The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team (10-2) will open the Atlantic 10 Conference schedule on Saturday, January 2, when it visits Richmond (8-4). Game time is 12:30 p.m. with the national broadcast on the NBC Sports Network.
ARENA: Robins Center (9,071)
TELEVISION: NBCSN (Mike Corey, Blaine Taylor)
RADIO: 610 AM (Matt Martucci, Joe Lunardi)
VIDEO STREAMING: NBCSports.com/LiveExtra - WATCH
AUDIO STREAMING: SJUHawks.com - LISTEN
SJU STREAK: 6 wins
HAWKS' NEXT GAME: January 5 vs. VCU, 7 p.m., ASN
GAME NOTES
• Isaiah Miles and DeAndre' Bembry led the way with 17 points and 15 points, respectively, as
Saint Joseph's won its sixth in a row with the 78-68 win over Maryland Eastern Shore on Tuesday. James Demery added 11 points off the bench.
• Isaiah Miles is posting career-best numbers of 17.3 points per game and 8.0 rebounds. He is shooting 91.5 percent from the foul line, a number which is the 12th best in the nation.
• SJU is in the midst of its longest winning streak (6) since a six-game streak in February 2014. The last time the Hawks won seven games in a row was January 2009.
• During the winning streak, Isaiah Miles and DeAndre' Bembry are leading the Hawks in scoring with 18.2 ppg each. Bembry is grabbing 9.5 rebounds per game while Miles is averaging 9.0.
• SJU returns home for a pair of A-10 home games vs. VCU on Tuesday and Rhode Island on Jan. 10.
FOR OPENERS: The Hawks are 13-7 in A-10 openers under Phil Martelli but have lost five of their last seven - to Butler, Duquesne, Temple, UMass and GW at home last season. SJU's last win in the first game of conference play was an 84-82 overtime win at Duquesne on Jan. 4, 2012.
HOME BODIES: This will be only the third true “road” game for SJU thus far as the Hawks have played at Columbia and at Temple - both wins. There were three other neutral site games, with two in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off at Mohegan Sun Arena (Florida, ODU) and one at the Barclays Center in the ACC-Atlantic 10 doubleheader (Virginia Tech).
DEAN OF COACHES: Phil Martelli is the dean of A-10 coaches in his 21st season as the head coach of the Hawks with a 385-267 career record. He owns a 185-137 record in Atlantic 10 play for the most conference wins of any active coach, and the second most all-time.
30 FOR 30: Isaiah Miles was named the Atlantic 10 and Big 5 Player of the Week for Dec. 28 as he scored a career-high 36 points and tied his career-highs with 15 rebounds and four blocked shots in Hawks' 79-62 win over Virginia Tech on Dec. 19. He connected on 11-for-18 from the field and 11-of-12 from the foul line, which were also career-highs. It was the first 30-point game of his career and his fourth double-double of the season. It marked the first time in his career that he has received weekly honors from either league.
FLYING START: This is the quickest that the Hawks have achieved 10 wins since the 2003-04 undefeated season. The current six-game winning streak is the longest since a six-game streak in February 2014 during the Hawks' A-10 championship season. The last time SJU won seven in a row was in January 2009.
GAINING NOTICE: The Hawks received two votes in the AP Poll of Dec. 29, marking the first time that they received votes since the 2013-14 season. In that year, SJU gained votes in the polls of Feb. 3, March 3 and March 17.
POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE: Javon Baumann, a redshirt junior, completed his requirements for his bachelor's degree in three-and-a-half years. The native of Germany received his degree in food marketing. He will begin classes for his master's in business administration in January. Baumann is the second “graduate” on the team as Papa Ndao earned his degree in May 2015 and is now in graduate school.
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 averaging 16.3 points, 7.9 rebounds. 4.1 assists and 1.5 steals. 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, 4-of-6 3FG
• Virginia Tech (W): 22 pts, 7 rebs
• Maryland Eastern Shore (W): 15 pts, 9 rebs
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 surpassed his career-high in points (36) this year and established a new one in rebounds (15) and then reached it a second time. Miles owns four double-doubles on the season and has scored double figures in all 12 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 10-2 record. SJU is leading the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage defense (38.5) and ranks third in three-point field goal percentage defense (29.6).
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 and scored nine points in the win over Maryland Eastern Shore. The Hawks are 6-0 with Ndao back in action and he is shooting 45.0 percent from three-point range.
HIGH-SCORING HAWKS: SJU has scored 70-plus points in nine of 12 games to average 74.1 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
