The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team (22-5; 11-3 A-10) will head to Massachusetts (12-14; 5-9) on Wednesday, February 24 for a 7 p.m. game at the Mullins Center. The Hawks are coming off their first road loss of the year at Davidson but still own a 9-1 record away from home.
The game will not be televised but will be available for viewing on the A-10 Network. The audio broadcast will be carried on 990 AM and SJUHawks.com.
ARENA: Mullins Center (9,493)
TELEVISION: None
RADIO: 990 AM (Matt Martucci, Joe Lunardi)
VIDEO STREAMING: A-10 Network WATCH
AUDIO STREAMING: SJUHawks.com LISTEN
SJU STREAK: 1 loss
HAWKS' NEXT GAME: February 28 vs. Saint Louis, 1 p.m., ASN/CSN
GAME NOTES
• Isaiah Miles had 32 points on 12-for-18 shooting and DeAndre' Bembry had 19 points, but it wasn't enough as Saint Joseph's fell at Davidson, 99-93.
• Saint Joseph's defeated UMass, 78-70, in the first meeting at Hagan Arena on Jan. 27.
• SJU has won 11 of the last 13 games and had a four-game winning streak come to an end at Davidson. This is the Hawks' best record through 27 games since the 2003-04 team went undefeated (27-0).
• SJU was a nation's best 9-0 on the road before the loss to Davidson.
• This marks the ninth 20-plus win season under Phil Martelli, who now has 397 career wins.
• Saint Joseph's RPI is a 26, which is the second best in the Atlantic 10 behind Dayton (17).
• The Hawks will play two of their final three regular-season games at home, hosting Saint Louis on Feb. 28 and Duquesne in the finale on March 5.
LAST TIME OUT: Saint Joseph's suffered its first road loss of the year, at Davidson, 99-93, to end the nation's only unbeaten streak on the road at 9-1. Isaiah Miles had 32 points on 12-for-18 shooting while DeAndre' Bembry had 19 points, with 17 in the second half, for Saint Joseph's. Shavar Newkirk added 13 points and Aaron Brown scored 12. (more on page 26)
LAST TIME VS. UMASS: Isaiah Miles had a game-high 27 points and 12 rebounds to lead Saint Joseph's to a 78-70 win over Massachusetts on Jan. 27. Miles scored eight of the Hawks' nine points in the final 1:30 of the game to preserve the win, while recording his seventh double-double of the season. He shot 8-for-14 from the field and was 9-for-11 from the foul line. DeAndre' Bembry scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds for SJU and James Demery had 11 points, with 10 in the second half as the Hawks secured the win.
LACK OF “D”: The Hawks' defense wasn't up to par at Davidson as the Wildcats scored 99 points and shot 56 percent from the field and 47 percent from three-point range. SJU entered the game holding its opponents to 39.5 percent from the field and 29.7 percent from beyond the arc, the best numbers in the A-10. SJU did force 14 turnovers but it wasn't enough as Davidson pulled away late in the second half.
SITTING IT OUT: DeAndre' Bembry accumulated two fouls early in the Davidson game and played just seven minutes in the first half. The Hawks held the halftime lead without him, mainly thanks to 19 points from Isaiah Miles. Bembry played 20 minutes in the second half and scored 17 points, but it wasn't enough as Davidson took the lead for good with six minutes to play. It marked the fewest minutes played by Bembry since his freshman season.
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 (19.4 ppg, 11.9 rpg, 5.0 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. 22), 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 (19-8/5-26/16)
Ball State (18-9/7-23/12.5)
Little Rock (24-3/13-18/13.5)
Saint Joseph's (22-5/13-18/11)
Southern Illinios (21-8/12-21/11)
Col. of Charleston (16-11/9-24/10)
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 27 games - entering this season he had a total of 20 double-digit games in his entire career. The only player Martelli could compare his improvement to was that of 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 43rd in defensive rebounds with 6.3 per game but if you look at players 6'6” and under, he ranks third in the nation.
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU: Senior Aaron Brown has quietly scored double figures in the past three games, with a high of 14 points in the win over Dayton, averaging 12.3 points per game in those three. Earlier this season, he had a career game at Columbia, scoring 26 points on 11-for-16 shooting, while hitting 3-of-4 three-pointers. He then came close to his first career double-double when he had a personal best nine rebounds to go along with 11 points at Temple. The senior is averaging 9.1 points per game this season.
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 21 games. It is Saint Joseph's best record through 27 games since the 2003-04 team was 25-0. It is also the best A-10 mark through 14 games (11-3) since the 2003-04 team went 13-0.
HISTORY MAKERS: With the 22-5 record, the Hawks are on their way to posting one of the best seasons in school history. SJU's record through 27 games ranks just behind that of both the 1981-82 and 2000-01 teams (23-4), and is second to the 27-0 mark set by the 2003-04 squad. The 1981-82 team, in 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 481 in this season alone to now total 925 points in 98 career games.
ROAD WARRIORS: SJU had the nation's only undefeated road record ruined with the loss at Davidson and are now 9-1. 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.
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. He would become just the sixth coach to achieve the feat at one school, joining Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Bob McKillop (Davidson, Mark Few (Gonzaga) and Dave Loos (Austin Peay) as coaches who have spent their careers with one program.
GAINING NOTICE: The Hawks received 20 votes in this week's AP Poll, a decrease from last week's season-high of 57. The Hawks garnered 10 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, which was down from last week's total of 17. The Jan. 4th AP poll marked the first time SJU received votes since the 2013-14 season. In that year, SJU garnered votes in the polls of Feb. 3, March 3 and March 17.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Hawks return home to face Saint Louis on Sunday in a 1 p.m. and then go on the road to face St. Bonaventure in Rochester, N.Y. on March 2.
