ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – Siena Basketball begins its quest for a seventh Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament Championship when the ninth-seeded Saints face No. 8 seed Rider in MAAC First Round action Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.
 
Siena (14-17) faces the unenviable task of trying to win four games in five days to fulfill its mission of hoisting the 2025 MAAC Championship trophy Saturday night, but it has been done before. And, the No. 9 seed has had some surprising success in recent MAAC Tournaments.
 
Since 2018, the No. 9 seed is a solid 11-6 and won multiple games in three of those seven tournaments, highlighted by Iona winning it all just four years ago. Moreover, nine seeds have emerged victorious in seven of the past eight 8-9 First Round matchups.
 
Meanwhile, Siena will seek to recalibrate its success both in March and in Atlantic City. The Saints have dropped 15 of their last 16 games in March, including four straight in postseason play. Overall however, Siena is a solid 40-29 all-time in MAAC Tournament action and is second only to the Gaels in titles.
 
Siena opens against a Rider (13-18) squad which won three in a row to close out the regular season. The Broncs edged the Saints 61-59 on a put-back at the buzzer by Tank Byard in the lone regular season meeting between the teams as part of the unbalanced MAAC schedule back on Feb. 8.
 
Siena leads the all-time series with Rider 39-22, including a perfect 4-0 in MAAC Tournament action. The last three postseason matchups between the programs came in Albany, most recently in 2019.  
 
Eddy Occhipinti, Chris Williams, and Griffin Della Penna have the call of the game on ESPN+, which can be viewed by clicking the corresponding link. The "Voice of the Saints" Emmanuel Berbari and former Saint Andy Grazulis '92 will have the radio call of the game locally in the Capital Region on JAMZ 96.3 FM, with pregame coverage beginning at 5:30 p.m.