It’s rather easy for mid-major college basketball programs to get overlooked, and that is absolutely the case with the Siena Saints. Since they play in the MAAC, it’s easy for fans to forget about the Saints, leading to cheap Sienna basketball tickets. But the truth is that the Saints have worked their way onto the big stage on multiple occasions, reaching the NCAA Tournament and pulling off an upset win. The Saints have had several players go on to bigger and better things while making Siena one of the top programs in the MAAC. Given the past success of the program and the promise of more great moments in the future, it’s not hard to see why there is often a big demand for last-minute Siena basketball tickets.

Dancing Saints

For an overlooked program from a small conference, Siena has a remarkable track record in the NCAA Tournament. The Saints made their debut in the Big Dance in 1989, and as a no. 14 seed, upset three-seeded Stanford. Siena later went to the NCAA Tournament for three consecutive years between 2008 and 2010 under Fran McCaffrey, who went on to become the longtime coach at Iowa. The Saints won their First-Round game of the NCAA Tournament in both 2008 and 2009, including an 83-62 blowout upset victory over Villanova in 2008 despite Siena being a no. 13 seed. As a no. 9 seed in 2009, the Saints pulled off a double-overtime victory over Ohio State, proving the Saints are more than capable of toppling big programs.

Marching Onward

Even after losing a gem of a coach like McCaffrey, Siena has continued to make waves in the college basketball world. Under coach Jimmy Patsos, the Saints won the CBI postseason tournament in 2014. Siena also won the MAAC Tournament in 2020 but was denied another trip to the NCAA Tournament by the COVID-19 pandemic. Of course, following back-to-back MAAC regular-season titles in 2020 and 2021 under former Siena player turned-coach Carmen Maciariello, the Saints undoubtedly have a bright future on the basketball court.