Rider insists it’s ready to face Siena, crowd in MAAC quarters
LAWRENCEVILLE >> There’s going to be a buzz in the building when Rider takes the floor against Siena in a MAAC Tournament quarterfinal game on Saturday night (9:30 p.m., ESPN3, 107.7 FM The Bronc).
Will a hostile road crowd inside the Times Union Center in Albany be the focusing factor the Broncs need or will they slump to a quarterfinal defeat for the eighth straight season?
“It’s going to be good to play in front of a crowd,” junior center Tyere Marshall said. “We like something like that. Even when we’re away, we like when the building is packed.”
Rider (16-14, 11-7) and Siena (16-15, 11-7) finished as part of a four-way tie for second behind Iona and when the tiebreaker shook out, it seeded the Broncs fourth and the Saints fifth. Siena won the lone meeting between the teams this season in Lawrenceville, 59-57.
Rider has never won the MAAC’s automatic NCAA bid and hasn’t been to the Big Dance since going as the NEC champion in 1994. Siena last danced in 2010 when it won the third of three straight MAAC titles. That 2010 triumph in Albany marked the last time the No. 1 seed has won the MAAC Tournament.
“I’m expecting them to bring it, too, because this is their home game,” Marshall said. “They want to win, too, and they’re at home. We respect our opponent. They’re a good team. They proved they’re a good team. They beat us here.”
Marshall and his teammates still carry the pain of last season’s quarterfinal flameout when Rider was the top seed. They don’t needed reminded about it. It’s whispered at seemingly every turn.
“Last year, losing in the first round, left a bad taste in our mouth for a long time,” said Marshall, who averages 10.4 points and 6.5 rebounds. “It’s still there. We still remember it. We don’t want to feel that pain losing again. We’re trying to stay focused and make sure we do every little thing to try and win. Every possession counts, every 50-50 ball, so we want to make sure we can do everything in our power to win.”
Same for coach Kevin Baggett, who has posted an 80-54 (.597) record in MAAC games during his tenure, but is 3-6 all-time at the MAAC Tournament and 0-6 in the quarterfinals.
“If you’re a basketball player, it’s an opportunity to try and win a game so you can advance, which we haven’t advanced past the quarterfinal,” Baggett said. “That’s more the focus. We don’t even talk about the crowd. It’s about us. I don’t care who is in the crowd at this point. We got to win that game.” How can Rider go about doing that? Siena moves as the second slowest tempo nationally, but it’s effective thanks to Jalen Pickett, a 6-4 point guard who became the first true freshman since La Salle’s Lionel Simmons in 1986-87 to be named All-MAAC First Team. Pickett is averaging 15.7 points and 6.7 assists against just two turnovers, which is remarkable since he plays 37 minutes per game and is the Saints’ only ball handler.
Siena initiates almost all of its offense off a high ball screen and the Broncs chose to trap the ball out of Pickett’s hands in the first meeting. He was actually held to a pedestrian eight points and six assists, but senior forward Evan Fisher had a big game, scoring 21 points on 8-for-19 shooting.
The thinking here is Rider will employ that strategy once again, which will require it to be sharp with its rotations. Fisher averages 15.7 points and Kevin Degnan (39.7 percent) and Sloan Seymour (36.2 percent) are both strong 3-point shooters.
“It’s more about us with our team,” Baggett said. “We just need to do what we’re supposed to do and play to our strengths. A lot of times we have a tendency to worry about every other team, but teams got to worry about us, too.”
Marshall had 19 points in the first meeting against Siena and has a clear advantage inside when he’s guarded by Fisher. The Broncs should attack Fisher on the defensive end in that matchup and try to get him in foul trouble or force the Saints to double team.
Marshall wants Rider to throw the first punch.
“Nobody likes to be on the receiving end of that,” he said. “We’re going to try and throw that first punch and make them play catch up. We don’t want to play catch up, especially away, you don’t want to do that.”
The winner advances to a semifinal on Sunday evening against the Iona/ Saint Peter’s winner.