Game Info: Saturday, January 31, 2026 - 2:30 p.m.
Location: Glaser Arena - Philadelphia, Pa.
TV: USA Network | Listen: sjuhawks.com | Live Stats: sjuhawks.com | Saint Joseph's Game Notes | La Salle Game Notes

Social Media
Twitter/X: @sjuhawks_mbb | Instagram: @sjuhawks_mbb

Opening Tip
Saint Joseph's renews its oldest rivalry, traveling to La Salle on Saturday, January 31. Tipoff from Glaser Arena is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. with the game to air on USA Network.

Oldest Rivalry Renewed    
The 146th installment of the Saint Joseph's and La Salle rivalry revisits a series that dates back more than 100 years. The first matchup between the Hawks and Explorers came on December 17, 1909, a 22-18 La Salle win. The contest was the second ever game in Saint Joseph's basketball history.

FORE...Er, FOUR    
If it seems like a long time since SJU and La Salle played, it's because by this time last year, the teams had already faced off in two of their four matchups for the season. The unique circumstance came about due to both teams winning their pods in the Big 5 Classic. In that event, because of the shared conference, the teams are only allowed to meet in the championship game. Following that, there were two regular season games and a clash in the A-10 tournament. Prior to last season, the teams had only played as many as three times in a season three times. It was the 27th time in the past 50 seasons that two teams played four times in a year and the first since Stanford and Oregon State in 2008-09.

Atop The Mountain    
With five more blocks against Loyola Chicago on Tuesday, Justice Ajogbor increased his margin as the active shot block leader in NCAA D1. His swats against the Ramblers give him 232 in his career. Justin Abson of Georgia had four rejections against Tennessee on Wednesday and now sits at 230. Loyola Chicago has been one of Ajogbor's favorite targets for blocked shots with 14 of them in four games against LUC.

Making His Case    
Derek Simpson continues to make his case as an All-Conference performer as teams hit the midway mark of A-10 play. In conference play, Simpson is seventh in scoring at 16.6 points per game, third in free throw percentage (90.0), leads in assists (6.4) and is eighth in steals (1.6). All three of his career double-doubles have come since the beginning of A-10 play and he has been named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week twice.

Unconventional Way To Win    
Both of the Hawks' wins on the road have come in, statistically, surprising fashion given the lack of trips to the free throw line. SJU went just 3-for-6 at the stripe against both Richmond and Loyola Chicago. It is just the fourth time in the last 20 seasons that the Hawks won a game while attempting six or fewer shots at the line, along with their games against American (6) on December 6, 2023 and Loyola Chicago (2) on December 22, 2018. Taking out the contests against the Spiders and Ramblers, Saint Joseph's averages 21.4 attempts at the charity stripe per game with 16.4 makes.

A To B    
The mantra for St. Joe's in the past three weeks has been going from Point A to Point B and taking the most direct path to get to where you want to go. Nowhere has that been more evident in its ballhandling. The Hawks turned the ball over just eight times against Loyola Chicago, its second time in eight A-10 matchups with single-digit giveaways. Overall, in conference play, SJU has given the ball up an average of 11.3 times a game, more than a turnover per contest better than its mark of 12.7 in non-conference action. Taking out the game against VCU where St. Joe's coughed it up 18 times, Saint Joseph's is averaging 10.3 turnovers an outing, a mark that would be tied for the best in the A-10.

Special Delivery    
Derek Simpson turned in his second double-digit assist game of the season with 10 at Loyola Chicago. He is one of only 12 players for the Hawks with 10 or more assists in a game since the start of the 2004-05 season. The feat has been accomplished 21 times overall. He also became one of five players with multiple games of 10 or more dimes. In the last two decades Jordan Hall (2020-22) leads the way with five such contests.

Scouting Report    

• La Salle enters play 7-14 overall with a 3-5 mark in the A-10 following a 64-58 setback at Fordham on Wednesday. It has been an impressive start for the Explorers who were picked to finish 13th in the conference preseason poll.
• Leading the offense for La Salle is Jaeden Marshall at 13.3 points per game. Also in double figures is Jerome Brewer, Jr. at 12.0 a night wile Josiah Harris scored 9.2 a contest. Harris tops the team at 5.7 rebounds a game. Ashton Walker has 68 assists.
• One area that has helped the Explorers is keeping teams off the free throw line. They are 44th nationally in fewest fouls per game at 15.6 and have seen their opponents go to the line 339 times, the third best mark in the A-10. They also get contributions up and down their roster, averaging 23.6 bench points a contest.
• While the scoring is balanced for La Salle, finding it on a consistent basis can be difficult as they are last in the conference and in the bottom-20 in NCAA D1 at 66.6 points per game. They also struggle to protect the rim with 2.5 blocks per game, 12th out of 14 Atlantic 10 teams.
• Darris Nichols is in his first season as the head coach of the Explorers and his fifth season as a lead mentor overall. He spent the past four seasons at Radford, winning 20+ games twice and led the Highlanders to the semifinals of the 2023 CBI.

All-Time Series    
Saturday is the 146th meeting between Saint Joseph's and La Salle with the Hawks holding an 81-64 series edge. SJU has won five of six against the Explorers. St. Joe's holds a 14-13 advantage against La Salle on the road. 74 of the matchups between the schools have been neutral site games, including 45 at The Palestra, 22 at Convention Hall and two at Philadelphia Arena. The remaining five were in various A-10 Tournaments.

Last Time Against La Salle    
Saint Joseph's survived a massive La Salle comeback effort, holding on to beat the Explorers, 75-70 in the Second Round of the Atlantic 10 Championship on March 13, 2025 Anthony Finkley netted 14 with five assists and five rebounds. Rasheer Fleming scored 11 and pulled in eight rebounds. Dasear Haskins had nine points and four rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench. After a slow start from the floor, SJU settled in and took a nine-point lead at the break. The Hawks ballooned the advantage to 21 at 68-47 with 3:46 to go. With its season on the line, La Salle ferociously responded, reeling off 15 points in a row, cutting the gap to 68-62 in less than three minutes. Corey McKeithan scored all of the points for the Explorers in the run as part of a 25-point second half effort. St. Joe's righted the ship and was able to go 6-for-6 at the free throw line to seal the win.

Next Up    
St. Joe's is back at home for the first time in 10 days when it hosts George Washington on Wednesday, February 4. Tipoff from Hagan Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with the game to air on ESPN+.