Xavier-Saint Joseph's Preview

3/13/2008 11:20 PM

By MIKE LIPKA
STATS Writer

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.

This time, a trip to the Atlantic 10 championship game will be on the line as the teams meet in Atlantic City on Friday in the semifinals.

The 10th-ranked Musketeers (27-5) had already clinched the conference's regular-season title and top seed in this week's tournament when they lost 71-66 to the Hawks last Thursday.

"This loss is understandable," Xavier coach Sean Miller said after that game. "We lost to a very good team."

The win helped the Hawks' chances at gaining an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament. Xavier is playing for a high seed in the field of 65, but fifth-seeded Saint Joseph's (20-11) can expect to encounter a more motivated Musketeers team chasing its fifth A-10 title since 1998.

"We want to go as far as we can," said Xavier's Josh Duncan, the A-10's Sixth Man of the Year. "We're not satisfied. We wanted to come here and advance as far as we can. Everybody on this team has just one mind-set. We want to go as far as we can. We are not settling for anything."

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.

Xavier's typical balanced offense was evident again Wednesday, with five players between 11 and 16 points. Duncan had 16 points off the bench and C.J. Anderson added 15 and seven rebounds as the Musketeers shot 8-of-19 from 3-point range and outrebounded the Flyers 37-25.

It was a balanced effort by Saint Joseph's that led the Hawks against Xavier last week, as five players scored in double figures. The Hawks are still on the NCAA tournament bubble, and likely need to beat the Musketeers again to get in.

"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."

In last week's win, Pat Calathes had 17 points and eight rebounds and Rob Ferguson and Tasheed Carr shot a combined 6-of-9 from 3-point range.

Ferguson's had 16 points, hitting all six of his shots - including three 3-pointers - to lead the Hawks past Richmond 61-47 in Thursday's quarterfinals. Coupled with Wednesday's 80-62 win over Fordham, Saint Joseph's has won back-to-back games for the first time since a six-game winning streak ended the first week of February.

"We're nowhere near what we're capable of playing and nowhere near the stretches we've played at times," Hawks coach Phil Martelli said. "So I'm excited for the opportunity to see if we can play better."

The Hawks, who lost 76-72 at Xavier on Feb. 10, have lost two of their three meetings with Xavier in the A-10 tournament, including a 62-61 loss in the 2006 championship game.

Neither team reached the finals last season, when Xavier lost to Rhode Island in the semifinals as the top seed.

The winner of this game will play the winner of the game between Temple and Charlotte in the championship Saturday.