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St. Joseph's
RECORD: 26-7 REGION: West SEED: 9
COACH: Phil Martelli CONFERENCE: Atlantic 10 |
RESULTS| STATS | HISTORY | MESSAGE BOARD
Road to the Final Four.............................................................................................
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This is a special team that is experienced, talented and hungry. For the Hawks to win, they need to do the little things: grabbing big defensive rebounds, getting deflections, diving on the floor, and staying together. Freshman point guard Jameer Nelson is the key to the team because he brings everyone together, and has the ability to make the right decision at the right time. Marvin O'Connor can concentrate on scoring and ripping peoples hearts out, and Bill Phillips is a poor man's Christian Laettner. The Hawks will not win the national title, but they will win some hearts, and maybe break some. | | | Team Statistics | | | TEAM |
| Points Per Game |
79.5 |
| Rebounds Per Game |
34.9 |
| Assists Per Game |
17.7 |
| Steals Per Game |
6.2 |
| Blocks Per Game |
3.8 |
| Turnovers Per Game |
14.4 |
| Field Goal % |
.482 |
| Free Throw % |
.694 |
| 3-Point % |
.356 |
| 3-Pointers Per Game |
7.7 |
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| Scoring Margin |
8.3 |
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How They Got Here
The Hawks simply streaked into March, winning 19
of 20 games entering the Atlantic 10 tournament, and their seeding in
the NCAA tournament surely rose along with their confidence as the
weeks, and wins, flew by.
Really, St. Joseph's has built on the momentum it created in its home
finale last season, when the Hawks upset No. 5 Temple to cap a
frustrating, 13-16 season that saw St. Joe's lose 11 of those 16 games
by seven points or less.
The momentum from the Temple win could have waned early this season,
when losses to Vanderbilt, Villanova and at DePaul left the Hawks with a
6-3 record, but non-conference wins against teams like Colorado and
Rutgers got the team going entering conference play.
Freshman Jameer Nelson and Marvin O'Connor form the best backcourt in
the Atlantic 10, but the Hawks also get perimeter scoring from bigger
players such as Na'im Crenshaw and Bill Phillips.
St. Joe's only loss in the Atlantic 10 came Jan. 20 to Xavier, an 86-73
drubbing Jan. 20, but the Hawks swept Temple, Massachusetts, Dayton,
and, well, everyone else. They paid back Xavier, too, beating the
Musketeers 79-76 on Feb. 7.
The Hawks continued their habit of getting big wins in Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament, holding off Georgia Tech to set up a meeting with No. 1 seed Stanford in Round 2.
Player to Watch
St. Joseph's beat Temple in a recruiting battle for
point guard Jameer Nelson, and the balance of power in the Atlantic 10
shifted during his freshman season from the Owls -- who were hoping to
plug the loss of Pepe Sanchez with Nelson -- to the Hawks. The 6-foot-1
Nelson is a scorer (12.4 points per game, 40 percent on three-pointers)
who can create (Atlantic 10-leading 6.1 assists per game). He also is a
heck of a defender, and just the fourth freshman to start at point guard
for St. Joe's since freshman eligibility was reinstated in the early
1970s.
With the Ball
Junior Marvin O'Connor, ESPN.com's Player of the Year in
the Atlantic 10, averaged 21 points per game, and as coach Phil Martelli
says, he was at his best in the biggest of games. The 6-4 O'Connor,
hitting 35 percent beyond the arc, headlines a group of three-point
bombardiers. The three-pointer is 37 percent of the Hawks' attack, and
they hit the shot enough (35 percent) to make it worthwhile. Other
dangerous players on the perimeter are Nelson, the 6-9 Phillips (12.9
points, 41 percent on threes) and the 6-5 Crenshaw (11.4 points, 38.2
percent on threes).Defending the Ball
The Hawks seem to be more aggressive on offense than
defense, an unusual trait but one supported by these numbers: They
average just 6.5 steals per game, and force only 13.8 turnovers. But the
defense is at its best defending shots, allowing foes to shoot just 40
percent from the floor overall, and 30 percent on three-pointers.
Opponents also lose the rebounding battle by an average of five per
game. Inside, 7-1 Alexandre Sazonov plays just 15 minutes per game but
averages two blocked shots.
Roster
| VS TOURNEY TEAMS (4-1) |
LEADERS |
| OPPONENT |
RESULT |
POINTS |
REBOUNDS |
ASSISTS |
| @ Western KY | W, 74-68 | Phillips 21 | Marcus 8 | Robinson 5 | | @ Temple | W, 73-51 | Hawkins 18 | Reid 8 | Greer 7 | | @ Xavier | L, 86-73 | Frey 29 | West 12 | Nelson 12 | | Xavier | W, 79-76 | O'Connor 29 | Frey 8 | Nelson 8 | | Temple | W, 71-62 | Nelson 17 | Lyde 15 | Phillips 7 | |
| LAST 5 GAMES |
LEADERS |
| OPPONENT |
RESULT |
POINTS |
REBOUNDS |
ASSISTS |
| Massachusetts | L, 75-70 | O'Connor 26 | Phillips 9 | Nelson 8 | | La Salle | W, 82-74 | Nelson 23 | Nelson 11 | Nelson 8 | | @ La Salle | L, 91-90 | O'Connor 37 | Nelson 8 | Nelson 7 | | Massachusetts | W, 84-69 | O'Connor 21 | Phillips 12 | Phillips 5 | | @ Duquesne | W, 90-70 | O'Connor 28 | Phillips 6 | Nelson 10 |
NCAA Basketball Championship Week
It's March, which means the madness has started and invitations are being reserved throughout Championship Week.
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 Despite the score, Coach Phil Martelli felt his St. Joe's team didn't lose (Courtesy: NCAA Productions).
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St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli says it's so nice to be heading back to the Tournament.
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