March 14, 2010

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LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - The Saints were awarded the #13 seed in the South Region and will face fourth seeded Purdue in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament Friday at 2:30 p.m. Eastern in Spokane, Wash. This marks the third straight season that the Saints are heading to the NCAA Tournament and the program's sixth berth overall.

Siena enters the tournament 27-6 overall after earning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's automatic berth by defeating Fairfield 72-65 in overtime in the MAAC Championship game Monday night in Albany. Siena's 27 wins tie for the most in program history, matching both the 1949-50 team as well as last year's squad.

Purdue enters the tournament at 27-5 overall and finished tied for first at 14-4 in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers were ranked fifth entering this week in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and sixth in the AP poll. Purdue had won 13 of 14 before being knocked out of the Big Ten Semifinals on Saturday by Minnesota, 69-42.

"I watched them against St. Joe's in preparing for St. Joe's," Head Coach Fran McCaffery said. "I wasn't really watching Purdue. I had a chance to see them play. A really impressive team, a lot of talent, they defend. I love Moore, Kramer. Obviously when I watched them Hummel was playing. They were probably destined to be a No. 1 seed. Obviously a difficult opponent, even without Hummel."

Siena makes its sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and appears in the South Region for the first time ever. The Saints have won at least one NCAA Tournament game in four of their previous five trips, including First Round victories each of the past two seasons over Vanderbilt and Ohio State.

This will be the first ever matchup between the Saints and Boilermakers. Siena is 2-4 all-time against Big Ten opponents including its First Round victory over Ohio State last season. Additionally, it is the third time that the Saints will face a Big Ten opponent in the NCAA Tournament, having also faced Minnesota in 1989 in the Second Round.

Siena and Purdue had one common opponent this year in Saint Joseph's. The Boilermakers defeated the Hawks 85-60 on Nov. 22, while Siena topped Saint Joseph's 92-75 on Dec. 29 at Times Union Center.

The winner of the game advances to the Second Round Sunday against the winner of the game between #5 seed Texas A&M and #12 seed Utah State.