The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team (8-2) will put its four-game winning streak on the line when it faces Virginia Tech (8-3) in the ACC-Atlantic 10 Doubleheader on Tuesday, December 22 at the Barclays Center. Game time is 1 p.m. and the contest will be broadcast on ESPN3 and on 990 AM.
WATCH
ARENA: Barclays Center (18,000)
BROADCAST: ESPN3 (Doug Sherman, Rob Kennedy)
RADIO: 990 AM (Matt Martucci, Joe Lunardi)
AUDIO STREAMING: SJUHawks.com
HAWKS' NEXT GAME: Dec. 29 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore, 7 p.m.
GAME NOTES
• DeAndre' Bembry and Isaiah Miles each had 16 points to lead five Hawks in double figures in the win over Illinois State.
• Isaiah Miles is posting career-best numbers of 15.5 points per game and 7.5 rebounds. He is shooting 91.4 percent from the foul line, a number which is the 15th best in the nation.
• SJU is in the midst of its longest winning streak (4) since a six-game streak in February 2014.
• DeAndre' Bembry ranks in the top 16 in the Atlantic 10 in eight statistical categories, while leading the league in defensive rebounds (6.9).
• The Hawks lead the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage defense, holding their foes to 38.1 percent from the field.
• This will be the first meeting of SJU and Virginia Tech since 2000, when the Hokies were in their final season as a member of the Atlantic 10.
HAWKS IN BROOKLYN: Saint Joseph's is quite familiar with the Barclays Center, being that the A-10 Championship has been held here since 2013. The Hawks own a 4-2 record in games played at the Barclays Center. That includes the three victories which led the Hawks to the 2014 Atlantic 10 title.
BOOK ON BEMBRY: DeAndre' Bembry continues to reaffirm his status as one of the best players in the A-10 and the nation. He's now moved into the team lead in scoring (15.9), rebounding (7.9), assists (4.5) and steals (1.6). Here's a look at some of his top performances thus far:
• Drexel (W): 23 pts, 11 free throws made
• Old Dominion (W): 15 pts, 10 rebs
• Columbia (W): 12 pts, 9 rebs, 8 asts
• Princeton (W): season-high 27 pts, 10 rebs, 4 steals
• Temple (W): 17 pts, 13 rebs, 3 asts
• Illinois State (W): 16 pts, 9 rebs, 7 asts
EYE ON ISAIAH: Senior Isaiah Miles is in the midst of a career-best season and has been a key to the Hawks' success. He's tied his career-high in points (24) this year and surpassed it in rebounds (15). Miles owns three double-doubles on the season and has scored double figures in all 10 games. Miles earned All-Tournament honors at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off, as he averaged 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in the two games while connecting on 51.7 percent (15-for-29) from the field.
DEE-FENSE: The Hawks' defense has been a big part of the 8-2 record. SJU is leading the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage defense (38.1) and ranks third in three-point field goal percentage defense (28.9).
TO THE POINT: Sophomore point guard Shavar Newkirk earned a starting role this year and has responded with career-best numbers. Against 8th-ranked Villanova, Newkirk bettered his career-high with 13 points and handed out a personal-best nine assists. More impressively, he went without a turnover in 31 minutes of action. Newkirk was the hero in the win over Old Dominion as he hit the game-winning jumper with one second left. He tied his career-high with 13 points in the win over Illinois State. The sophomore is averaging 3.0 assists and only 1.1 turnovers per
game while playing 23.6 minutes per game. He currently ranks third in the A-10 in assist/turnover ratio with 2.7.
THE TIME IS NDAO: Papa Ndao saw his first game action at Columbia since March 20, 2014, when the Hawks faced Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament. The senior sat out the entire 2014-15 season with a medical condition and then suffered a fractured finger during the preseason which caused him to miss the Hawks' first six games. Ndao made an impact at Columbia as he connected on three three-pointers in nine minutes of action in the second half as SJU held onto the 80-78 win. He had five points and four rebounds in his return to Hagan Arena vs. Princeton.
HIGH-SCORING HAWKS: SJU has scored 70-plus points in seven of 10 games to average 73.2 per game. The high was 89 points against Buffalo while the single-half high is 52 points in the second half at Columbia. That's quite a change from last year when SJU struggled to score (61.7 ppg). The 2014-15 Hawks surpassed the 70-point mark only six times in 31 games and scored less than 60 points on 11 occasions.
FLYING START: This is the quickest that the Hawks have achieved eight wins since the 2003-04 undefeated season. The current four-game winning streak is the longest since a six-game streak in February 2014 during the Hawks' A-10 championship season.
BEYOND THE ARC: The Hawks have not excelled at the three-point shot this year but the lid seemed to come off the basket against Illinois State. SJU connected on a season-high 15 threes on 33 attempts, which was also the most this year. DeAndre' Bembry led the way with his best effort of the year, going 4-for-6 from beyond the arc.
ON THE LINE: SJU has improved its free-throw shooting from last year, converting 72.0 percent as compared to 61.5 percent in 2014-15. The Hawks have shot 70 percent or better from the line in eight of 10 games this year, including a recent 10-for-11 performance vs. llinois State. Isaiah Miles, who went 8-for-8 from the line at Temple, leads the way at 91.4 percent, to rank fourth in the A-10 and 15th nationally. Aaron Brown is shooting 81.8 percent while Shavar Newkirk is hitting 75.9 percent on the season. All three players have shown great improvement - last year Miles shot 74.6 percent; Brown converted 69.8 percent and Newkirk was at 56.9 percent.
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL: SJU has done a fairly good job of limiting its turnovers this year, with just seven against Villanova's defense. The Hawks followed that with only eight at Columbia, had a season-low six vs. Buffalo and nine in the Old Dominion win. Point guard Shavar Newkirk didn't commit a turnover in 31 minutes against Villanova while handing out a career-high nine assists. SJU ranks 28th (10.7) in the nation in turnovers per game and is 38th in fewest turnovers (107).
LOOKING AHEAD: SJU gets a break for Christmas and returns to action on Dec. 29 to host Maryland Eastern Shore. The Hawks start conference play at Richmond on Jan. 2.
