LOUDONVILLE - The Siena men’s basketball team will face Purdue in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

The Saints (27-6) were selected a No. 13 seed and are in the South Region where they will face the Boilermakers (27-5) on Friday in Spokane, Wash.

Siena will be making their third consecutive tournament appearance and sixth in school history.

The Saints earned the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s automatic bid after knocking off Fairfield 72-65 in overtime last Monday.

Siena’s 27 wins tie for the most in program history, matching both the 1949-50 team and last year’s squad.

Purdue enters the tournament after finishing tied for first in the Big Ten with a 14-4 conference record.

Siena and Purdue are meeting for the first time.

The Saints are 2-4 all-time against Big Ten opponents, but did beat Ohio State last season in the NCAA Tournament.

The winner of Friday’s matchup will play against the winner of No. 5 Texas A&M and No. 12 Utah State on Sunday.