After a season that lasts five months, players are, needless to say, exhausted. Still, college basketball teams have already started up workouts and semi-practices to get ready for the 2008-09 season.

Saint Joseph’s men’s coach Phil Martelli has a lighter, more unconventional approach.

“What we’ve been doing for the last two-and-a-half to three weeks is just shooting,” Martelli said. “We do some heavy lifting to try to get some bulk, but we try to stay off of their legs. We don’t let them play any pickup, and we very rarely will play one-on-one.”

Pumping iron is a huge part of any college basketball team’s offseason regiment, and the Hawks are no different. Players are often known to drop a lot of weight during the season.

“That’s something that we pay a lot of attention to, [but] we weren’t as bad this year,” Martelli said.

There has been vast debate among fans as well as experts about whether Villanova shooting guard Scottie Reynolds will make a good NBA player. Some people view him as a first-round pick, and others believe he’ll be playing the majority of his career overseas.

But that time might not come yet.

According to a spokesman from Villanova athletic communications, they “have no announcements planned for Scottie relative to the NBA and fully expect him to be a part of the men’s basketball team in 2008-09.”

Villanova would not make Reynolds available for comment.

After a spectacular freshman season, Reynolds was good in 2007-08, but he wasn’t Superman. The First-Team All-Big 5 selection averaged 15.9 points per game and hit 38.3 percent from three, but perhaps as a result of having to take the team on his back in the early parts of the season, he shot only 41.2 percent from the field and had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.06.

Coming off of the NCAA Tournament run, should Reynolds go to the league? Leave your comments below.

While running on the treadmill at Pottruck today, I caught a few minutes of the college basketball skills competition on ESPN. La Salle’s Darnell Harris took home the three-point contest title, knocking off Chris Lofton of Tennessee. Harris’ strategy was to shoot set shots, barely lifting his feet off the ground, to prevent himself from tiring out. Highlights of the contest and an interview with Harris can be found here. And would you guess which team held him to his lowest, single-game three-point total in non-conference play this season…

For the Villanova-Kansas and Wisconsin-Davidson games Friday night in the Midwest regional in Detroit, Ford Field is going for a novel approach.

As done at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, many football arenas which host basketball games have always put the court in one end of the stadium and placed seats on one side of the court. But this season, in Detroit and Houston, the courts are going smack dab in the middle of the stadium. With seats all around (see below link for a picture) the court, it will be able to fit 70,000 people, and will be a new feeling for the players - especially for jump shooters with nothing behind the baskets.

As the New York Times reports (no, it’s not Stephen Danley), the court is also 27 inches above the ground, much like it is at Vanderbilt or Minnesota.

I can’t say if this will help one team or the other, but anything that could screw up a guy like Mario Chalmers or Brandon Rush is a good thing for ‘Nova.

To start off, I believe that as a Penn fan you have to root for Cornell.

Not only are the Big Red repping the Ivy League, former Penn assistant Steve Donahue is as likable a guy as it gets. Cornell is clearly better than anyone else in the Ivies and deserves to be there. The Big Red also don’t dive like Brown, cheat like Harvard, or pop their collars like Princeton. Okay, never mind, we like to do that too.

Anyway, No. 14 Cornell, No. 11 Saint Joseph’s, No. 12 Temple and No. 12 Villanova are all underdogs, but some aren’t by much.

In Vegas, No. 6 Oklahoma is a mere 1.5-point favorite over the Hawks - the only line that’s more even is No. 7 Miami vs. No. 10 St. Mary’s. Temple is +6.5 against No.5 Michigan State and Villanova is +6 against No. 5 Clemson. Finally, Cornell is getting 14.5 points against the No. 3 Cardinal.

First, I truly believe St. Joe’s is going to win. Not only are the Sooners slightly overseeded in many people’s minds, the Hawks are a very good team. Ahmad Nivins and Rob Ferguson are forces down low, Darrin Govens and Tasheed Carr are good ball-handlers and scorers, the lanky Garrett Williamson is a solid defender and 6-foot-10 guard Pat Calathes is a matchup problem for anyone. If you’re a traditional guard, he’ll shoot over you. If you’re a forward, he’s drive right past you.

Also, the Hawks play their best basketball when they are desperate.

St. Joe’s made a nice run in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, soundly beating Fordham, Richmond and then 3-seed Xavier, all games it needed to win. Perhaps once rumblings started of them being in the NCAA Tourney even with a loss to Temple, the Hawks lost the desperation Phil Martelli wanted them to be playing with, and dropped a 69-64 decision to their Philly rivals. When I stepped into their locker room, it was dead silent, and Ive never seen someone look as angry and depressed as the captain Carr was after that game. Look for St. Joe’s to come out firing against a team it can definitely beat.

Temple will have to play a very good game for an upset, while Villanova and Cornell will have to play great ones.

The Owls are playing great basketball, and should have been higher than a 12-seed. Michigan State is a great team, but not only guards Mark Tyndale (an absolute beast - had 15 rebounds against Charlotte in the semifinal) and Dionte Christmas (can score with the best of them) are playing well, the supporting cast - from 5-8 Chris Clark to 6-9 Lavoy Allen to 7-foot Sergio Olmos - is better than it ever has been. This should be a game, and it’s hard to pick against the Owls.

Villanova and Cornell may have a shot, but it’s slim. The Wildcats slip into the Tournament, and play Clemson, a team that really has Final 4 potential. The Tigers are 4-5 against Tournament teams, but four of those losses are to North Carolina or Duke, including having fallen twice to the Tar Heels in overtime and again last weekend by a thread. Scotty Reynolds is getting more help these days, but K.C. Rivers and Clemson’s multiple big men inside as well as shooter Terrence Oglesby should be too much for Villanova

True, it didn’t do much in the non-conference schedule, but it’s hard to go against Cornell’s win streak. Still, does it have a shot of stopping the Lopez twins? Probably not. But any team that shoots as well as the Big Red do, both from the field (49.2 percent, 41.4 from three) as well as from the line (76.3 percent) can be prime for a big upset.

We all knew that Fran Dunphy and his Temple Owls would be going to the Big Dance after beating St. Joe’s in the A-10 championship on Saturday, but the Hawks’ fate was uncertain. After yesterday’s loss, Phil Martelli said, “I’ve told everybody, if you believe in a greater power than us, pray your (butt) off. Right now, I have to believe in the power of prayer.”

Maybe it has something to do with Easter weekend approaching, but not only were Martelli’s prayers answered — so too were those of Holy War rival Villanova. Both Big 5 squads were very much on the bubble heading into today, and both found their way into the tournament bracket.

While Villanova snagged a 12 seed, St. Joe’s wound up with an 11 seed, which is a bit suspect. Why? Because Temple, the A-10 champion, got stuck with a 12 seed. The two teams split the regular season series, but the Owls beat the Hawks in the A-10 championship game, when it counted most. It seems pretty unfair that the Hawks would wind up with the better seed. But hey, it’s just one seed, and when has the tournament selection committee ever been perfectly accurate or fair?

And to top it all off, Notre Dame won more games this season than it ever has before, earning a 5 seed. The dozen or so of you non-Jews at Penn clearly need to go to church more often.

In any event, it is the first time since 1999 that three Big 5 teams have made the tournament. Now, in the one year that Penn finally fails to make the tourney, you have your pick of Cornell or three Big 5 teams to root for.

ATLANTIC CITY — It’s over, the Owls are dancing! The Temple fans streak onto the court and the players go berserk. Christmas rips his shirt off and runs to the sideline, and the bench streaks toward center court. I couldn’t see who, but someone has grabbed Clark and is carrying him off the court. Olmos is flipping out as well. Christmas now is hugging a relative while holding back tears and shouting the whole time.

It was a great game, even though the very end wasn’t down to the wire. Carr turned it on in the second half, and Nivins had a great game, but the collective effort of the Owls was too much, all the way in the second half.

FINAL: Temple 69, St. Joe’s 64

Box score 

Owls fans are getting ready to rush the court… They start the chant “The Hawk is dead” and Hawks fans claim again it “will never die.”

0:06.1 2nd Half: Temple 68, St. Joe’s 61

The Temple fans are sensing it happening. Carr cuts it to four with a drive, but Brooks hits two on the line.

Tyndale finally hits from the line and it is just about done.

0:20.3 2nd Half: Temple 64, St. Joe’s 59

Calathes spins toward the hoop, and can’t seem to go anywhere. He gets the ball back and misses a three.

Tyndale misses free throws, and Carr misses another three for the Hawks.

0:48.8 2nd Half: Temple 63, St. Joe’s 59

Calathes drains a jumper over Tyndale, just after Tyndale missed two free throws.

Wow, Christmas strips Calathes going to the hoop, and Clark goes to the line for two.

2:27 2nd Half: Temple 63, St. Joe’s 57

Nivins makes both free throws off of the offensive board, but Tyndale drives the lane and finds Brooks on the outside for a triple.

Finally. Calathes hits a three as Tyndale floated to far in help defense, and Carr capitalizes off of a Tyndale miss hard in the lane.

Clark drives, though, and finds Brooks for an easy two. Carr manhandles Brooks once again, though.

But Tyndale takes it into his own hands, again, stepping through for the and-1 to takes a six-point lead. Tyndale then goes back to beating Calathes, this time dishing to Christmas inside.

8:12 2nd Half: Temple 53, St. Joe’s 46

The Hawks fans chant “airball” as Brooks misses from three, and the Owls fans come back with “scoreboard!” I really don’t think “scoreboard” is a valid chant when you’re up six.
Brooks follows that up with an an-1 from 13 feet out, pumping his fist after. There have been a lot of fouls called, maybe a few too many.

9:41 2nd Half: Temple 49, St. Joe’s 44

Calathes is sitcking to Clark, even on screens. Martelli really wants to keep the little man off his game, but it’s not working - Allen hits again.

Christmas is money on a three on the pass from Clark, and the Hawks are in big trouble. Calathes hits a three of his own, though, and it’s back to a 6-pt game.

Then, Allen’s pass to Clark in the corner gets blocked, and the Hawks get the ball back to Nivins inside, and he makes two from the line.

The crowd for both teams is getting louder as the lead is four….

11:52 2nd Half: Temple 43, St. Joe’s 37

Olmos and Nivins can’t convert, and Christmas misses over two guys.

Allen scores inside, but Carr gets three of those points back with an and-1 layup. Calathes is guarding Clark, though it might just be for a possession. Nope, he’s really guarding him.

As a result, Temple works the high-low, and Olmos scores and and-1. Tyndale clenches his fists. This has truly been a fantastic run for Temple, and an equally-amazing collapse for the Hawks. They have scored five points in eight minutes, and were on a five-minutes scoring drought.

It’s a great atmosphere here, both fan groups have been loud, though it’s been Temple producing the noise as of late.

14:53 2nd Half: Temple 39, St. Joe’s 34

Allen dunks around Ferguson in a play that was a lot easier than it should have been. And after a nice skip pass from Tyndale, Christmas hits a well-contested three over Carr.

Nivins scores a nasty tip-in, but Christmas penetrates the lane effortlessly for a layup.

Clark has missed two threes from the corner, but both have been rebounded offensively. Olmos now gets fouled on that possession, and the Owls all of a sudden have a chance to take the lead.

And Clark does just that. And more.

He has the gravitas to attempt yet another corner three, and Clark drains it to take Temple’s first lead of the game. Then Clark plucks Calathes’ pocket and hangs in the air to avoid Carr’s defense to take a five-point lead.

Stats: With Calathes playing only 13 minutes and taking four shots, Govens and Nivins are taking control of the game, scoring nine and 12 points, respectively. Like Govens, Christmas is 4-for-8, but the guard has netted 12 points. Allen has played well inside again for Temple, getting those two blocks as well as four rebounds.

St. Joe’s has made almost twice as many shots as the Owls (13-of-30 to Temple’s 7-of-25). The teams are equal in rebounding, but Temple has committed eight turnovers compared to only four assists.

Halftime: Temple 25, St. Joe’s 32

Man, Clark just hit a huge three. He’s so fast he was essentially guarded by no one after a jab step, and hits the trey.

Martelli deftly calls a timeout with 5.4 seconds remaining in the half. Unlike the second half, the clock keeps running, and it takes three ticks to inbound the ball, so the Hawks save a possession, but Ferguson misses a three.

0:30.4 1st Half: Temple 22, St. Joe’s 32

Olmos finally slows Nivins down, forcing im to shoot a bad hook, but the next possession Nivins once again scores at will.

Brooks gets the ball over Nivins on the perimeter, but doesn’t realize the shot clock is running down until it’s too late.

Calathes is called for travel, or carry or something. I didn’t see anything. Brooks airballs another shot, and Olmos barely gets a layup off before getting fouled.

Clark was just guarding Calathes, funniest thing ever, 14-inch difference. Well, not funny for the Owls. Calathes gets doubled because of it, and Ferguson is wide open for a three which he of course hits. He just might get one of my five votes for all-tourney team.

3:36 1st Half: Temple 21, St. Joe’s 27

Nivins hits an elbow jumper, and Govens scores yet again on a drive. The Hawks always seem to have someone in double

Christmas makes it look easy, hitting another three over Williamson.

Thanks to a screen, Calathes gets by Tyndale and slaps the backboard for a layup, but Christmas is doing his best Darnell Harris impression, nailing a 25 footer. Williamson’s long arms can do nothing about that.

7:46 1st Half: Temple 15, St. Joe’s 21

My, how the tides have changed.

Christmas simply takes the ball from Arvydas Lidzius at midcourt, and scores. The Owls’ 3/4 press doesn’t work, but Lidzius misses from point-blank range.

Then Dionte pulls up from NBA range and sinks it in Williamson’s eye, and as the lanky guard falls on him, it’s a four-point play.

Calathes is back in the game, surprisingly, and misses a three. Govens helps out with another jumper.

Coming off playing the entire game yesterday, Allen throws Idris Hilliard’s shot away, and then has another spectacular block on Nivins, but he’s whistled for a foul on the rebound, and the Owls fans go ballistic.

11:49 1st Half: Temple 5, St. Joe’s 15

Calathes picks up his second foul already, and is out of the game in favor of Garrett Williamson. That’s about the only thing that’s gone wrong for the Hawks.

Christmas misses two threes on one possession, Tyndale misses, gets his own rebound and then misses again. Even Chris Clark bricks a three. On the other end, Govens and company are draining everything.

15:46 1st Half: Temple 5, St. Joe’s 8

The crowd is now almost full, the most packed I’ve ever seen this building, and definitely the loudest. The chants were tame before the game, but the Temple fans booed Phil Martelli when he walked out. That’s just unnecessary.

Govens connects from the elbow, and as Martelli yells something to ref Joe DeMayo, and immediately Guzman is whistled for a carry. Olmos can’t convert and neither can Allen on a jumper, but Calathes misses a three and Ferguson picks up a bad foul on a rebound.

Allen somehow forgets about Nivins, and he scores on a layup inside. Tyndale gets the ball, maybe for the first time of the game, and gets fouled by Calathes on a three. He hits all of the freebies.

Nivins just beasts Olmos inside, nastily dunking on him from the reverse angle. The teams trade layup, and then Carr drives into the lane and somehow finds Nivins on the other side of the paint, and he’s fouled.

______

We’ve eliminated 10 teams, but the Big 5 rules the Atlantic 10 championship game. After demolishing Fordham and Richmond, the Hawks knocked off top-seeded Xavier to enter the title game, facing Temple for the third time this year. With an RPI of 42, the Hawks may get into the NCAA tournament regardless of what happens tonight. Temple has won six straight games and is undefeated in March. The Owls knocked off La Salle in the first round, and fairly easily took out Charlotte last night to reach the final.

The last time these two teams met it was a fantastic game, and even that didn’t quite live up to what happened in the first meeting. With 3.9 seconds left, Calathes sank a three to put the Hawks up by one, but Mark Tyndale came storming down the court and got off a layup at the buzzer, but at the top of its arc, Nivins swatted it away, and the Hawks won. The second time around, the Hawks led by double-figures most of the game until Tyndale scored the game’s final basket with 20 seconds left and the Owls won the rematch.

___

There is a half-hour until tipoff, and this game already has the feel of a Big 5 game. There aren’t a huge number of fans present, but the student sections have already begun chanting at each other.

Starters:

St. Joe’s:
G Darrin Govens
G Tasheed Carr
F Pat Calathes
F Rob Ferguson
C Ahmad Nivins

Temple:
G Luis Guzman
G Dionte Christmas
G Mark Tyndale
F Lavoy Allen
C Sergio Olmos

ATLANTIC CITY — The Big 5 is in the Tournament. Temple faces St. Joe’s in the A-10 final. The first two meetings were so amazing, the final of the Atlantic 10 Tournament has big shoes to fill. ESPN will also know it’s going to get a big crowd tomorrow.

FINAL: Temple 60, Charlotte 45

What a performance from the Big 5 today, the 30-year streak is left intact.

Tyndale is called for a travel while fighting for possession, and he is less than pleased.

Gerrity airballs a three. The crowd chants “We want St. Joe’s!” They know this one is done.

1:37 2nd Half: Temple 58, Charlotte 44

Tyndale double-dribbles, and Charlotte gets it back with 1:50 to go. Goldwire clanks another three, once again, and Charlotte’s time is running out. The Big 5 is 1:37 away from getting a team in the Tourney for sure.

2:09 2nd Half: Temple 55, Charlotte 44

Allen fights for another box out, and goes to the line when someone goes over his back.

I just keep waiting for Goldwire to take over, but it just hasn’t happened. Immediately following me typing that, he makes a lefty layup. But hey, the Hawks have to be happy it’s that, not a three. He hits four of those per game, and a good amount come in the final minutes, as UMass found out last night.

2:44 2nd Half: Temple 51, Charlotte 39

I get shorted out from the connection again, but basically Charlotte scored a few quick hoops to get within five, but the Owls started draining as well, inluding a Tyndale three from the top of the key.

7:59 2nd Half: Temple 44, Charlotte 36

Allen signals the end of Mack’s easy inside scoring with a big-time block off the glass.

Brooks drives, and somehow finds the space to fit in a layup from the baseline angle. Mack misses a three, hits two from the line and now comes out in favor of Goldwire.

Allen skies through the lane, but the rebound is off of him. Coley, now, does the coasting through the air, on his way to an and-1. Charlotte gets the ball back on the free throw, but Mack misses a three, and Tyndale gets into the lane for a deuce.

Clark throws up an airball and Goldwire answers with a huge three. All of a sudden, it’s a five-point game.

11:40 2nd Half: Temple 40, Charlotte 32

Tyndale goes flying over Charles Dewhurst’s back, and a foul is commited. I don’t know how that is called, I thought the ball was out of bounds first on the top of the backboard.

Michael Gerrity blows an open layup, but Goldwire drains a three. Finally. Tyndale hustles to force another possession on a board, and Brooks scores inside.

Tyndale gets fouled, and then is warned by the referee quietly about shooting after the whistle. In soccer, that’d be a yellow card.

Mack scores inside again, Tyndale commits a hard charge and this game is getting close.

15:23 2nd Half: Temple 38, Charlotte 25

Christmas follows a Mack layin with a beautiful one himself, putting just enough english on it. Just as I write this, Tyndale goes to the hoop for a strong and-1.

Once again, Olmos is in foul trouble with his third. He has some work to go to pull off a third-straight game in double-figures.

But the focus is back onto Temple’s self-proclaimed one-two punch. Christmas splashes in a three and the Owls are up 15.

Charlotte hits two free throws, and Mack draws an offensive foul. Wilderness now hits a big basket to get a withing striking distance of striking distance.

In transition, the Owls strike easily, as Christmas gets it to Tyndale, who sends the ball Brooks’ way for a layin.

For some reason Olmos is standing up on the bench. I feel bad for the seven-feet-worth of fans sitting behind him.
Halftime stats: The Owls lead by nine, and a major reason why is that the 49ers have gone 3-for-16 from three. Goldwire has two makes to eight misses. The defense has been great, and we’ll see if they can keep it up.

Halftime: Temple 28, Charlotte 19

Clark gets all three from the stripe to fall, and Temple gets a little lead going again. Tyndale builds on it with an and-1 to go up 10, but only after a great block by Allen on Goldwire.

Christmas strips Coley, and the Owls get their star sophomore to the line with a backdoor cut.

The half ends with Mack expertly stripping Tyndale, and he is livid about that.

3:59 1st Half: Temple 22, Charlotte 14

Tyndale turns it over badly, but Charlotte misses yet another three. They live and die by that shot - the 49ers were down 34-19, I believe to UMass and came back to win.

Clark isn’t scared to launch again after missing twice, and drains a triple.

Semaj Inge loses the ball, but Tyndale gets it back and finds Clark, who gets fouled on a three.

14:45 1st Half: Temple 19, Charlotte 14

Ian Anderson finally gets the Owls into double-figures, and Wilderness scores to cut the early lead to seven. He then scores again, and this is really a game once again.

Clark misses two threes by a bit, and Charlotte gets a chance to make it a one-possession game from the line.

9:15 1st Half: Temple 19, Charlotte 9

Chris Clark is in the game now for Temple after his big shooting night in the first half. He was peculiarly laying down on hisstomach before coming in. Maybe it was in order to stretch his back, but I don’t think that was it. They didn’t have enough chairs on the bench.

Christmas gets a hand out on a Goldwire three, and Clark buries it for Temple. It has been a long, long time since the 49ers scored. They have two threes, but that’s about it, and they have attempted a whole lot more than two.

14:45 1st Half: Temple 16, Charlotte 8

Christmas misses some free throws, but Allen corrals the rebound. Tyndale has a great box out to get the rebound over a 49er, andthen drives for a layup.

Allen now gets his full hand on a shot, and Olmos finishes at the other wnd with a big dunk. Normally stoic, he is pumped, yelling “let’s go!” while running down the court.

Goldwire finally sticks a three and Tyndale answers. Goldwire tries another and misses, while Tyndale beasts his way for an acrobatic offensive board and putback, then dives on the ground for a loose ball. He’s willing to get his all-white shoes dirty today. Just due to his tenacity, he’s probably the Big 5 Player of the Year in my book.

14:45 1st Half: Temple 7, Charlotte 5

Goldwire has missed two threes to start it off, but they’ve barely stayed out. He won the game for them last time, and is ready to do it again. He won’t score right away, but draws a quick charge on Christmas.

Olmos is playing with a little passion, powering his way to the hoop. Meanwhile, Mack connects on his second shot, putting his team on the board with four minutes gone.

Guzman is left wide open, and he hits a three, only to be answered by Goldwire. Over Olmos. Impressive.

Starters:

Temple:
G Luiz Guzman
G Dionte Christmas
G Mark Tyndale
F Lavoy Allen
C Sergio Olmos

Charlotte:
G Leemire Goldwire
G Dijuan Harris
F Charlie Coley
F Lamont Mack
F An’Juan Wilderness

ATLANTIC CITY — The Saint Joseph’s Hawks have been on or around the bubble for over a month now, and it call comes down to tonight against a top-10 team.

FINAL: St. Joe’s 61, Xavier 53

Box score

The crowd continues to chant, right before it just stopped it felt like a soccer game.

Carr points his index finger to the sky and Calathes and Nivins chest-bumped each other. When Lunardi throws a fist-pump toward a fan in the stands, you start to get the feeling they are in. If Temple can pull off the win over Charlotte (tipoff at 9:02 p.m.), the Big 5’s 30-year streak of having a team in the Tournament will be intact.

0:16.4 2nd Half, St. Joe’s 61, Xavier 53

Ferguson fouls out, but it won’t matter. The Hawks start a chant “this is our house!” I don’t think they’re rich enough to own the Palestra, the Fieldhouse and a place on the shore as well.

0:31.0 2nd Half, St. Joe’s 61, Xavier 51

Jackson is whistled for the block, and Calathes shoots two from the line. Wow, he’s money on the first, but misses the second, and it’s tipped all the way out to Williamson, and Calathes is fouled again.

He makes numero uno this time, hitting the second, and the crowd erupts. The Muskies miss a three, and Ferguson corrals the board. Calathes throws his arms up in celebration, this one is over!

0:54.7 2nd Half, St. Joe’s 56, Xavier 51

Calathes takes the inbounds pass down the sideline for a dunk. Burrell tries to foul Calathes on his way there telling the ref exactly that: “I tried to foul him!”

Raymond makes two free throws, and this time the Musketeers trap Calathes once he crosses the midcourt line, and he has to burn a timeout.

1:12 2nd Half, St. Joe’s 54, Xavier 47

It’s electric, the whole crowd is standing and chanting now. Nivins fouls Duncan though, and the St. Joe’s contingency gets quiet. Nivins has fouled out, and the Hawk faithful applaud his effort.

Duncan connects on both, so it’s down to five. Xavier defends St. Joe’s well on the inbounds pass, and after getting trapped, Carr calls timeout. The Hawks have two left, Xavier has none.

1:33 2nd Half, St. Joe’s 54, Xavier 47

The Xavier band plays the song “I’m a believer,” and it may have helped - Carr throws an atrocious pass that Burrell takes coast-to-coast, and Ferguson misses. St. Joe’s tournament hopes lie in these final 93 seconds. While I’m not sure they’re a better team than Temple, the Hawks couldn’t be left out after winning two against Xavier, especially with all of the bubble teams that have lost.

2:32 2nd Half, St. Joe’s 54, Xavier 45

Love grabs an offensive rebound after a miss by, who else, Duncan, and puts it in for two. Nivins has to be careful - he’s got four fouls. He gets hit, though, and heads to the line as both teams are now in the double-bonus and are shooting two.

Williamson and Lidzius are the defensive subs for the Hawks, with Ferguson and Govens as the offensive counterparts.

Xavier needs some plays, and fast, but after Burrell barely misses a three, Duncan cleans up.

3:49 2nd Half, St. Joe’s 53, Xavier 41

Xavier continues to throw up bricks, this is shocking. Williamson just barely misses a dagger with a corner three, but Love, the Abington Friends product (he played along with Penn’s Aron Cohen in the Philly suburban Quaker school), loses it out of bounds.

Nivins is called for a walk, and Xavier takes over. Lidzius is still in for the Hawks, he’s played alright so far.

5:09 2nd Half, St. Joe’s 53, Xavier 41

Brown throws down a monstrous dunk, but his team is still down by nine. He and Duncan miss threes, and Calathes and Nivins widen the lead by hitting 3-of-4 on 1-and-1s.

Duncan has Nivins in his grill, and can’t finish the bank.

7:44 2nd Half, St. Joe’s 51, Xavier 39

My apologies, the internet decided to stop working for the moment. The Hawks had built up a 15-point lead on a 15-0 run that started before the half, but the Musketeers are clawing back slowly.

Halftime, St. Joe’s 27, Xavier 20

Williamson misses a tough layup to beat the shot clock. Duncan continues to struggle mightily, missing an open three. He forces Nivins into a a bad shot, though.

After Xavier patiently turns it over, Calathes makes a textbook left-handed and-1 layup, and the Hawks are on a 7-0 run.

The Muskies lose control, get it back, but commit a shot-clock violation, and the Hawks call timeout with 13.7 left in the half. On the final play, the Musketeers go zone, but Calathes punishes them with a three from the corner, and the Hawks go up 10 at the half.

2:41 1st Half, St. Joe’s 24, Xavier 20

Carr dribbles around for a while, but then finds Lidzius for a layup. In response, Burrell tosses a nice alley-oop to Brown. It’s kind of ugly, but it’s been an exciting game so far.

Calathes finally hits an open three, and Josh Duncan, the leading scorer for the Musketeers, airballs a double-clutch layup. Calathes then gets whistled for his second foul, and it looks like a bad call. He agrees.

Carr dribbles it off of someone’s leg, and Xavier ties it up in transition. He then draws a reach-in, and Ferguson takes back the lead with a jumper. Carr now almost loses it, but finds Ferguson for a tough layup. The crowd is now real loud, and nearly erupts as Carr’s three goes halfway down, but then out.

Duncan misses an easy shot, and Calathes bricks a long, but wide-open three. The crowd keeps getting bigger - the stadium is about two-thirds full. It also looks more empty than it is because there are a few sections of seats that are a good 20 feet behind the basket, but still parallel to the benches. I’m not sure if they even sell tickets to those sections.

7:50 1st Half, St. Joe’s 15, Xavier 14

The Hawks are running at Xavier on the perimeter, forcing it to put up mid-range jumpers. Meanwhile, the Hawks continue to brick jumpers, as Govens’ three goes in-and-out.

Bad news for St. Joe’s - Nivins picks up his second foul (team’s second), and Arvydas Lidzius, who has played alright, comes in.

The Hawks are missing just about everything now, but Williamson gets to the line, trying to maintain the lead. He makes two and once again the Musketeers throw it away.

Calathes is getting nothing done on the offensive end, and he now fouls Love for an and-1 that pulls Xavier to within one.

Lavender makes perhaps his first good play of the game, hitting a bank over Williamson. The teams trade turnovers, and the low-scoring game continues.

The Xavier cheerleaders do the the thing where they run onto the court and spell out X-A-V-I-E-R while sliding on th ground. It’s like Soulja Boy - cool the first couple times you see it but gets old fast.

11:45 1st Half, St. Joe’s 11, Xavier 6

Lavender throws up what I believe was an alley-oop, but no one went for it, and it glances harmlessly off the basket. Then, the solid jump-shooting Ferguson nails a 16-footer. Burrell blows by Garrett Williamson, but nearly turns it over. He’s one of six Musketeers averaging double-figures.

After an offensive foul, Nivins spins for a two, but Anderson answers in the lane. The Nivins-Ferguson duo inside is killing the top seed. Williamson grabs a steal, but his first dribble takes him out of bounds.

15:45 1st Half, St. Joe’s 5, Xavier 2

I’m starting to feel a buzz about the place for the first time. The St. Joe’s fans start their fake fight song, “O when the Hawk, goes marching in…”

The teams are out on the floor, and we’re ready to go.

Nivins grabs the tip, and then seals Love beautifully, taking the lob from Govens in for two. The Hawks, switching on screens, force Lavender into an airball over Calathes and the crowd loves it. Nivins misses a shot, but throws a shot out of bounds

Lavender bricks a layup over Ferguson, but Anderson cuts to the hoop to put Xavier on the board. Neither team is hitting anything, as Calathes misses a three.

Calathes hits Nivins, and he beasts Dante Jackson for an and-1. Jackson forces Ferguson into a jump ball though, and after the whistle the forward nails a bank while sitting on his behind.

The crowd is as big as I have ever seen at Boardwalk Hall. That doesn’t say much, but both these teams travel well, and it looks more than half full.

_____
Xavier had a bit of trouble with 9-seed Dayton, but the conference’s top team and NCAA Tourney lock is going to be a really tough out. The Musketeers are 27-5, with two of those losses coming against the Big 5 - at Temple and at St. Joe’s just over a week ago. The rubber match will be a good one - the Hawks have absolutely blown away their inferior opponents in 12-seed Fordham and 4th-seeded Richmond.

The fans are still filing in with eight minutes until tipoff, and it’s only about a third full, though the Hawks’ student section is pretty full

Neither team is on the floor with six minutes to go, so it’s quiet. A fan yells to Joe Lunardi, the Hawks’ radio analyst slash ESPN’s bracketologist “Last four in!?” and Joe humors him by saying ‘yes’. Hawks finally come back in with five minutes before tipoff, and the Muskeys follow with only 2:30 on the clock. The student section chants its coach’s name as Phil Martelli finally comes onto the floor, giving the fans a little wave. The crowd is getting a little bigger now, Martelli promised it would be sold out…

Starters

Xavier:
G Drew Lavender
G Stanley Burrell
G C.J. Anderson
F Derrick Brown
F Jason Love

St. Joe’s:
G Tasheed Carr
G Darrin Govens
F Pat Calathes
F Rob Ferguson
C Ahmad Nivins

ATLANTIC CITY — The last time these two teams played, it was a joke. Temple was doubling up La Salle by halftime, and cruised to a 85-66 victory to win a share of the Big 5 title. To make matters worse, it was at La Salle and on Senior Day. The Explorers come into this game trying to make the A-10 semifinals and get some revenge while they’re at it.

FINAL: Temple 84, La Salle 75

(Internet screws up with 2:00 to go, convenient). Clark pulls up from NBA range over Harris, on a shot that hits the side of the rim and bounces in, and the Owls have a five-point lead.

Mekongo Mbala airballs a three on the next possession, and the Explorers are in trouble.

Clark misses the first foul shot, makes the second, putting Temple up by six.

La Salle all but turns it over in order to get the ball to Harris, who attempts an absolutely absurd three that is halfway down, but barely bounces out.

Temple is up by seven, and now in control.Temple employs the Red and Blue Crew’s “Hey Song,” and La Salle runs out the clock.

Harris gives Clark a hug after the game, and Tyndale then embraces the La Salle senior, and has some comforting words for him.

1:35 2nd Half: Temple 77, La Salle 75

Mekongo Mbala hits one from the line, and cut the lead to one with a very nice reverse layup over Olmos.

That is what he does. Harris takes the lead with a monumental three with just over two minutes to go.

Just a few seconds later, Olmos hits an and-1, and the game is tied with his missed FT. Harris pumps Clark, and goes up for a long three that just barely hits the back iron. Harris then makes the mistake of fouling Clark on the long rebound.

3:40 2nd Half: Temple 73, La Salle 69

Harris makes two on the one-and-one, and after a stop Mekongo Mbala picks up Lavoy Allen’s fourth.

4:37 2nd Half: Temple 71, La Salle 67

Guillandeaux, who loves to seal a smaller man an receive a lob, can’t hang on and the ball goes to the Owls, where Allen grabs a strong o-reb and makes one from the line.

Christmas drives baseline and finds Brooks for a three from the corner. Tyndale tries to raise the lead to six, but Guillandeaux draws a charge, and his fourth foul.

Green was on the bench with four fouls, but he’s back in now, and misses a three. I don’t have stats, but he’s been great tonight.

6:46 2nd Half: Temple 67, La Salle 65

I don’t know what the 5-8 Clark was thinking by shooting over two La Salle forwards in the paint, but he makes up for it by hitting a three from the corner.

Barrett scores inside to take the lead, followed by Christmas getting wet on a three to take the advantage back in Temple’s favor.

8:29 2nd Half: Temple 61, La Salle 63

Hello… Harris comes off a screen and buries a long three.

Green makes Temple pay for putting a forward on him and the game is tied for the first time tonight. Christmas comes back by getting to the line, but Barrett swings the ball to Green, who was wide open due to the double-team on Harris.

Somehow, La Salle has taken the lead. Green gets fouled, and will get to build on that.

11:26 2nd Half: Temple 59, La Salle 54

Another post here got deleted, but La Salle has begun to creep back into it. Green scores on the inside, and then dishes to Mekongo Mbala for a dunk. Then, the big man is left alone for a three, which he hits with no problem, and Guillandeaux connects on a trey as well.

Barrett scores, but then Allen dunks it home over him.

15:05 2nd Half: Temple 53, La Salle 41

Sergio Olmos has exploded this half. He starts it off with an 18-footer that he looked like he didn’t really want to take, but since they leave him alone he hits it anyway. Then, Tyndale hits the big Spaniard for a layup, and Olmos scores yet again to up the lead to 14.

Olmos gets to the hoop yet again, prompting another “ole!” chant. Barrett temporarily silences the crowd with a very strong layup.

Halftime: Temple 41, La Salle 35

Green’s fantastic half continues as he feeds Mekongo Mbala on the backdoor cut. After a Harris turnover, Clark lets the clock run down, and gets it to Brooks, but the three at the buzzer won’t go.

It was a great beginning for Temple, but La Salle has proved that it belongs in this game. The Owls lead, but this game is heating up and you never know what will happen with these two teams.

1:11 1st Half: Temple 43, La Salle 33

Harris sinks all three, and it’s a five-point game. Olmos comes back with a nice post move.

Ohhhhhhh man, Harris is starting to feel it, he splashes a three over Clark. Christmas makes a tough shot himself over Guillandeaux to make it a seven-point game, and Brooks gets the lead to eight with a three of his own.

Tyndale passes the ball, but is called with a charge.

3:56 1st Half: Temple 33, La Salle 25

Harris gets pinned on the backboard by Olmos, but it’s called a goaltend. That may have been his first basket of the game, he’s been blanketed by Guzman and company. I really think that was a bad call.

Terrell Williams fouls Olmos, and the La Salle fans chant “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” The freshmen twins have accounted for half of the Explorers’ eight fouls so far.Harris comes off of a screen and misses the three, but he’s fouled and will go to the line for three.

5:28 1st Half: Temple 31, La Salle 20

La Salle is getting an offensive rebound every other minute. Unfortunately for them, the Explorers are also fouling often too. Johnson puts Christmas on the line for the 1-and-1, and the junior star hits two. Temple is getting whistled for a lot of soft fouls, these aren’t bad calls, but could go either way.

Green makes a backdoor cut, and finishes with a flush. He airballs a three though, and Tyndale swiftly goes in for a baseline layin.

7:28 1st Half: Temple 25, La Salle 17

Barrett scores inside, and then off of a steal, Harris shows off his hops with a nice two-handed dunk.

Tyndale comes back with a three, the teams trade misses from deep and then Christmas takes it to the hoop for a hoop and the harm.

Chris Clark, the smallest player in Boardwalk Hall strips Mekongo Mbala, but the ball goes to Green, who drains a three from the corner. He’s got either eight or 10 of La Salle’s 17 points.

11:26 1st Half: Temple 19, La Salle 9

Christmas gives Harris a little nudge, he falls, and then Christmas hits a three. Green gets a put-back to go for La Salle.

They are trapping Harris when possible, but he dishes to Green for an and-1. The next possession, Green gets trapped in the same place, but gets it to Kimmani Barrett, who spins and then passes to Terrell Williams, who spins twice and scores on an and-1. His twin is out with two fouls, but he can get it done.

La Salle heads to a 1-2-2 zone for one possession, and it forces the Owls into a turnover

Tyndale makes a pass to Christmas on a beautiful backdoor cut to the basket.

15:17 1st Half: Temple 11, La Salle 2

Christmas gets fouled on a three, and Dr. John Giannini is pissed. Christmas only hits one, but his team is up 9-0. Mekongo Mbala misses a three. Nothing is hitting for the Explorers, and when that happens, this team is hard to watch.

After about every player had bricked, Mekongo Mbala scores off of a put-back. Guzman gives the Explorer Entourage nothing to celebrate about by making a real tough Williams is whistled for an offensive foul, and that’s his second.

17:41 1st Half: Temple 8, La Salle 0

Allen gets inside and scores from point blank to score first for Temple, and Tyndale makes it 4-0.

The game starts off scrappy, a couple fouls called on La Salle. Olmos is bleeding after Williams hit him, and Olmos is complaining to the ref about it as he has to go to the bench to get cleaned up. The La Salle fans mock the common Temple chant by cheering “Ole, ole ole, ole!”
The crowd is still a little sparse, but filling out now. It’s pretty loud for how small it is.

_____
La Salle, the 7-seed, knocked off Duquesne last night in an absolute thriller. The Dukes led by three with a minute to go before Darnell Harris nailed a 27-footer to tie it up, and guards Rodney Green and Ruben Guilandeaux hit three free throws to win the game. Second-seeded Temple earned the first-round bye. With an RPI of 61, the Owls need to at least get to the finals in order to make the NCAA Tournament.

In front of me, La Salle is practicing defense, both team and one-the-ball defending. The Temple student section is on this side as well, and after Darnell Harris finishes a drill, a fan yells at him “Harris, you can’t play defense!” (a true statement), then saying that he’s going to be stopped from hitting threes. Harris lets his sense of humor show, amiably saying something back to the fans while grinning.

With two minutes before tipoff, there aren’t too many fans, but the ones that are here are fairly loud.

Starters:

La Salle:
G Darnell Harris
G Rodney Green
F Paul Johnson
F Jerrell Williams
F Yves Mekongo Mbala

Temple:
G Luiz Guzman
G Dionte Christmas
G Mark Tyndale
F Lavoy Allen
C Sergio Olmos