Check the standings. Siena is the top men's basketball team in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
It's not Manhattan, the team picked to finish first in the MAAC's preseason coaches' poll. It's also not Niagara, Iona or Fairfield.
Heading into its final 16 regular-season games, all MAAC matchups, Siena is tied for the best overall record in the conference with Manhattan at 8-3 and is in a tie (with Fairfield) for first in the MAAC at 2-0.
The Saints also are No. 90 in the latest Sagarin computer rankings, 14 spots higher than the next-highest MAAC team (Manhattan) and one place behind Georgia Tech, coached by former Siena coach Paul Hewitt.
"Siena is a terrific basketball team," said Manhattan coach Bobby Gonzalez, whose Jaspers (3-7, 0-2) play Siena tonight at 7 in Riverdale. "They are one of the hottest teams in the conference, maybe the hottest. They have size and depth and athleticism. I think they have one of the best rosters in the league."
Saturday night, the Saints raised eyebrows when they defeated Providence of the Big East 89-81 at Pepsi Arena.
Last season, Providence beat Siena by 25 points (79-54) in Rhode Island. Two days before this season's Providence-Siena game, the Friars opened their Big East season with a win at Boston College. Providence's next game is against another Big East foe, St. John's.
Providence coach Tim Welsh was adamant that the Friars were not looking past Siena.
"Oh no, I knew they were good," Welsh said after Saturday's game. "They are good because they have size and they have experience. Everyone on that team knows their roles. They are a much better team than they were last year."
Despite losing to the Saints, Providence is 57th in the latest Sagarin rankings.
Last year, the Saints went through the regular season as though they were running in quicksand. Only at the end did it all come together; Siena won the MAAC Tournament, reached the NCAAs, and finished with a 17-19 record.
The win over Providence ended Siena's non-conference schedule and gave the Saints a 6-3 record outside of the MAAC. Besides beating the Friars, Siena was impressive in winning the Montana State holiday tournament (beating Loyola Marymount and Montana State) and defeating Fordham of the Atlantic-10 Conference on the road.
The Saints also gained respect when they played Xavier tough before falling to the 21st-ranked Musketeers 96-88 on Dec. 23.
A year ago, after 11 games, Siena was 4-7.
Coach Rob Lanier said he's happy with the Saints' progress, but he isn't about to make plans for a return trip to the NCAAs.
"I would hate to think this is as good as we're gonna get," Lanier said. "And I wouldn't want to say at the end of the year that our best game was the Providence game. We can get better. We have things we have to work on."
The Saints are not a good team when they are pressured, especially in a full-court game. Manhattan figures to use pressure tonight from start to finish. Lanier said he wants his team, which doesn't have a true point guard in the starting lineup, to take more time protecting the basketball.
Siena has gotten some great nights from senior guard Prosper Karangwa, who is averaging team highs of 16.8 points, 4.6 assists and 6.9 rebounds a game. The freshman class, led by Michael Haddix, Antoine Jordan and Paul Williams, has contributed early. And with 6-foot-10 Brent Sniezyk, 6-7 Haddix and 6-9 Austin Andrews up front, the Saints are the biggest team in the conference.
As one of two MAAC coaches who have faced Siena this season, Canisius coach Mike MacDonald said he was impressed with the Saints' win over Providence and their performance against Xavier. However, what really caught his attention was Siena's two wins at the Montana State tournament.
"That is hard to do," MacDonald said. "Teams don't schedule you to come out there if they think you are gonna win. We lost twice when we were out there a few years ago. Siena must be playing great basketball right now. And I thought they were as good as anyone in the league when we played them."
Siena beat Canisius 71-63 on Dec. 7 at Pepsi Arena behind Karangwa's 25 points.
