Overview: In my story in Tuesday's paper I talk about senior co-captain Josh Duell's connection with historic Allen Fieldhouse.

Duell played his first collegiate game at No. 1 Kansas when he was with the University of Vermont.

Duell and the Catamounts almost pulled off the upset too, losing 67-61.

His connection isn't the only. Junior forward Alex Franklin told me he's played against the Morris twins, Markeiff and Marcus, who are both from Philadelphia.

Obviously the Saints will have their hands full as they travel to Lawrence to take on the defending national champions.

Siena seems to have turned a corner since losing three games in four days at the Old Spice Classic in November.

Since then, they are 8-1 and the only loss comes to newly ranked No. 1 (and first time in school history) Pitt (14-0).

While the Jayhawks still aren't ranked and lost all five starters from last season's title-winning team, they are definitely one of the best teams Siena will play this season.

"For us, I look at it as a great opportunity to measure our ability to stay composed on the road," Siena coach Fran McCaffery said.

This should be a good one.

Records: Siena 10-4. Kansas 10-3

The Series: These two teams have never met.

Player to Watch: Cole Aldrich, sophomore Kansas. Aldrich is still young, but you wouldn't know it. He's averaging 14.8 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. On Saturday, he scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Tennessee. Aldrich is 6-11, but is athletic and could have a big day against whoever Siena has to play up front.

X-factor: 3-point shooting: You can't win big games without getting big shots. Siena's shooting just 29.9 percent from beyond the 3-point line. In their four losses, the Saints are shooting 20.3 percent (12-59) from downtown. To go on the road against a more-talented team and win, you need to hit big shots. Tay Fisher proved he could do that and while Siena still has players capable of doing just that, they haven't shown it so far this season in a big, close game.

Injury Report: At this point it seems like everyone on Siena could be in this category and we joked about holding our breath when going into the locker room after the Saint Peter's game.

Apparently Duell and Ryan Rossiter (stomach bug) both feel better and should be able to play. Erik Harris (knee) and Cory Magee (concussion) probably won't see action.

Prediction: Kansas 77, Siena 71 (Call me crazy, but I see this game being close. My record is 11-3)