Siena's BracketBuster Date with Butler Bulldogs Is a Must Win for the Saints

If you didn't know yet, the Siena Saints are the MAAC regular season champions. However, if you think the Saints are a lock for the NCAA tournament, you are wrong.

Siena currently stands at 22-5 overall with a 15-1 mark in MAAC play, but don't let the attractive win total deceive you. Eighteen of Siena's wins have come against teams with RPI's worse than 100; 14 of Siena's victims post sub-150 RPI's.

Unfortunately for the Saints, the selection committee doesn't give a hoot about how many sub-100 wins a program has. It takes sub-100 losses, of which Siena has one, into account, but for wins, it scrutinizes a program's success against top 50 teams.

For that reason, Siena's BracketBuster date with Butler this weekend is a must-win for the Saints, who are 0-3 against top 50 teams this season. Butler has the 16th best RPI, and a Saints win on the road would provide Siena with a crucial top 50 win.

Despite having a winless record against top 50 teams, Siena has the 35th best RPI. A win at Butler could improve the Saints' RPI to a rating hard for committee members to vote against.

With Gordon Hayward, Shelvin Mack, and Matt Howard, the Bulldogs are the obvious favorites. The Saints will likely struggle to contain the versatile Hayward, but otherwise Siena matches up well with Butler.

The frontcourt is Siena's biggest advantage. Whereas the Bulldogs only have Howard in the post, the Saints have Ryan Rossiter and Alex Franklin.

Hayward, Butler's leading rebounder, will be tough to keep off the glass, but Rossiter and Franklin are better rebounders than the stud sophomore and Howard. Franklin is stronger than both Hayward and Howard and should be able to produce on offense while Rossiter will benefit from Butler's focus on Franklin.

In order to win, Siena will need its bigs to stay out of foul trouble. The Saints will also need Ubiles and Franklin to limit Hayward on offense as much as possible.

A win will do wonders for the Saints' at-large chances.

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