Siena (3-0, 3-0) vs. Fairfield (2-10, 2-5)
George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall, Fairfield, Connecticut; Sunday, 4 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Siena looks for its sixth straight win in the head-to-head series over Fairfield. Siena has won by an average of 11 points in its last five wins over the Stags. Fairfield’s last win in the series came on Feb. 21, 2018, a 70-69 win.
PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE: Both of these teams have depended heavily on their seniors this year. Taj Benning, Caleb Green and Jesus Cruz have combined to account for 48 percent of Fairfield’s scoring this season. For Siena, Jalen Pickett, Manny Camper and Nick Hopkins have collectively accounted for 52 percent of the team’s total scoring.
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS: The Stags have given up only 67.3 points per game across seven conference games, an improvement from the 74 per game they allowed to non-conference competition.JUMPING FOR JALEN: Pickett has connected on 40.9 percent of the 22 3-pointers he’s attempted and has gone 9 for 22 over his last three games. He’s also made 85.7 percent of his foul shots this season.
SLIPPING AT 66: Fairfield is 0-10 this year when it allows 66 points or more and 2-0 when holding opponents to fewer than 66.
DID YOU KNOW: The Siena offense has recorded a turnover on only 15 percent of its possessions, which is the 20th-best rate in the nation. The Fairfield defense has forced opposing teams to turn the ball over on just 15.8 percent of all possessions (ranked 328th among Division I teams).
___
For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25
___
This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
