Are you tired of hearing the term "bubble team" yet? Well, you are about to again, as another one of those schools with an uncertain future in the NCAA Tournament takes the court on Friday night with a great chance to punch its ticket.
St. Joseph's (20-11) faces No. 10 Xavier (27-5) in the Atlantic 10 semifinals on Friday in Atlantic City, and if the Hawks can beat the Musketeers - who are 5.5-point betting favorites on WagerWeb.com - like they did last week, then they are probably in the Big Dance. If not? It's wait and see until Selection Sunday.
"There is really a big sense of urgency among this group about the next game, not wanting it to be our last," said Hawks forward Ahmad Nivins, who has scored in double figures in nine straight games. "We just have to leave it out on the floor, empty our tanks."
Senior Rob Ferguson was 6-for-6 from the field for 16 points as No. 5 seed St. Joe's beat No. 4 Richmond 61-47 on Thursday in the quarterfinals. Pat Calathes, the team's leading scorer (17.7 ppg) and rebounder (7.6 per game) was held to 11 points and 6 rebounds against the Spiders but added six assists. The win gave the Hawks back-to-back victories for the first time since they defeated Fordham and Villanova on Feb. 2 and 4.
St. Joseph's and top-seeded Xavier split their two meetings this season. The Musketeers made the right plays in the final moments to win in Cincinnati, 76-72, on Feb. 10. Then Xavier walked into an emotional storm, playing the Hawks on a night when they celebrated Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse and honored their seniors. It wasn't as close as the 71-66 score suggested.
One thing to keep in mind: Xavier didn't have much to play for last week when it lost at Saint Joseph's last week, ending an 11-game winning streak. The Musketeers had already clinched the conference's regular-season title."This loss is understandable," Xavier coach Sean Miller said after that game. "We lost to a very good team."
After beating Dayton 74-65 in the quarterfinals on Thursday to advance to their seventh straight semifinal, Xavier's players said they've been driven by the fact that they had no players on the A-10 first team despite a 14-2 conference record.
"I'm frustrated that guys that are champions and (they) are not getting any awards," guard Stanley Burrell said. "It was tough. We'll move forward and be happy with the victory."
The A-10's coaches had trouble singling out one Xavier player, as six Musketeers average between 10.0 and 11.7 points.
Leading the way is Josh Duncan, who is shooting 52.3 percent from the floor, while scoring 11.7 ppg to go along with 4.6 rpg. B. J. Raymond has been dangerous from behind the arc, netting 42.9 percent of long range, while contributing 10.9 ppg.
Xavier, winner of 13 of its last 14 games, can tie the school record for wins tonight.
The Hawks have lost two of their three meetings with Xavier in the A-10 tournament, including 62-61 in the 2006 championship game. St. Joe's hasn't won this tournament since 1997.
The winner of this game will play the winner of the game between Temple and Charlotte in the championship Saturday.
No comments:
Post a Comment