Why I Think Siena Missed Anthony Gaines In Their Loss Last Night
The Siena Saints battled to the very end against Quinnipiac last night and unfortunately came up just a bit short in a 77-71 loss in the MAAC Quarterfinals. Siena struggled to shoot the ball consistently and were down as many as 16 points at one point during the game. They then cut the lead to two points with under five minutes to go, but that was as close as they would come. They really missed senior transfer from Northwestern Anthony Gaines' presence on the floor last night. He is a terrific defender and is very aggressive on the offensive end as well. I believe if he was on the floor, Siena would've won last night. Here is my quick take on this:
There is no question that Siena missed Anthony Gaines on Thursday in the MAAC Quarterfinals against Quinnipiac. Siena beat Quinnipiac twice during the regular season, and it sounded good to say they could win without him, but that was wishful thinking. The bottom line: Gaines was a veteran player who played in every game for Siena this season, and was averaging 10 points per game. His leadership and scoring was sorely missed in Atlanta City. Siena relied on freshmen to come through in a very big spot, and came up short. Yes, Gaines would have made a big difference, but instead he tears his ACL in the last game of the regular season, and had to watch his team struggle to score the ball.
Michael Johnson Jr and I had on the voice of Siena basketball Emmanuel Berbari earlier today. He did a great job in his first season and summarized what he saw from Siena's loss last night. Below is our full conversation with him.
I do have high expectations for Coach Carm and Siena next year. They will be adding Shen;s Mason Courtney along with a bunch of other talented recruits I assume. Overall, it was a good season for the Saints this year.
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