CBB
- Thread starter IE
- Start date
There?s success measured in victories and championships. Both are still very much within the reach of the Siena men?s basketball team, the preseason favorite to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Then there?s the more immediate gratification of finally stepping on the court for the first time this season. The Saints are scheduled to open against Monmouth at 3 p.m. Sunday and 5 p.m. Monday at Alumni Recreation Center in Loudonville.
After three coronavirus-related pauses totaling 42 days, tip-off is almost here for the 2020-21 Saints, who last played in a victory over Manhattan in the MAAC quarterfinals on March 11 ? almost 10 months ago.
?I would say just being able to put that uniform on and get on the floor ? that?s a success in itself in 2021,? Saints head coach Carmen Maciariello said. ?Obviously, we weren?t fortunate enough to get on the court in ?20 and had a great nonconference schedule set up to challenge ourselves against the best in the country ? then we had to refocus. These guys have done a great job just staying the course and not ever being negative and realizing we?ve just got to worry about us every single day.?
Barring a last-minute setback, indications are Sunday?s game will be played. Siena?s COVID-19 tests taken on Tuesday and Thursday all came up negative, according to Maciariello. They were tested again on Saturday. Monmouth boarded a bus on Saturday afternoon bound for Loudonville.
Now the Saints concern themselves with an opponent, and a formidable one at that.
The Hawks (3-2 overall, 3-1 MAAC) already have the advantage of five games? experience and chemistry. Led by first-team all-MAAC guard Deion Hammond, Monmouth swept Canisius by a combined margin of 46 points on Sunday and Monday.
The Hawks also play at the seventh-fastest adjusted tempo in Division I, according to the website kenpom.com, which would seem troublesome for a Siena team finding its game legs.
Siena junior point guard Jalen Pickett, the reigning MAAC Player of the Year, will try to help the Saints keep pace with the Hawks.
?We were able to watch a couple of them play so far,? Pickett said. ?They really like to get out and run, but we?re going to take our opportunities when we can because we still want to play fast and attack them as well. A great thing for us is we play very good defense and when we can get stops and get out in transition and score the ball, we?ll be able to set up our defense and slow them down.?
It?s easy to forget the Saints enter the opener on a 10-game winning streak, the fifth-longest in Division I, since they haven?t played since the victory over Manhattan before the remainder of the season was canceled due to COVID-19. They won the MAAC regular-season title.
?It feels good just to know we have a game coming up, especially with all that?s been going on this year,? said Siena senior guard/forward Manny Camper, a first-team all-MAAC selection. "I think it?s a great way to start the new year. I think we?re going to go out and realize we can?t take anything for granted and appreciate the opportunity we have and make the most of it.?
The Saints are playing at the ARC without fans for the time being because the state isn't allowing Times Union Center to play host to events with fans during the pandemic. Monmouth, which lost by three at TU Center a year ago, won?t have to deal with the 6,000-plus fans the Hawks normally see in Albany.
?It?s going to be weird, but we get to play Siena,? Monmouth coach King Rice said. ?This year, I said at the beginning, the teams that handle the changes, the teams that don?t put their head down because they didn?t get to play or their game got switched, they might have been shut down for a while, the kids that come out and really just to try to have fun and do what they love, those kids are going to have success.?
Then there?s the more immediate gratification of finally stepping on the court for the first time this season. The Saints are scheduled to open against Monmouth at 3 p.m. Sunday and 5 p.m. Monday at Alumni Recreation Center in Loudonville.
After three coronavirus-related pauses totaling 42 days, tip-off is almost here for the 2020-21 Saints, who last played in a victory over Manhattan in the MAAC quarterfinals on March 11 ? almost 10 months ago.
?I would say just being able to put that uniform on and get on the floor ? that?s a success in itself in 2021,? Saints head coach Carmen Maciariello said. ?Obviously, we weren?t fortunate enough to get on the court in ?20 and had a great nonconference schedule set up to challenge ourselves against the best in the country ? then we had to refocus. These guys have done a great job just staying the course and not ever being negative and realizing we?ve just got to worry about us every single day.?
Barring a last-minute setback, indications are Sunday?s game will be played. Siena?s COVID-19 tests taken on Tuesday and Thursday all came up negative, according to Maciariello. They were tested again on Saturday. Monmouth boarded a bus on Saturday afternoon bound for Loudonville.
Now the Saints concern themselves with an opponent, and a formidable one at that.
The Hawks (3-2 overall, 3-1 MAAC) already have the advantage of five games? experience and chemistry. Led by first-team all-MAAC guard Deion Hammond, Monmouth swept Canisius by a combined margin of 46 points on Sunday and Monday.
The Hawks also play at the seventh-fastest adjusted tempo in Division I, according to the website kenpom.com, which would seem troublesome for a Siena team finding its game legs.
Siena junior point guard Jalen Pickett, the reigning MAAC Player of the Year, will try to help the Saints keep pace with the Hawks.
?We were able to watch a couple of them play so far,? Pickett said. ?They really like to get out and run, but we?re going to take our opportunities when we can because we still want to play fast and attack them as well. A great thing for us is we play very good defense and when we can get stops and get out in transition and score the ball, we?ll be able to set up our defense and slow them down.?
It?s easy to forget the Saints enter the opener on a 10-game winning streak, the fifth-longest in Division I, since they haven?t played since the victory over Manhattan before the remainder of the season was canceled due to COVID-19. They won the MAAC regular-season title.
?It feels good just to know we have a game coming up, especially with all that?s been going on this year,? said Siena senior guard/forward Manny Camper, a first-team all-MAAC selection. "I think it?s a great way to start the new year. I think we?re going to go out and realize we can?t take anything for granted and appreciate the opportunity we have and make the most of it.?
The Saints are playing at the ARC without fans for the time being because the state isn't allowing Times Union Center to play host to events with fans during the pandemic. Monmouth, which lost by three at TU Center a year ago, won?t have to deal with the 6,000-plus fans the Hawks normally see in Albany.
?It?s going to be weird, but we get to play Siena,? Monmouth coach King Rice said. ?This year, I said at the beginning, the teams that handle the changes, the teams that don?t put their head down because they didn?t get to play or their game got switched, they might have been shut down for a while, the kids that come out and really just to try to have fun and do what they love, those kids are going to have success.?
STRAIGHT BET
Jan 03
CBB [838] NEBRASKA OMAHA +3?-110
STRAIGHT BET
Jan 03
CBB [843] WAKE FOREST +9?-110
Jan 03
CBB [838] NEBRASKA OMAHA +3?-110
STRAIGHT BET
Jan 03
CBB [843] WAKE FOREST +9?-110
