The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team (22-4; 11-2 A-10) will put its nation's best road record (9-0) to the test on Saturday when it visits Davidson (15-9; 7-6). Game time is 2 p.m. from Belk Arena with the national telecast on the NBC Sports Network.
ARENA: John M. Belk Arena (5,223)
TELEVISION: NBC Sports Network (Mike Corey, Ron Thompson)
RADIO: 560 AM (Matt Martucci, Joe Lunardi)
VIDEO STREAMING: NBCSports.com WATCH
AUDIO STREAMING: SJUHawks.com (Matt Martucci, Joe Lunardi) LISTEN
SJU STREAK: 4 wins
HAWKS' NEXT GAME: February 24 at Massachusetts, 7 p.m.
GAME NOTES:
• Saint Joseph's defeated its first ranked team since 2014 when it topped #15/13 Dayton on Wednesday night. DeAndre' Bembry (16 pts, 13 rebs) and Isaiah Miles (12 pts, 12 rebs) led five Hawks in double figures.
• SJU owns a four-game winning streak and has won 11 of the last 12 games. This is the Hawks' best record through 26 games since the 2003-04 team went undefeated (27-0).
• SJU owns the nation's best road record (9-0) as the only unbeaten team. This is the first of two straight road games for the Hawks.
• This marks the ninth 20-plus win season under Phil Martelli, who now has 397 career wins.
• Saint Joseph's RPI is a season-high 23, which is the second best in the Atlantic 10 behind Dayton (11).
UPSET CITY: Saint Joseph's win over #15/13 Dayton on Wednesday marked the first victory against a ranked team since March 16, 2014, when SJU defeated #23 VCU to win the Atlantic 10 Championship. It also was the highest ranked team beaten on campus since the Hawks defeated #8 Xavier, 71-66, on March 6, 2008 in the final game for Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse.
EXCLUSIVE LIST: DeAndre' Bembry is just one of two players in the nation who is averaging over 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists per game. The other is LSU freshman Ben Simmons (19.3 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 5.2 apg), who is considered one of the top candidates for the National Player of the Year Award. Bembry is the only player in the nation to have those numbers and average less than 2.5 turnovers per game.
MOST IMPROVED HAWKS: SJU is tied for the fourth-biggest improvement in the nation from last season (as of Feb. 18), according to the NCAA. The improvement is determined by adding the difference in win total and loss total from last year to this year and then dividing by two.
(Team/2015-16/2014-15/Difference)
Tennessee State/8-7/5-26/16
Ball State/17-9/7-23/2
Little Rock/22-3/13-18/12
Saint Joseph's/22-4/13-18/11.5
Southern Illinios/21-7/12-21/11.5
Col. of Charleston/16-9/9-24/11
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: Phil Martelli is hard-pressed to find a player he's coached that has made a bigger improvement from one year to the next than Isaiah Miles. The senior, who is arguably one of the most improved players in the nation, is averaging seven more points and three more rebounds than his junior season. He's scored double figures in all 26 games - entering this season he had a total of 20 double-digit games in his entire career. The only player Martelli could compare him to was 2008-09 A-10 Player of the Year Ahmad Nivins. Nivins increased his averages by five points and six rebounds from his junior to senior year - but he had been a double-figure scorer as both a sophomore and junior.
BEMBRY ON BOARD: DeAndre' Bembry's rebounding ability is often overlooked but the junior is one of the nation's best for his size. Bembry ranks 40th in defensive rebounds with 6.6 per game but if you look at players 6'6” and under, he ranks third in the nation.
FLYING START: This is the quickest that the Hawks have achieved 20 wins since the undefeated season in 2003-04. They've had two seven-game winning streaks, with the most recent ending against St. Bonaventure. The Hawks, who have long surpassed last season's victory total of 13, have won 18 of the last 20 games. It is Saint Joseph's best record through 26 games since the 2003-04 team was 25-0. It is also the best A-10 mark through 13 games (11-2) since the 2003-04 team went 13-0.
HISTORY MAKERS: With the 22-4 record, the Hawks are on their way to posting one of the best seasons in school history. SJU's record through 26 games matches that of both the 1981-82 and 2000-01 teams, and is second to the 25-0 mark set by the 2003-04 squad. The 1981-82 team, which was the first season for head coach Jim Boyle, finished the year at 25-5. The 2000-01 Hawks, coached by Phil Martelli and with freshman point guard Jameer Nelson, compiled a 26-7 record. In Nelson's senior year, SJU won 27 straight games and finished the season with a best-ever 30-2 record.
CAREER MILES: Heading into this year, Isaiah Miles had just 444 career points in three seasons. He's scored 449 in this season alone to now total 893 points in 97 career games.
20-20: This marks the ninth 20-plus win season under Phil Martelli, which is the most for any Hawk coach. Counting this one, there have been a total of 23 seasons in SJU history in which the Hawks have won 20 or more games.
ROAD WARRIORS: SJU owns the nation's best road record at 9-0, as the only unbeaten team. The Hawks have scored wins at Columbia, Temple, Richmond, George Mason, Penn, La Salle, Rhode Island, Fordham and GW. The Hawks also played three 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), so their record away from Hagan Arena is 10-1. The best road record for a Saint Joseph's team is 13-0 by the 2003-04 Elite Eight squad, while in recent years the 2013-14 A-10 champion team was 8-4 away from home.
STORIES FROM THE ROAD: Since 2007-08, there have been five teams that have gone through the season without a road loss. They are: North Carolina and Memphis (2008); Murray State (2012); Wichita State (2014); and Kentucky (2015). Three of those teams - North Carolina, Memphis and Kentucky reached the Final Four in those years.
CAROLINA ON THEIR MINDS: There are three Hawks who have called North Carolina their homes - DeAndre' Bembry, James Demery and Markell Lodge. Bembry grew up in Charlotte and attended Rocky River High School before he moved to New Jersey to attend The Patrick School. Demery, from Williamston, attended Northside Christian Academy and Lodge, from Washington, went to Pace Academy. All three players are expecting numerous family members and friends in attendance at the game.
400 CLUB: Head coach Phil Martelli is closing in on the 400-victory plateau as he enters this game with 397. He currently ranks 35th for career victories among current Division I head coaches and would become the 121st coach in NCAA history to record 400-plus wins.
KEEPING IT FRESH: Freshman point guard Lamarr “Fresh” Kimble had a big game against Dayton, tying his career-high with 13 points on 4-for-5 shooting, and 2-of-3 from three-point range, to go along with five assists. Kimble scored four straight points in the first half as the Hawks took the lead for good, and hit a three-pointer after Dayton had cut SJU's lead to six points with 5:20 to play. Kimble and fellow point guard Shavar Newkirk combined for 21 points, seven assists and just one turnover in the victory.
STAYING IN THE GAME: As they did two years ago, the Hawks have limited their fouls and currently lead the nation in fewest fouls per game (15.2), while ranking eighth in fewest fouls (397). SJU has only had six disqualifications all season.
DEE-FENSE: The Hawks' defense has been a big part of their success. SJU is leading the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage defense (39.5) and in three-point field goal percentage defense (29.7), while ranking 25th and ninth nationally, in those respective categories. At Rhode Island, SJU held the Rams to 18.8 percent (6-of-32) from the field in the first half, which was a season-best effort. Since the Hawks lead the country in fewest fouls, their opponents are not getting to the foul line, and have only scored 257 points on free throws.
LOOKING AHEAD: Saint Joseph's plays its second straight road game when it visits Massachusetts on Feb. 24 for the second meeting between the teams. The Hawks wil have two more home games this year - vs. Saint Louis on Feb. 28 and against Duquesne on March 5.
