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Vanderbilt to face Siena in opener

Mar 21, 2008 - 11:18 AM No. 13 Siena (22-10) at No. 4 Vanderbilt (26-7) 7:20 pm EDT

TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) - Vanderbilt would not mind a little less excitement in the postseason this time around.

The Commodores will be making their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance when they take on No. 13 Siena on Friday in the first round of the Midwest Regional.

Last season, Vanderbilt played two of the more exciting games in the tourney, outlasting Washington State in double overtime in the second round before falling by one point to Georgetown, which went to the Final Four.

After receiving a fourth seed, the Commodores (26-7) will look to recapture the early-season form that produced 16 consecutive victories.

That means riding the hot hand of senior guard Shan Foster. The Southeastern Conference Player of the Year led the team in scoring at 20.5 points per game and shot 47 percent (133-of-281) from 3-point range.

While Vanderbilt is among the highest-scoring teams in the tournament, averaging 80.8 points, it also allows 74.2 points. Only two teams in the NCAAs yield more.

Freshman center A.J. Ogilvy, the Commodores' second-leading scorer at 17.0 points per game, should play a pivotal role against Siena. At 6-11, he towers over a lineup whose tallest starter is 6-7.

The Saints (22-10) play a similar style to Vanderbilt - plenty of scoring while allowing plenty of points - and own an early-season home win vs. Stanford.

Edwin Ubiles, Kenny Hasbrouck and Alex Franklin all average better than 15 points for Siena.