in there.

 

I really like Connelly as the sixth man. While he was kinda neutralized against UConn (who wasn't?), I think his skills will be VERY effective in AE play and I'm looking forward to see him on the court a lot.

 

For the $iena game, I agree that they key will be whether or not we can effectively limit their post play, especially Haddix. I'm wondering how a double team against him would play out as we usually employ that effective double team against BIG big guys (ie, Adelkele, the Bucknell kid, etc). So it'll be interesting to see if 1, we use it and 2, how it will work, against a 6'6" Haddix. As usual, we will depend on our guard play and our shooting ability..and we need to keep the turnovers down. We've turned the ball over way too much obviously in our two losses.

 

All that said, if Coach Brown wanted to put 2 monkeys, a dog, a cat, and a kindergartener in the starting line-up, I'd be behind him 100%!..lol.

 

GO DANES!!

[Oldtimer]

Although I respect Siena--program and coach---I have a problem with Siena Tony thinking they are "quicker" than Albany and comparing Siena with UConn--"although not as quick". We have the quickest team since we went D-I. We just were not prepared for the change in quickness and defensive intensity of the UConn team. UA kids are smart(aka intelligent), they will NOT be out-quicked by Siena. It sounds like a great atmosphere for the game---having played in 4 of these games--it is the highlight of my year.

[daneguy04]

Here is some interesting food for thought, if there were already 10,000 tickets sold (is that a record for this match-up?) what do you think prompted the rise in popularity of the game? $iena's mediocre season in the MACC or is it possible that Albany's tap dance in the first round against UConn had something to do with it. Bottom line the game is great for both programs and I am looking forward to a great rumble (on the courts of course, although I have seen it in the stands) to take place in ALBANY, NY on Saturday night.

[B9j2j6s]

Rebounding could be a big key to this game. I was looking over the stats and both games won by Siena and Albany occurred when they out rebounded their opponent. The only exception has been when UA faced SH; and tonight for SC against Hofstra in both these games the opposing team shot lights out from the field. IMO the winner of the boards might very well determine the outcome of the game.