Nov. 26, 2011
The Siena men's basketball team finishes a whirlwind holiday week Saturday when it faces defending America East Champion Vermont at 1 p.m. in Burlington. Fans can watch the game, listen to the Siena radio broadcast, join in with our courtside live blog, or follow the live stats by utilizing the Gameday Central link at the top of the page.
The Saints are coming off consecutive losses to St. Bonaventure and Georgia Tech, after consecutive wins to start the season. Head coach Mitch Buonaguro expressed concern that the shorthanded Saints may experience fatigue playing their fifth game in 12 days to start the season.
"We had some fun with the guys Thursday," Buonaguro said. "My wife made a Thanksgiving meal, and everyone got a chance to relax and enjoy themselves. Still, I'm concerned that some of the guys who have played big minutes may wear down. This is another big challenge."
Siena lost to Vermont 80-76 in Albany last November to start the season. The setback snapped the Saints' 38-game home court win streak. The Catamounts went on to win the America East and advance to the NCAA Tournament. Siena and Vermont have been two of the most accomplished Mid-Majors in the Northeast over the past decade.
The Saints have controlled the all-time series, winning 21 of 27 all-time meetings, with most coming when the two teams were in the North Atlantic Conference in the late 1980s.
Vermont is 3-2 on the season with wins over Dartmouth, Marist, and most recently, on the road at Old Dominion in overtime. Their two losses were a 61-59 setback at Big East foe South Florida, and an 80-75 setback to 2011 NEC Champ Long Island at Mohegan Sun.
Siena scored just 44 points Wednesday at Georgia Tech, the fewest since an 84-44 MAAC Tournament loss to Canisius on Feb. 28, 1997, a stretch of 446 games.
The Saints will continue to dress just seven scholarship players, but they did get some good news on Wednesday when it was learned that Trenity Burdine should be able to return to the team by the start of the calendar year.
Siena finally has a couple days off following Saturday's contest. The Saints open MAAC play at defending champ Saint Peter's Thursday night.
