Opponent Preview: Siena Saints
Don Carey's former team comes to town looking to pick up their first win of the season.
Siena Saints
Head Coach: Carmen Maciariello (3rd year, 32-18 career record at Siena)
Conference: Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)
Current Record: 0-3
Last Season’s Record: 12-5
Projected Starting Lineup: PG Colby Rogers, SG Anthony Gaines, SF Aidan Carpenter, PF Michael Baer, C Jackson Stormo
Eagles By the Numbers
KenPom Rank: #305
KenPom Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 92.1 (309th in the country)
KenPom Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 104.2 (286th)
KenPom Adjusted Tempo: 325th
FG%: 35.6 (346th)
3FG%: 36.1 (115th)
FT%: 65.0 (253rd)
Turnovers per game: 13.3 (190th)
Total Rebounds per Game: 30.3 (332nd)
Three-Point Attempts per Game: 20.3 (262nd)
Players to Watch
Jackson Stormo, Center, 6’9”
The 6’9” senior center from Santa Barbara is averaging 11.3 points and 8 rebounds per game to start this season. Stormo will provide a good test for Georgetown’s centers on Friday night. Can Big Tim guard him without fouling too much? We’ll see.
Colby Rogers, Guard, 6’5”
Rogers is the Saints’ leading scorer, averaging 15.7 points per game. Expect Aminu Mohammed to draw the assignment on Rogers, just as he defended American’s top scorer on Tuesday night.
Keys to the Game
Two-Man Show
On Tuesday in an 82-54 loss to Yale, Siena players not named Jackson Stormo and Colby Rogers scored just 17 points on 6-of-33 (18%) shooting. Georgetown should be able to key in on these two focal points of the Siena offense, with Aminu Mohammed taking Rogers, and the three-man rotation at center for the Hoyas taking turns on Stormo.
Stormo and Rogers are the only Saints player averaging double digits scoring so far this season through three games. Shut them down and you win this game.
Flex Your Muscles
Georgetown has a massive size advantage, with Siena only having two players in their normal rotation that are 6’7” or taller. This could be a good opportunity for the frontcourt of Georgetown to get some work on offense and begin to iron out some kinks. Look for freshmen Jalin Billingsley (27 minutes) and Ryan Mutombo (9 minutes) to build on their outings from Tuesday night.
Prediction: Georgetown 79 - Siena 55
The table is set for Georgetown to build on their performance against American and feast on Friday night against the Saints. The Saints have nine new players this year, and are 0-3 to start the season. This game will come down to the Hoyas executing on offense and limiting mistakes, and then focusing on limiting the offensive output of Colby Rogers and Jackson Stormo.
Stormo, in particular, will be a good test for the Hoya big men. Tim Ighoefe needs to continue to work on defending without fouling, while Malcolm Wilson and Ryan Mutombo simply need more game reps to continue developing their games on both ends of the floor. Going up against Stormo, who recorded his first collegiate double-double this week against Yale, will be a good test for the Georgetown centers.
This is Georgetown’s last cupcake tune-up before they take on San Diego State on the (late) night of Thanksgiving. This game should be a breeze for Georgetown if they can keep up their momentum from the American game, but you would like to see them come out firing from the start in this one, and string together a consistent game from start to finish. Against San Diego State, there will be a razor-thin margin for error.