Metro Atlantic Athletic foes will collide when the Rider Broncs (11-16) face the Siena Saints (18-9) at Alumni Gymnasium. Action gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Friday, Feb. 19 and will air on ES3.
The Broncs dismantled Niagara 77-59 in their last matchup. Shawn Valentine led all scorers on the team with 17 points on 3-for-6 shooting. The Saints, meanwhile, are coming off an 81-78 win against Iona in their last outing. Javion Ogunyemi played well for Siena, accounting for 19 points, four rebounds, and four blocks.
Kahlil Thomas has taken his game to another level recently for the Broncs, averaging 15.8 points, 10.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 1.2 blocks over the last five games. The Saints also have their own player combo that has been hot in that same time frame. Nico Clareth has averaged 19.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 2.2 three-pointers, while Ogunyemi has put up 20.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 1.0 three-pointer.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Saints won the first game 63-52. Ogunyemi had a stellar game with 19 points, six rebounds, one steal, and three blocks.
The Broncs have gone 11-16 Straight Up (SU) and 10-13 Against The Spread (ATS). Rider has averaged 79.0 points per game over the last 10 games, higher than its season average of 67.7.
Over on the other bench, the Saints head into the game with records of 12-8-1 ATS and 18-9 SU. Most recently, Siena is 7-3 ATS over the last 10 games. The Saints rank 35th in the country in road scoring, averaging 76.2 points per game. Siena is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, making .379 of their shots from three-point range. The Saints are a force on the boards, grabbing an average of 39.7 rebounds per game. The last 10 games have really brought out the best of the Saints on the defensive end. They’ve allowed 63.3 points per game during that span, which is lower than their season average of 72.6. The Saints have one of the best opponent three-point field goal percentages in the country at .312.
The Saints’ win over Rider in their last clash took the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over their most recent meetings. The Broncs lead the matchup ATS with a record of 5-4-1. Both Rider and Siena have led in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) once over the last five matchups.
Predictions: SU Winner – Siena, ATS Winner – Siena
Notes
The Siena Saints average 78.0 points per game, ranking 59th in the nation. The Rider Broncs rank 64th in points allowed with 67.3.
Rider won its last game by an 18-point margin. In games decided by a margin of 18 points or more, Siena is 4-2. Rider is 4-1 in blowouts this season.
With 66.4 possessions and 1.020 points per possession, the Rider Broncs perform worse on both metrics than the Siena Saints. Siena averages 71.9 possessions and 1.085 points per possession.
The Siena Saints average an effective field goal percentage of 52.4% this season. The Rider Broncs have a subpar record of 2-5 when opponents have an eFG% of 52.4% or greater.
Rider attempts an average of 19.0 three pointers per game and Siena attempts 16.0 on average. When the teams attempt at least 20 three pointers, the Rider Broncs have an even 6-6 record while the Siena Saints are undefeated with a 2-0 record.
Siena, the 44th-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 39.7 rebounds per game. Rider does worse, ranked 171st with 36.3.
The Siena Saints rank 49th in offensive rebounds. The Rider Broncs rank 103rd in the nation in defensive rebounds.
On average, Rider forces a turnover rate of 17.8%. When Siena turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a solid 17-7 record.
