SIENA
The Saints will host a national post-season game for the first time in 11 years when it meets Stony Brook at Albany's Times Union Center Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) event.
Its opponent will be Stony Brook which, coincidentally, suffered a 69-60 home-court loss to UAlbany in the championship game of the America East tournament on Saturday.
Siena will host a postseason basketball game Tuesday night for the first time in 11 years. The Saints welcome Stony Brook to Times Union Center at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the First Round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI).
""It's a great honor to be playing in a tournament," said Saints' coach Jimmy Patsos. "It's the first step. I think the reason we're in it is because we have great tradition. To have a home game, that says you have great fans and a great program.
The CBI is the only one of the three non-NCAA tournaments that permit teams with sub-.500 records to participate. Siena is currently 15-17 overall after finishing fifth in the MAAC's regular season. The Saints, who won eight games the previous year, had been picked in the coaches' preseason poll to finish 10th.
Stoney Brook is 23-10 on the season and its topo player is the America East's Player of tye Year Jameel 'Warney, a 6-foot-8, 260-pound sophomore forward who averages 14.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
The Seahawks are making their 12th postseason appearance (six times to the NCAA's, five times to the NIT, but their first to a national event since three straight NCAA trips from 2008-10.
Siena joins Cincinnati (2008), Oregon (2011), Oregon State (2009 and 2010), Purdue (2013), St. John's (2009), Texas (2013) and Washington State (2012) as the only programs to receive an invitation to the CBA with a losing record.
The Saints won eight of their final 12 regular-season contests.
The winner of Tuesday night’s game will advance to play in the CBI Quarterfinals Monday, March 24 to face the winner of Penn State and Hampton. The location of that game will be determined after the completion of the First Round. The Semifinals will take place Wednesday, March 26 and the Championship Series (best of three) is Monday, March 31, Wednesday, April 2 and Friday, April 4 (if necessary).
2 comments:
This is a silly tourney and no way should a 15-17 team be playing in ANY post season tourney. It is like giving kids these "participation" trophies - when i was a kid you actually had to win something to get a trophy. You look at my 10 year olds room and you would think i had the next Bo Jackson with all his trophies on the shelves - he ain't no Bo jackson!!!
Maybe he's only the next Deon Sanders!
And, Andy, you know enough about these tournaments to realize they're in business to make money. Good deal for Siena, though, an extra week of meaningful practices and at least one more game.
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