March 15, 2009

GALLERY

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - The Siena College Saints were awarded the #9 seed in the Midwest Region and will face Big Ten power and #8 seed Ohio State in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament Friday night at approximately 9:40 p.m. in Dayton, Ohio. The #9 seed is the highest ever for the Saints which are making their fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Siena enters the tournament 26-7 overall after earning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's automatic berth by defeating Niagara 77-70 in the MAAC Championship game Monday night in Albany. The 26 wins are the second most in program history and the most since Siena went Division I in 1976-77.

Ohio State sports a 22-10 overall record and finished fourth in the Big Ten with a 10-8 conference record, earning one of 34 at-large bids into the field. The Buckeyes had won four straight games before falling to #24 Purdue in the Big Ten Title Game earlier today.

Siena makes its fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and appears in the Midwest Region for a second straight year. Last season as a #13 seed, the Saints defeated #4 Vanderbilt 83-62 in a First Round matchup before falling to #12 seed Villanova in Tampa, Fla.

The Saints and Buckeyes meet for just the second time in program history. The teams first met early in the 1986-87 season, a 101-57 victory for Ohio State in Columbus.

Siena and Ohio State had one common opponent this year in Iona. The Buckeyes defeated the Gaels 71-53 on Dec. 20 in Columbus, while Siena swept their regular season MAAC series with Iona.

The winner of the game advances to the Second Round Sunday against either the #1 overall seed Louisville or the winner of the Opening Round game between Alabama State and Morehead State.