Siena basketball, Marist have gone from last to contention

Siena (14-14 overall, 9-6 MAAC) will honor its five seniors and/or graduate students before their regular-season home finale at 2 p.m. at Times Union Center. Marist's top four scorers are seniors.

The Saints are tied for fourth place, just a game out of first, with three regular-season games remaining. They have a very realistic chance of winning the regular-season title, even after being picked to come in last in the preseason coaches poll.

Meanwhile, Marist (12-15, 7-8) was among the MAAC's hottest teams before stumbling in a 65-59 home loss to Saint Peter's on Friday night. That snapped the Red Foxes' four-game winning streak.

Like the Saints, the Red Foxes have responded well to a coaching change. They hired John Dunne away from MAAC rival Saint Peter's to replace Mike Maker, fired after Marist went 6-25 a year ago.