#8 tOSU 72, #9 Siena 74 (Final, 2OT)

[3074326]

Well, that automatic charge takes me out of the running.

 

[OHSportsFan]

Sounds like a good time to catch this game at a bar.

(because I can't afford to be there)

Yeah, I just did a quick look at ticketmaster.com. I have some friends at Dayton and would love to visit, but $208 for the session?! Is that right? Didn't realize they were that much.

My dad bought 4 tickets for the 3rd/4th round games in Indianapolis. They were $55 a session, so $110 for the both.

Looks like the Buckeyes are just gonna have to win a couple. :)

edit- I must have looked at the wrong area. Now I'm seeing $66 per session, I think. Not on sale until tomorrow, I'll probably sit this one out. Just spent a bunch at the Big10 Tourney.

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Ohio State Buckeyes to face Siena in NCAA Tournament game in Dayton

by Doug Lesmerises/Plain Dealer Reporter Sunday March 15, 2009, 11:20 PM


The pseudo-home-court advantage didn't do much for Ohio State three years ago. Playing as the No. 2 seed in Dayton, 75 miles from its Columbus campus, Ohio State was bounced in the second round by No. 7 seed Georgetown. The Hoyas' talent trumped the Buckeyes' proximity.
Now Ohio State will give it another shot. The Buckeyes will open the NCAA Tournament on Friday night in Dayton as the No. 8 seed against the No. 9 Siena Saints.
"We know our fans are going to travel and show us love," OSU sophomore center Dallas Lauderdale said. "Being in Dayton, an hour away, that should definitely be an advantage for us."
The Buckeyes thought they battled to reach the final of the Big Ten Tournament on Sunday, but the real battle is ahead if they want to escape from Dayton. Louisville, the tournament's overall No. 1 seed, would be waiting in the second round, barring a first-time upset by a 16 seed.
The Buckeyes refused to look ahead, but that's a reason to avoid that 8-9 game, and Matta thought the Buckeyes had earned better than an eight seed.
"I did, but I understand," Matta said. "You look at [seeds] 6 through 11, 12, and say, What's the difference?"
One difference is location. The other is having Louisville waiting.

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Former Lehigh basketball coach McCaffery successful at Siena

By Larry O'Rourke |Of The Morning Call March 16, 2009
Siena College coach Fran McCaffery was driving in a car Thursday from campus in Loudonville, N.Y., to Bristol, Conn., to talk about his NCAA Tournament-bound basketball team, but, at times, it sounded like he was in a time machine.

The 49-year-old coach's mind drifted back 21 years, to the NCAA appearance he guided the Lehigh University men's team to in his third and final season as head coach in Bethlehem.

''The game really hasn't changed all that much from the way that Lehigh teams played it,'' McCaffery said. ''Mike Polaha came to our game at Rider this year, and it was great to see him. And I keep in touch with Daren Queenan. It reminds me that this year's [Siena] team has similar character and ability to respond to pressure.''

Back then, it was the likes of Polaha, Queenan and Scott Layer leading Lehigh for McCaffery. Now, it's players named Ronald Moore, Alex Franklin, Kenny Hasbrouck and Edwin Ubiles leading Siena.

''We're uptempo,'' McCaffery said. ''We press and run, and we drive and kick it out for open shots. I kind of recruit players to that style. It's worked out that we have players who know when to push it up the floor, know when to penetrate, and know when to back off. We have two of the best guards [Moore and Hasbrouck] in the United States. It reminds me a lot of when we had Scott Layer and Mike Polaha on that Lehigh team.''

Moore and Franklin should also be at least semi-familiar to Eastern Pennsylvania basketball fans.

Moore, in McCaffery's mind ''one of the finest point guards in the country,'' is a 5-foot-11, 160-pound junior who averages 8.8 points and 6.3 assists and is from Conshohocken and Plymouth-Whitemarsh High.

Franklin is a 6-5, 225-pound junior forward who averages 13.6 points and 7.3 rebounds and is from Reading Central Catholic.

''I'll always recruit that area of Pennsylvania, and also South Jersey,'' McCaffery said.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Siena earns No. 9 seed for NCAAs, will face Ohio State
Monday, March 16, 2009

By Mike MacAdam (Contact)
Gazette Reporter



Photographer: Barry Sloan

Members of the Siena Basketball team react with excitement at the Alumni Recreation Center at Siena College Sunday evening after finding out that they will face Ohio State in the NCAA tournament on Friday.

LOUDONVILLE ? The Siena Saints were barely in their chairs before they were out of them again.
After a long wait to find out who they would play in the NCAA tournament, Siena (26-7) watched its name pop up on the tournament bracket almost immediately, as a No. 9 seed playing No. 8 Ohio State at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Friday at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio.
It?s the highest seed the Saints have ever received in five appearances in the Division I tournament, and a rare single-digit seed for a team from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. LaSalle, which plays in the Atlantic-10 now, was a No. 4 seed in 1990.
Before the selection show, the team was introduced to a crowd of fans that filled one side of the Alumni Recreation Center, and the players sat in chairs in the middle of the floor in front of a large-screen TV. They exploded out of their seats when ?Siena? appeared in the Midwest Regional as the crowd drowned out the broadcast.
?It was kind of quick,? junior forward Edwin Ubiles said. ?When they said Ohio State, [point guard] Ron [Moore] said, ?Oh, that could be us, that could be us.? Then, the next thing you know, our name just popped up there.?
?It happened so fast,? junior forward Alex Franklin said. ?The anticipation was overwhelming, at times. Now, that?s all over, we know who we?re playing and where, and it?s time to get down to business.
?I?m happy with what the
selection committee did for us, and I?m ready to play anybody anywhere.?
Cont...

 

[BB73]

ESPN is showing a 9:40 ET tipoff. That's estimated, since it will follow a game starting shortly after 7 p.m.

 

[BuckeyeNation27]

Siena's OK....but they're no Niagara.

 

[LitlBuck]

Congrats on the tournament. Here is a little synopsis from Siena land:

Really good post and thanks for taking the time to bring us Buckeye fans up to date on your team. My question is that I noticed that during the regular season you lost to Rider and Niagara. I was wondering what those teams had that led to your defeat. I know that both of the games were home games for the opposition. Thanks again and I would wish you good luck against any other team.:osu:

 

[Jake]

I love chewing up the stats this time of year.

Our opponents score 38.2% of their points against us from three point land. Only 2 other teams have a higher percentage, and only one of them (Chattanooga) is in the tournament. The flip side? We give up a lower percentage of our opponents points from the FT line and 2 point range than over 300 schools.

Siena scores 61.1% of their points from two point range. Only 6 schools have a higher percentage. They only score 20% of their points from behind the arc. This is not a team that lives by the three, so with our size inside this could be a good matchup for us.

 

[Jake]

Only 12 teams in the field have a worse turnover percentage than us, with 20.8% of our possessions ending with a turnover. Siena is in the middle of the pack at 18%. Wisconsin and Gonzaga lead the tourney field at only 16.2%.

Siena forces 22.7% of their opponents possessions to end in turnovers. We force 20.2%. Obviously, an argument in opponent quality could be made but it's an interesting number.

CSU Northridge must play some ugly ass games. They're the worst in the field in TO %, but one of the best in forcing their opponents to turn it over. Both teams end up with turnovers almost 25% of the time.

 

[LitlBuck]

More ticket info:

BuckeyeXtra - The Columbus Dispatch : Ohio State will face Siena in NCAA tourney

Hope they sell out the allotment, imo $75 is a hefty price for two first round games in this economy. Especially with the prospect of being charged $75 more and not being able to do a damn thing about it except try to scalp the ticket, which I'm sure you have to pick up at the will-call window of the stadium.

Unless I read the ticket information incorrectly, that would be $150 for two first-round games because if Ohio State wins (no question there) the extra $75 is automatically tacked on. The NCAA is so nice. They put games close to the universities playing the games to save on travel and then charge outlandish ticket prices:(

 

[BengalsAndBucks]

Unless I read the ticket information incorrectly, that would be $150 for two first-round games because if Ohio State wins (no question there) the extra $75 is automatically tacked on. The NCAA is so nice. They put games close to the universities playing the games to save on travel and then charge outlandish ticket prices:(

You would be paying $75 for the second session of the first round games in Dayton, which is the Louisville game and then our game, and if we win then you would be automatically charged $75 for the session of second round games, which would be Louisville- tOSU (if we win) and Pitt vs the winner of Ok St. and Tennessee. So you do get to see two games each time, but only one that you really give a damn about, and its still an outrageous price for a first round game in my opinion.

 

[SienaHoop]

Really good post and thanks for taking the time to bring us Buckeye fans up to date on your team. My question is that I noticed that during the regular season you lost to Rider and Niagara. I was wondering what those teams had that led to your defeat. I know that both of the games were home games for the opposition. Thanks again and I would wish you good luck against any other team.:osu:

another Siena fan here and please allow me to field this question...

1) the Rider loss... Siena has a bad habit of getting up big and then throwing it in neutral... see Wichita State, Rider as evidence. Both games Siena led by double digits late and simply attempted to run clock for much of the second half thus allowing both teams back in it. Rider got hot and scored on their last 16 possessions to win by 2 to give you an idea of how bad Siena was beating them. That was a tough lesson learned. But one that was learned ... or so it seems so far. At any rate ... a combination of a team letting their foot off the gas thinking they had a road game won... and a good shooting team getting hot late.

2) Niagara... Siena played Niagara a day or two after it was announced they locked up the #1 seed for the MAAC tournament. Siena definitely played the first half like they couldnt care less about being there and Niagara was looking to lock up the #2 seed. Niagara got out to a big lead and Siena closed the gap to single digits late in the second half but too little too late as Niagara hit like 15 or so straight free throws at the end to stretch the lead back to double digits. This was a "meaningless" game for Siena and meant a lot to niagara. I dont agree with how siena seemed to take the game but Niagara was strictly business in the game and couldnt miss. Siena did avenge this loss when it counted a short week or so later in the MAAC tournament.

both games, like ANY conference was the best team in the conference not at their best and the other team really stepping up. Both were road losses and one was a last second shot and the other was a "meaningless" game for Siena.

I also noticed a comment regarding height of players and someone implying that perhaps the NCAA height of 6'8" may not be a legit 6'8" for some teams/players. I will say this... ALL of Siena's heights are precise.. if not understated. Edwin Ubiles is pretty damn close to 6'7" and hes got the wingspan of a 7'er. Rossiter is every bit of 6'8.5". Moore is 6' hasbrouck 6'3" and Clarence Jackson is probably closer to 6'4". If one of your guys is said to be 6'8" or bigger and hes really 6'6" or 6'7" or less than stated... that will be obvious as Siena for some reason has made it a practice to post exact or even understated heights. We have a couple guys in our league who are said to be 6'9" and when they stand next to Ubiles are pretty close to the same height... so we KNOW they are lying.

Believe it.. the Ubiles Turner matchup could be a great one. Players like Ubiles dont make their way to the MAAC level too often. if it wasnt for his disappearing act at times i am damn sure he would be in the big east or acc... or big ten as a starter. Lets just hope edwin shows up.

 

[soup]

Really good post and thanks for taking the time to bring us Buckeye fans up to date on your team. My question is that I noticed that during the regular season you lost to Rider and Niagara. I was wondering what those teams had that led to your defeat. I know that both of the games were home games for the opposition. Thanks again and I would wish you good luck against any other team.:osu:

No shame in losing two road games in conference. Niagara was the 2nd best team in the conference, 26-8, 49 RPI. Niagara would be a nightmare 13 seed for someone. They're very quick and athletic, not very big. Siena buried them in the regular season at home and Niagara returned the favor at Niagara.

The Rider loss was a bit of a head scratcher - Siena was up 13 with 9 minutes to go on the road. Had the game in control, but then Rider scored on 16 or 17 straight possessions - hitting bombs from everywhere. Rider's gym holds 1500 people - so it's a [censored]box to play in. Rider had a 6 point lead with 90 seconds left, Hasbrouck brought Siena back to tie it, and Rider hit a prayer at the buzzer for the win. Rider finished 3rd in the league, and like Niagara, is not overly big but they're athletic.

I don't care what conference you play in - road conference wins are hard to come by - it's just the nature of hoops, at any level. Look at Memphis - they run the table in CUSA, but they always have 2 or 3 absolute dogfights on the road each year.

Siena, at times, has trouble with teams that rely on the 3.....Rider and Niagara both rely on the 3, heavily. Teams will get open looks when Siena is flying around trapping people. Niagara took 37 attempts in the MAAC title game. Teams like that can get hot - even with decent defense.

Some of these mid-major leagues, especially on the east coast, are tough conferences - tough kids. The MAAC is loaded with kids from NYC, Philly, Baltimore and DC - they're all tough as nails and most of them play with huge chips on their shoulders. For Siena to go 16-2 in their league, with one loss being a buzzer beater, is pretty good. The MAAC is lightyears better than Davidson's conference, for comparisons sake.

Siena has done well against bigger teams - they kicked the crap out of a ranked Stanford team in Albany last year, and then blasted Vandy. Siena was much quicker than both teams and it showed throughout each game.

Pittsburgh's size gave Siena awful problems - but that's a tough comparison for anyone. Siena played well in long stretches during that game. Tennessee's length and athleticism and speed was probably the only time this year Siena wasn't the longest, quickest team on the court - Tennessee is undisciplined, but they played pretty good that day in Orlando. Again, Siena had stretches in that game where they had Pearl calling timeouts left and right in the second half.

Hasbrouck is the key - he's a money player at Siena's level. Siena's scoring is spread out - Hasbrouck, Ubiles, Franklin all average 14-15ppg - Hasbrouck has had several 30+ point games in his career, same with Ubiles and Franklin. However, Hasbrouck will go down swinging - he's had games where he's gone 1 for 10, 2 for 20 - which is when Siena struggles. It's rare that he will defer in a big spot - even with 5 or 6 other guys that can get 20+.

Ubiles is Siena's most gifted player - offers from Big 12, Big East schools etc coming out of high school, but chose to stay close to home. He sort of floats around the court and tries to pick his spots - 6'6, long, quick, leaper, Siena's best on the ball defender and out in front of the press/half court traps. He gets a little lost when he's in a zone playing on the baseline. He will disappear at times on offense - but when Siena's defense is swarming, he's usually the main culprit. When Hasbrouck goes to the bench - that's when we see Ubiles try and take over games. He averaged 17 per game last year to lead the team, 15 this year. Hasn't had that big 35 point game yet this year. One of those guys that has 2 points at the half and finishes with 21, or vice versa.

If you guys have issues defending the 3 - Jackson is the kid you want to watch. He's a long, 6'3 2-guard - real explosive. Scored 28 points at St. Joseph's in about 21 minutes back in December. Big game against Kansas and Pitt. Hasbrouck's heir apparent. Gets less than 15 minutes per game, but averages nearly 9 per game. Scores in bunches - if the first shot goes down, look out....if it doesn't - he'll keep trying. He's a tremendous slasher and finisher - but an excellent shooter, so he's always looking for the 3-point line. If Siena wins, he'll be a factor. He was hurt for most of last year as a freshman - and got off to a slow start this year. But he's been great since Christmas, really evolved into his role and was the conference's 6th man of the year.

Franklin, at 6'5 is undersized - about 230....has good length, a leaper. Seems to get in foul trouble more than we'd like. Has a nose for the ball. Has the athleticism to defend the perimeter. I don't see him being a huge factor - though he averages 14 and 8.

Rossiter has filled a role - 6'8, 230...all elbows and knees. Has an excellent skill set for a mid-major big man - back to the basket, can hit the jumper, can put the ball on the floor a little bit, excellent passer out of the double team. All effort. Only a sophomore - has gone from a 2ppg, 3 reb guy as a freshman last year to a 10 and 7 guy playing 30+ minutes a night as a sophomore. He's the type defensively to stay between his man and the hoop and just stick his arms straight up when someone goes up for a shot. Gives up points, but also picks up a lot of "stuffs" without leaving his feet. He looks like McLovin from Superbad - a pencil neck geek; but he has a great ability to get under people's skin without trying to do so. He's all effort.

Siena's point guard is stellar - he's quick, doesn't turn the ball over, applies excellent ball pressure throughout on defense. Streaky shooter from deep - has developed a nice 15 foot pull up. Not relied on to score. His job is to get the ball off makes and misses and get it into the paint ASAP and dish to Rossiter or Franklin beating their man down court for easy chances - or pulling it out and getting Siena into their set. When playing "up" teams - he may turn it over once or twice more than usual, which is just a product of taking some bigger gambles against better competition. He did a number on Collins in the game at Kansas - 18 points, 8 assists, maybe 1 turnover - really had Siena playing at a high level. There are times during the year where he goes on 4 or 5 game binges where he's just in a zone pushing tempo - and he was in that zone during the conference tournament, so hopefully that continues.

Duell off the bench looks like a slob - 6'7, 270 - he's a 5th year senior - draws charges, provides depth up front, and can knock down the 3. Can't jump over a comic book. Bad achilles, bad knees, bad calf - he'll own the Over-30 leagues some day. He's been hurt all year - but can give 10-12 minutes - and they're usually productive in some sort of way. In the game against Stanford last year - he would just drag Lopez out of the paint, hit a couple of 3s, which opened up the lane for Siena to blow Stanford out. This will be his 3rd NCAA Tournament - he was on the Vermont team that beat Syracuse in 2005 and then on last year's Siena team that beat Vandy. A lot of experience, he seems to win wherever he plays. He's a local kid, so when Brennan retired from UVM he transferred home after one season with the new Vermont coach.

A couple of freshman - Wignot is a 6'7 wing - offers from Penn State and Temple. 44 inch vertical. Smooth jumper. Doesn't force things - starting to become more aggressive on both ends. Won't get more than 10 minutes - but doesn't turn the ball over and makes smart decisions. Has a lot of upside the next 3 years. Downey is a 6'2 guard - strongest kid on the team, not quick, not athletic, just a basketball player. His brother was 3-time All-MAAC in Siena's conference - he was all-freshman this year. Hasn't played a lot as of late - but is capable of hitting shots. More of a liability on defense than Wignot is - again, probably won't play more than 6-8 minutes, if that.

I just think this has the makings of a great game. OSU will have some advantages, Siena will have some advantages and there will be some areas where it is a draw.

 

[fourteenandoh]

anyone worry about the fact that none of our guys have played in the tournament? in a game between teams this close that has to play a factor.