Metro Atlantic Athletic foes will collide when the Canisius Golden Griffins (10-10) challenge the Siena Saints (12-7) at Koessler Athletic Center. Action begins at 2:00 pm ET on Sunday, Jan. 24 and can be seen on ES3.
The Golden Griffins enter this game hoping for similar success after topping Niagara 70-61 on Friday. Malcolm McMillan was the team’s leading scorer with 17 points on 2-for-7 shooting. The Saints, meanwhile, are coming off a 63-52 win against Rider on Thursday. Javion Ogunyemi was the game’s top scorer, accounting for 19 points on 5-for-8 shooting.
Ogunyemi has been hot for the Saints, averaging 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 4.4 blocks over the past five games.
Siena may control the offensive boards in this matchup, as they place 12th in the nation in OR% at 38.9%. On the other hand, Canisius ranks 301st in the nation on the defensive glass with a DR% of 67.1%.
Canisius is a slim one-point favorite at home against Siena. According to the oddsmakers, the Over/Under (O/U) is currently 152 points. The Golden Griffins have gone 10-10 Straight Up (SU) and 8-8-1 Against The Spread (ATS). The Golden Griffins have no trouble scoring as they rank 50th in the nation in offense with 79.7 points per game. The Golden Griffins are one of the best in Division I in terms of free throws made, making an impressive 18.0 per game. Expect to see a lot of second-chance opportunities for Canisius in this matchup, which is one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with an average of 13.1 offensive boards per game.
In the other locker room, the Saints have 12-7 SU and 7-5-1 ATS records. The Saints have controlled the glass with an average of 40.4 rebounds per game, 36th in the country.
This game marks the season’s first head-to-head clash between these conference foes. Their previous game was a Golden Griffins victory, bumping their SU record to 6-4 over Siena in their most recent meetings. With a 6-2-2 record, the Golden Griffins also have the advantage ATS. In these last five matchups, Canisius held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers two times, with Siena controlling all three of these areas one time.
Predictions: SU Winner – Can, ATS Winner – Can, O/U – Over
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Canisius’s last 5 games.
Canisius is 8-4 SU in its last 12 games at home.
Canisius is 5-0-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Siena.
Canisius is 7-14 SU in its last 21 games when playing Siena.
The Siena Saints hold a solid 5-3 SU record in matchups against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference rivals, while the Canisius Golden Griffins currently sit at 5-4 in these games.
Canisius scores 84.4 points per home game (ranked 43rd). Siena ranks a poor 210th in points allowed on the road, allowing 76.5 points.
Ranked 82nd, the Canisius Golden Griffins have an offensive rating of 110.6. The Siena Saints rank 129th with a defensive rating of just 100.3.
Canisius has an average field goal percentage of 41.9%. Siena is an even 5-5 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Canisius Golden Griffins rank lower for their field goal percentage (278th) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (224th), but the Siena Saints have a better FG% ranking (109th) than eFG% ranking (206th).
Canisius ranks 58th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.27. Siena is ranked lower at 308th with an A/TO of .82.
Siena, the 36th-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 40.4 rebounds per game. Canisius does worse, ranked 247th with 35.3.
When it comes to offensive rebounds, Siena ranks 20th. Canisius ranks 336th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Canisius forces a turnover rate of 20.4%. When Siena turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a stellar 9-3 record.
