Saints head to New Jersey to face MAAC's best
The Siena men's basketball team is as charged for Monday's game at Monmouth as the Saints were for the season opener against the defending national champion, according to head coach Jimmy Patsos.
"The kids' spirits are great," Patsos said. "They're as hyped as they were for the Duke game, and I mean in a good way."
Monmouth, one of the worst teams in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference just two years ago, has completely transformed into one of the most heralded mid-major programs in the country under head coach King Rice.
The Hawks (13-4 overall, 5-1 MAAC) gained national recognition for knocking off USC, UCLA, Notre Dame and Georgetown in nonconference play. Now they've established themselves as the MAAC team to beat with a 110-102 victory at preseason favorite Iona on Friday night.
"I'm excited to play this game," Patsos said. "I want to see where we stand against the top team in the league, arguably. Them and Iona are the benchmarks this year. Now they just beat Iona pretty handily. We know who USC, UCLA, Notre Dame, Georgetown are, so I don't have to get the players up for this. I'm interested to go out and give it our best and I'm really interested to see how we play."
Patsos wondered if Siena could be catching Monmouth at a good time after the Hawks outlasted Iona in a fast-paced game that ended with an altercation between the teams during the handshake line.
"A lot of times teams don't respond great after ... it was an emotional win, and obviously, there was extra emotion spent," Patsos said.
Siena junior forward Javion Ogunyemi agreed with his coach that the game will serve as a measuring stick for the Saints (11-6, 4-2), who are aiming for their third straight victory.
"This game will definitely be a test for us," Ogunyemi said. "They're one of the best teams in the league ? I should rephrase that, the best ? and this will show the league that we're no joke."
The Saints are coming off a gritty 64-52 win at Quinnipiac in which junior forward Brett Bisping scored 18 points despite sitting out most of the first half with back spasms.
Bisping said on Sunday his back was feeling much better and he expected to play against Monmouth.
"We won at Quinnipiac, but I don't think we played our best," Bisping said. "We won't get away with that if we play that way against Monmouth, I don't think, so we're going to have to play better."
The Hawks' success begins with 5-8 junior point guard Justin Robinson, who would have to be on any short list for MAAC Player of the Year. He's leading Monmouth in scoring at 20.6 points per game and assists at 3.4 per contest.
"Nobody's improved more than I've ever seen in three years than Justin, in terms of point guard, to scoring guard, to leader to really scoring guard," Patsos said. "I mean, he's pretty good."
The Hawks also have Glenville native Collin Stewart, a 6-8 junior guard who averages 9.2 points per game off the bench. Redshirt freshman guard Micah Seaborn, who sat last year, is second in scoring at 13.4 ppg.
Monmouth can play very fast and ranks 13th in the country in adjusted tempo at 74.4 possessions per 40 minutes, according to basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy. However, Patsos also pointed out the Hawks have the interior size to match up with the Siena inside scoring punch of Ogunyemi and Bisping.
The Siena men's basketball team is as charged for Monday's game at Monmouth as the Saints were for the season opener against the defending national champion, according to head coach Jimmy Patsos.
"The kids' spirits are great," Patsos said. "They're as hyped as they were for the Duke game, and I mean in a good way."
Monmouth, one of the worst teams in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference just two years ago, has completely transformed into one of the most heralded mid-major programs in the country under head coach King Rice.
The Hawks (13-4 overall, 5-1 MAAC) gained national recognition for knocking off USC, UCLA, Notre Dame and Georgetown in nonconference play. Now they've established themselves as the MAAC team to beat with a 110-102 victory at preseason favorite Iona on Friday night.
"I'm excited to play this game," Patsos said. "I want to see where we stand against the top team in the league, arguably. Them and Iona are the benchmarks this year. Now they just beat Iona pretty handily. We know who USC, UCLA, Notre Dame, Georgetown are, so I don't have to get the players up for this. I'm interested to go out and give it our best and I'm really interested to see how we play."
Patsos wondered if Siena could be catching Monmouth at a good time after the Hawks outlasted Iona in a fast-paced game that ended with an altercation between the teams during the handshake line.
"A lot of times teams don't respond great after ... it was an emotional win, and obviously, there was extra emotion spent," Patsos said.
Siena junior forward Javion Ogunyemi agreed with his coach that the game will serve as a measuring stick for the Saints (11-6, 4-2), who are aiming for their third straight victory.
"This game will definitely be a test for us," Ogunyemi said. "They're one of the best teams in the league ? I should rephrase that, the best ? and this will show the league that we're no joke."
The Saints are coming off a gritty 64-52 win at Quinnipiac in which junior forward Brett Bisping scored 18 points despite sitting out most of the first half with back spasms.
Bisping said on Sunday his back was feeling much better and he expected to play against Monmouth.
"We won at Quinnipiac, but I don't think we played our best," Bisping said. "We won't get away with that if we play that way against Monmouth, I don't think, so we're going to have to play better."
The Hawks' success begins with 5-8 junior point guard Justin Robinson, who would have to be on any short list for MAAC Player of the Year. He's leading Monmouth in scoring at 20.6 points per game and assists at 3.4 per contest.
"Nobody's improved more than I've ever seen in three years than Justin, in terms of point guard, to scoring guard, to leader to really scoring guard," Patsos said. "I mean, he's pretty good."
The Hawks also have Glenville native Collin Stewart, a 6-8 junior guard who averages 9.2 points per game off the bench. Redshirt freshman guard Micah Seaborn, who sat last year, is second in scoring at 13.4 ppg.
Monmouth can play very fast and ranks 13th in the country in adjusted tempo at 74.4 possessions per 40 minutes, according to basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy. However, Patsos also pointed out the Hawks have the interior size to match up with the Siena inside scoring punch of Ogunyemi and Bisping.
