LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena Basketball Head Coach Carmen Maciariello has announced the Saints' non-conference schedule. After not being able to compete in non-conference action last season due to the effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Saints have their sights set on a challenging nine-game non-conference slate, highlighted by three contests at the Times Union Center.
 
"Year-in and year-out we want to play a challenging non-conference schedule, and this year is no different," said Maciariello. "The goal is to be playing our best basketball in March, and this schedule will help prepare us for our journey ahead."
 
Siena's nine-game non-conference docket features three home dates and six road tilts, four of which will come against Patriot League foes to round out the slate. The Saints achieved a 3-1 record against the Patriot League last time out in 2019-20, and hold an impressive 98-52 (.653) all-time mark against the conference's 10 current programs.
 
Siena will endure a busy opening month, featuring seven of their nine non-conference matchups over a 21-day span in November, including five contests over the first 13 days.
 
The 2021-22 Siena Basketball season tips off with the return of the Br. Ed Coughlin Franciscan Cup on Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. at St. Bonaventure. The defending Atlantic 10 Regular Season and Tournament Champions, the Bonnies have been predicted as a preseason top-25 team by most national polls. Siena and St. Bonaventure meet for the 11^th time since the trophy was devised by the schools' presidents to commemorate the annual renewal of the rivalry, with the Bonnies holding a slight 6-4 advantage in a tightly contested series which has seen four of those games decided by three points or less. Overall, the sister schools will be meeting for the 42^nd time. The Saints reclaimed the Cup in the most recent matchup with a 78-65 triumph on Nov. 12, 2019 at the Times Union Center, in the first meeting between the programs since the trophy was renamed in honor of the late Siena College President and St. Bonaventure alumnus.
 
The Saints make their return to the Times Union Center for their 2021-22 home opener vs. Colonial Athletic Association foe Delaware on Saturday, Nov. 13. The Blue Hens went 7-8 overall in an abbreviated slate last year including 5-4 in the CAA, and won 22 games in their last full season in 2019-20. The programs have split six previous matchups, and will be meeting for the first time in 12 years dating back to a 90-56 victory by eventual MAAC Champion Siena on Nov. 24, 2009 in Albany as part of the Philly Hoop Group Classic.
 
The Saints continue their home stretch against reigning Ivy League Champion Yale on Tuesday, Nov. 16 in Albany. The Bulldogs posted a 23-7 overall record during the 2019-20 season. The programs will be meeting for just the fourth time, with Yale having won two of the first three including a triple overtime thriller 100-89 in the most recent matchup on Nov. 20, 2019 in New Haven.
 
For the third straight non-conference season, Siena will face a BIG EAST program when they travel to Capital One Arena in the nation's capital for a showdown with defending BIG EAST Tournament Champion Georgetown on Saturday, Nov. 20. The Saints will see a pair of familiar faces in graduate student Donald Carey, who played for Siena during the 2019-20 season, and assistant coach Louis Orr, who served as the head coach for the 2000-01 MAAC Regular Season Co-Champion Saints which featured Maciariello on the roster. Siena is 4-2 all-time against Georgetown, although the programs are set to meet for the first time in 48 years dating back to the 1973-74 season.
 
The Saints will play all three of their non-conference home contests during a four-game stretch when they return home to battle another perennial Ivy League power in Harvard on Monday, Nov. 22. The Crimson went 21-8 during their most recent 2019-20 season. The programs meet for just the third time – all of which have come during the past three non-conference seasons – with each team having won on their home court.
 
Siena concludes the non-conference portion of its schedule with four consecutive road games at Patriot League opponents. The Saints close out November with a back-to-back at Bucknell Sunday, Nov. 28 and at CBI participant Army West Point on Tuesday, Nov. 30. The Saints have won five of the first six meetings against the Bison, whom they will be seeing for the sixth time in the past eight seasons. Meanwhile, Siena will be making its first trip to West Point in 31 years, which came during the Saints' first year in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and the Black Knights' last.
 
The Saints round out their non-conference schedule with a pair of December matchups at Holy Cross on Saturday, Dec. 11 and at American on Tuesday, Dec. 28. Siena and Holy Cross will meet for the fifth time since 2017, while the Saints most recently defeated American 96-80 in Maciariello's head coaching debut to open the 2019-20 season at the Times Union Center.
 
Game times for all non-conference contests – as well as the announcement of the Saints' 20-game MAAC regular season schedule – will be released later this summer.
 
2021-22 Siena Basketball Season Tickets starting at just $75 to see the Saints play at the Times Union Center are on-sale now, and can be purchased online at sienasaints.com/tickets, by e-mail at sienatickets2@siena.edu, or by contacting the Siena Fan Relations Management Center during traditional business hours Monday-Friday by phone at (518) 487-2202.
 
Siena is looking to build off back-to-back MAAC Regular Season Championship seasons with an exciting new roster highlighted by nine talented newcomers featuring six upperclassman transfers and three true freshmen.