Who’s Playing
Siena Saints @ Cornell Big Red
Current Records: Siena 5-7, Cornell 7-4
How To Watch
What to Know
The Cornell Big Red and the Siena Saints will round out the year against one another at 4:00 p.m. ET on Monday at at Newman Arena. Both of these teams will be coming in off a loss in a game they were expected to win.
Cornell is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Illinois State just ended the team’s three-game winning streak on Sunday. They fell just short of the Redbirds by a score of 80-77. For those keeping track at home, that’s the closest defeat the Big Red have suffered since March 2nd.
Despite their loss, Cornell saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. AK Okereke, who went 6 for 9 en route to 19 points plus six rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. Another player making a difference was Nazir Williams, who went 8 for 12 en route to 19 points plus seven rebounds.
Cornell struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only three offensive rebounds. That’s the fewest offensive rebounds they’ve posted since back in February.
Meanwhile, Siena came up short against Holy Cross on Friday and fell 78-70. The Saints have now taken an ‘L’ in back-to-back games.
Siena’s defeat shouldn’t obscure the performances of Marcus Jackson, who went 6 for 8 en route to 17 points, and Justice Shoats, who earned 17 points. Shoats had some trouble finding his footing against St. Bona. last Tuesday, so this was a step in the right direction.
Cornell’s loss dropped their record down to 7-4. As for Siena, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-7.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: Cornell has been crazy accurate this season, having made 49.7% of their field goals per game. It’s a different story for Siena, though, as they’ve only made 41.6% of their field goals this season. Given Cornell’s sizable advantage in that area, Siena will need to find a way to close that gap.
Cornell took their win against Siena in their previous matchup back in December of 2023 by a conclusive 95-74. Will Cornell repeat their success, or does Siena have a better game plan this time around? We’ll find out soon enough.
Series History
Cornell has won 2 out of their last 3 games against Siena.
- Dec 19, 2023 – Cornell 95 vs. Siena 74
- Nov 13, 2016 – Siena 89 vs. Cornell 78
- Dec 01, 2015 – Cornell 81 vs. Siena 80
