ALBANY, N.Y. – Coming off the momentum of a big home win over Harvard, the American University men's basketball team now gets set for six straight games away from home. The first of those is at Siena out of the MAAC, as the Eagles will face the Saints in Albany at MVP Arena at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
Quick Info
- Date/Time: Tuesday, November 12; 7 pm
- Site: Albany, N.Y. (MVP Arena)
- Series History: Siena leads, 6-3
- TV: ESPN+
- Talent: Robert Lee, Conner Fenlon
Inside the Series
- American won last year's meeting in DC, 78-58 on November 13, behind 19 points from Matt Rogers and 16 from Geoff Sprouse.
- Siena had won the three previous meetings, with two of those being recent in 2022 (64-61 loss in Albany) and in 2019 (96-80 loss in Albany).
- Prior to last season, AU had not beaten Siena since 1977 when the Eagles earned a pair of victories that calendar year against a newly-classified Division I Siena program (1976).
What to Know About American
- The Eagles got their first win in front of 3,319 fans in Bender Arena on Sunday, as well as former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama who sat in the Harvard section. Colin Smalls scored 16 points and Geoff Sprouse added 15 to lead AU in the 67-55 victory.
- American returns seven of its nine leading scorers from last season, and all three of its leading rebounders. Last year, the Eagles set a program record with 279 three-pointers made, and hosted a Patriot League quarterfinal game for the first time since 2020.
- Second-year head coach Duane Simpkins has brought a new energy to the program. American's 10 conference wins were the most since 2020 (12), and just the second time since 2014 that the Eagles reached double-digit wins in the Patriot League. The Eagles finished in a tie for second place in the Patriot League despite being plagued by injuries for most of the conference season.
- Grad student Matt Rogers, an All-Patriot League First Team honoree last year, was tabbed as the Patriot League's Preseason Player of the Year for 2024-25. He led AU and ranked third in the PL last year with 16.4 points per game, and fifth with 6.2 rebounds per game.
- Senior Elijah Stephens was named to the All-Patriot League Defensive Team and Second Team in his junior season, averaging 12.1 points per game and 4.9 assists despite battling injuries toward the end of the season. He currently ranks seventh all-time at AU with 357 assists.
What to Know About Siena
- Siena enters Tuesday's game with a pair of overtime wins to its credit to open the season. The Saints edged Brown at home, 72-71, on Nov. 4 before claiming a 90-88 victory at Bryant on Friday.
- The Saints were picked to finish ninth in the 13-team Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in the league's preseason poll.
- Major Freeman, a junior who spent his first two collegiate seasons at Spartanburg Methodist JC, was named a Preseason Second Team All-MAAC performer. The guard has put up 18.5 points per game thus far, scoring 18 against Brown and 19 at Bryant.
- Junior guard Justice Shoats, who also transferred to Siena after two years at DII Lock Haven, leads the way so far with 27 a contest. He notched 23 against Brown and 31 in the win over Bryant.
- Siena is coached by Gerry McNamara, the former Syracuse standout who is in his first year as a head coach after 15 years on Jim Boeheim's staff at his alma mater. He began his collegiate career with a national title with the Orange in 2003 and culminated it with a Big East Tournament MVP selection as a senior in 2006.
Keep Up With Us
