# 2019–20 Siena Saints men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Siena Saints men's basketball team represented Siena College in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Saints, led by first-year head coach Carmen Maciariello, played their home games at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York as members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. They finished the season 20–10 overall, 15–5 in MAAC play to finish in first place. As the #1 seed in the MAAC tournament, they defeated #9 seed Manhattan 63–49 in the quarterfinals. However, the semifinals and championship game, and all postseason tournaments, were cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Previous season

The Saints finished the 2018–19 season 17–16 overall, 11–7 in MAAC play to finish in a four-way tie for second place. As the 5th seed in the 2019 MAAC tournament, they defeated No. 4 seed Rider in the quarterfinals 87–81, before falling to No. 1 seed Iona 57–73– in the semifinals.
On March 21, 2019, it was announced that head coach Jamion Christian would be accepting the head coaching position at George Washington. On March 25, it was announced that assistant coach Carmen Maciariello would be named as Christian's successor.

## MAAC Championship and NCAA Berth

Siena finished the regular season at 15–5 in conference play, good for first place and crowning the Saints as the 2019–20 MAAC regular season champion.
The Saints entered the conference tournament as the #1 seed on a 9-game winning streak and were heavy favorites to advance to the NCAA tournament. Manhattan coach Steve Masiello, went as far to reference the tournament as "The Siena Invitational". In their first game at the MAAC tournament, the Saints easily defeated #9 seed Manhattan 63–49. Just over 24 hours prior to their semifinal, the MAAC was forced to cancel the tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 5, 2019* 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | American | W 96–80 | 1–0 | Times Union Center (5,371) Albany, NY |
| November 8, 2019* 7:00 pm, FSN/YES | | at No. 19 Xavier | L 63–81 | 1–1 | Cintas Center (10,430) Cincinnati, OH |
| November 12, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | St. Bonaventure Br. Ed Coughlin Franciscan Cup | W 78–65 | 2–1 | Times Union Center (5,680) Albany, NY |
| November 14, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Harvard | L 56–59 | 2–2 | Lavietes Pavilion (1,269) Boston, MA |
| November 20, 2019* 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Yale | L 89–100 $^{3OT}$ | 2–3 | John J. Lee Amphitheater (746) New Haven, CT |
| November 30, 2019* 7:00 pm, Patriot League Network | | at Colgate | L 62-72 | 2–4 | Cotterell Court (872) Hamilton, NY |
| December 7, 2019* 10:00 pm | | at Cal Poly | L 66-70 | 2–5 | Robert A. Mott Athletics Center (1,632) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| December 21, 2019* 6:00 pm, My 4 Albany/ESPN+ | | Bucknell | W 81–71 | 3–5 | Times Union Center (5,505) Albany, NY |
| December 23, 2019 6:00 pm, My 4 Albany/ESPN3 | | Canisius | W 73–72 | 4–5 (1–0) | Times Union Center (5,804) Albany, NY |
| December 29, 2019* 2:00 pm, My 4 Albany/ESPN+ | | Holy Cross | W 74–62 | 5–5 | Times Union Center (6,202) Albany, NY |
| January 3, 2020 7:00 pm, My 4 Albany/ESPN3 | | Monmouth | W 75–72 | 6–5 (2–0) | Times Union Center (6,273) Albany, NY |
| January 5, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Rider | L 77–85 | 6–6 (2–1) | Alumni Gymnasium (1,541) Lawrenceville, NJ |
| January 9, 2020 7:00 pm, My 4 Albany/ESPN3 | | Saint Peter's | W 61–58 | 7–6 (3–1) | Times Union Center (5,538) Albany, NY |
| January 12, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Manhattan | L 69–81 | 7–7 (3–2) | Draddy Gymnasium (1,657) Bronx, NY |
| January 17, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Canisius | L 63–73 | 7–8 (3–3) | Koessler Athletic Center (1,203) Buffalo, NY |
| January 19, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Niagara | L 71–72 | 7–9 (3–4) | Gallagher Center (1,020) Lewiston, NY |
| January 24, 2020 7:00 pm, My 4 Albany/ESPN+ | | Marist | W 70–57 | 8–9 (4–4) | Times Union Center (6,693) Albany, NY |
| January 26, 2020 2:00 pm, My 4 Albany/ESPN3 | | Quinnipiac | W 84–61 | 9–9 (5–4) | Times Union Center (6,752) Albany, NY |
| January 31, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Iona | W 87–64 | 10–9 (6–4) | Hynes Athletic Center (1,780) New Rochelle, NY |
| February 2, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Saint Peter's | L 80–85 | 10–10 (6–5) | Yanitelli Center (637) Jersey City, NJ |
| February 7, 2020 7:00 pm, My 4 Albany/ESPN3 | | Fairfield | W 65–49 | 11–10 (7–5) | Times Union Center (6,581) Albany, NY |
| February 14, 2020 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | Rider | W 73–64 | 12–10 (8–5) | Times Union Center (5,600) Albany, NY |
| February 16, 2020 2:00 pm, My 4 Albany/ESPN3 | | Manhattan | W 65–52 | 13–10 (9–5) | Times Union Center (7,146) Albany, NY |
| February 19, 2020 7:00 pm, My 4 Albany/ESPN3 | | Iona | W 65–64 | 14–10 (10–5) | Times Union Center (6,897) Albany, NY |
| February 23, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Fairfield | W 62–59 | 15–10 (11–5) | Alumni Hall (2,479) Fairfield, CT |
| February 26, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Quinnipiac | W 84–77 | 16–10 (12–5) | People's United Center (824) Hamden, CT |
| February 28, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Marist | W 52–50 | 17–10 (13–5) | McCann Arena (1,705) Poughkeepsie, NY |
| March 4, 2020 7:00 pm, My 4 Albany/ESPN3 | | Niagara | W 77–55 | 18–10 (14–5) | Times Union Center (7,146) Albany, NY |
| March 6, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Monmouth | W 86–72 | 19–10 (15–5) | OceanFirst Bank Center (2,657) West Long Branch, NJ |
| MAAC tournament ||||||
| March 11, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | (1) | vs. (9) Manhattan Quarterfinals | W 63–49 | 20–10 | Boardwalk Hall Atlantic City, NJ |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
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