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Game 1: Siena vs. Boise State
Overview: Siena begins the season of high expectations against a team that reached the NCAA Tournament last year in Boise State.
The Broncos won the Western Athletic Conference and were a 14-seed, losing to Louisville 79-61.
While Siena defeated Boise State on the road by 23 points and they have mostly all of their players back, while the Broncos only have one starter returning, I don't think this game will be a runaway.
6-foot-7 senior Mark Sanchez and 6-9 Kurt Cunningham give Boise an inside presence, while junior Anthony Thomas had 11 assists in the Broncos first game against Division III Pacific on Friday evening. Thomas had 141 assists last season and needs just 55 this year to crack into the Top 10 in school history.
La'Shard Anderson is a junior college transfer, who will also make an impact for Boise this season.
The Saints will be unveiling their 2007-08 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship banner at halftime, with a return from Tay Fisher.
Junior point guard Ronald Moore needs just six assists to surpass Prosper Karangwa ('03) on the all-time career assist list. He has 338 career assists entering the 2008-09 season.
Records: Boise State 1-0. Siena 0-0
The Series: Siena and Boise State have each one won game against each other. The Saints won last season in a ESPN BracketBusters matchup 93-70.
The Broncos won 82-80 in the 1993 Boise State Real Dairy Classic.
Siena is 2-1 all-time against the nine current member of the WAC, with a win against Hawaii, 65-43 (1949-50).
Player to Watch: Alex Franklin, junior forward Siena. Franklin tortured the Broncos last year in the BracketBusters game to the tune of 30 points and 18 rebounds, both career-highs. If they can't slow down Franklin, it will be a long night for Boise.
X-Factor: Rebounding. The Saints outrebounded the Broncos 44-36 and outscored them in the paint 46-28. Siena was outrebounded by an averaged of 4.3 boards per game last season and to out-board Boise State by eight, shows what kind of dominance they had inside. The development of Rossiter, if he can play and play effectively, should only help that stat. If Siena outrebounds Boise against, the Saints will likely win easily. The key for the Broncos will be controlling the play inside.
Quote: "They kind of came into our place and put a little hurt on us," said Boise State sophomore Paul Noonan in Monday morning's Idaho Statesman about the BracketBusters game from last season.
Noonan made the first start of his career in that game in place of an injured Matt Bauscher.
Injury Note: For Siena, an update on the three-headed monster of Cory Magee, Josh Duell and Ryan Rossiter. Magee (concussion) is out for tonight's game. Duell (foot) may play a little bit after practicing this weekend and Rossiter (knee) could be in the starting lineup and should play.
Prediction: Siena 86, Boise State 71 (The Saints are 34-32 all-time in season openers)
Check back tomorrow for more on UAlbany's matchup against DePaul.
The Broncos won the Western Athletic Conference and were a 14-seed, losing to Louisville 79-61.
While Siena defeated Boise State on the road by 23 points and they have mostly all of their players back, while the Broncos only have one starter returning, I don't think this game will be a runaway.
6-foot-7 senior Mark Sanchez and 6-9 Kurt Cunningham give Boise an inside presence, while junior Anthony Thomas had 11 assists in the Broncos first game against Division III Pacific on Friday evening. Thomas had 141 assists last season and needs just 55 this year to crack into the Top 10 in school history.
La'Shard Anderson is a junior college transfer, who will also make an impact for Boise this season.
The Saints will be unveiling their 2007-08 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship banner at halftime, with a return from Tay Fisher.
Junior point guard Ronald Moore needs just six assists to surpass Prosper Karangwa ('03) on the all-time career assist list. He has 338 career assists entering the 2008-09 season.
Records: Boise State 1-0. Siena 0-0
The Series: Siena and Boise State have each one won game against each other. The Saints won last season in a ESPN BracketBusters matchup 93-70.
The Broncos won 82-80 in the 1993 Boise State Real Dairy Classic.
Siena is 2-1 all-time against the nine current member of the WAC, with a win against Hawaii, 65-43 (1949-50).
Player to Watch: Alex Franklin, junior forward Siena. Franklin tortured the Broncos last year in the BracketBusters game to the tune of 30 points and 18 rebounds, both career-highs. If they can't slow down Franklin, it will be a long night for Boise.
X-Factor: Rebounding. The Saints outrebounded the Broncos 44-36 and outscored them in the paint 46-28. Siena was outrebounded by an averaged of 4.3 boards per game last season and to out-board Boise State by eight, shows what kind of dominance they had inside. The development of Rossiter, if he can play and play effectively, should only help that stat. If Siena outrebounds Boise against, the Saints will likely win easily. The key for the Broncos will be controlling the play inside.
Quote: "They kind of came into our place and put a little hurt on us," said Boise State sophomore Paul Noonan in Monday morning's Idaho Statesman about the BracketBusters game from last season.
Noonan made the first start of his career in that game in place of an injured Matt Bauscher.
Injury Note: For Siena, an update on the three-headed monster of Cory Magee, Josh Duell and Ryan Rossiter. Magee (concussion) is out for tonight's game. Duell (foot) may play a little bit after practicing this weekend and Rossiter (knee) could be in the starting lineup and should play.
Prediction: Siena 86, Boise State 71 (The Saints are 34-32 all-time in season openers)
Check back tomorrow for more on UAlbany's matchup against DePaul.
Labels: Boise State, College Basketball, Siena
posted by Andrew Santillo at
2:59 AM
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