The Siena Saints’ comfortable win over Merrimack in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship Tuesday night set the school up for its first NCAA Tournament run in 16 years.
The first 10 minutes of Tuesday’s conference championship game saw Siena go up 24-9 against the first-seeded Merrimack, ultimately finishing the night 64-54.
Three days later, the campus is still buzzing.
Kyle Carney is crossing campus in a blue sports jacket. He’s a junior in the school’s pre-law program.
“You know I just started a club basketball team, so I’m a big fan,” said Carney.
Carney made the trip with fellow students down to Atlantic City to see the Saints secure their bracket spot.
“The atmosphere was electric to say the least, the team looked really good, they were playing great defense. I mean, they didn’t score for like 9 minutes. I’m a Syracuse fan at hear but now that I’m at Siena, I’m a Siena fan,” said Carney.
Carney says he would like to see his team play in person in the big dance — but he can only travel so far.
“I would go pretty far if it was on the East Coast, however, if it’s in San Diego, I don’t know about that,” said Carney.
“If it’s like Ohio, if you’re going to Dayton are you getting on that bus?”
“Yeah. If they offer that bus, I’m getting on that bus,” said Carney.
The last time Siena appeared in the NCAA Tournament was in 2010. The school won the MAAC championship in 2020, but the pandemic dashed all hopes of a national tournament.
Librarian Alison Larsen’s excitement is testament that tournament hype has seeped into even the quietest corners of campus.
“Generally, the library, stereotypically, is quiet, though in here we have a lot of life. But, yes, it has been exciting to see both the momentum in the building and campus continue to build,” said Larsen.
Larsen’s first year at Siena coincided with the Saints’ last tournament run. She says the energy on campus this time around is similar.
“You know, I think it’s something that allows people to go, ‘wow, that’s not easy to do and it gives us all a collective ‘yes.’ There’s a lot of things at Siena to go ‘yes’ about. Having something that everyone can relate to, whether you follow sports or not, it’s really impressive because it speaks to how much hard work everybody puts in and team work and dedication and it’s really just fantastic,” said Larsen.
Larsen keeps a photo of her son on her desk from 16 years ago. Decked out in Siena swag, he was 7-months-old at the time. She says the Saints’ latest victory is a good enough reason to take a new picture.
“I am going to update it and maybe do one of those side-by-sides, then and now. But it’s really one of these things that makes you go ‘wow, time flies’ and these full-circle moments where you can take a step back and be like, there’s a lot of stuff to be excited and grateful for,” said Larsen.
Senior forward Brendan Coyle tells WAMC the team is ready to go all the way.
“It’s been amazing to see. You know, the ups and downs that we’ve had this year, but for our group to stay mentally strong and together as one team, it’s been amazing to see all our hard work pay off and we punched our ticket to go to the big dance now,” said Coyle.
For Coyle, a Niskayuna native, this season has been the stuff of dreams.
“I think definitely growing up, you watch March Madness and you think ‘Oh, this is the greatest tournament ever, how awesome would it be to play in it one day.’ And I was texting back and forth with my dad about it last night just about how it feels unreal, to be able to grow up watching it and now, we’re going to hear our school’s name called, it’s just a crazy feeling,” said Coyle.
The Saints find out who and where they’ll be playing during the tournament’s selection show, set for Sunday at 6 p.m.
