Vanderbilt - Siena Preview

Midwest- Round One
Vanderbilt Commodores (4) Vs. Siena Saints (13)
Friday, March 21 @ 7:20 pm

The Vanderbilt Commodores (10- 6 SEC, 26- 7 overall) enter the NCAA Tournament ranked 16th in the nation. Vandy was definitely a home team, going 19- 0 in the confines of their gym. They played a slew of conference games on the road, starting off 2- 4 in the SEC. Then they won seven in a row, including a 72- 69 win over then #1 Tennessee.

Shan Foster (20.5 PPG, 4.9 RPG), Vandy’s senior swingman, is the heart and soul of the team. Often he’ll carry this team on his back. When senior point guard Alex Gordon (11.0 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 3.2 APG) gets his jumper going, it’s tough to beat the Commodores. Center A.J. Ogilvy (17.0 PPG, 6.8 RPG), a freshman, is a fine inside scoring threat. Forward Ross Neltner (8.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG) leads the team in rebounds.

The Siena Saints (13- 5 MAAC, 22- 10 overall) took the regular season title and the MAAC Tournament crown. Siena has not been to the Big Dance since 2002. This is a young team with only one senior. That means there could be more trips to the tournament in this club’s future.

Sophomore guard Edwin Ubiles (17.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG) is the Saints top scorer. Across from him is junior guard Kenny Hasbrouck (15.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.3 APG). Both are solid scoring threats. At forward, Alex Franklin (15.2 PPG, 8.0 RPG) also possesses great scoring chops. The man running the on-court show is sophomore point guard Ronald Moore (8.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 5.3 APG). Moore is fast and smart—a fine leader. One problem for this team is their size. The undersized Saints can be pushed into a half-court game, which definitely works against them.

Vandy looks poised to win this one, but Siena will not go without a fight.