Game Info: Saturday, February 21, 2026 - 12:00 p.m.
Location: Hagan Arena - Philadelphia, Pa.
Tickets | TV: ESPNU | Listen: sjuhawks.com | Live Stats: sjuhawks.com | Saint Joseph's Game Notes | Loyola Chicago Game Notes

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Opening Tip
The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team returns to Philly for the first of two home games, hosting the Loyola Chicago Ramblers on Saturday, February 21. Tipoff is scheduled for noon with the game airing on ESPNU.

Closing In    
Justice Ajogbor had four blocks at St. Bonaventure on Wednesday, upping his career total to 245. He is the active career leader in Division I, leading Justin Abson of Georgia, who has 230 and has not blocked a shot in his last four games. His four blocks against the Bonnies moved him past Alexandre Sazanov (1998-03) for seventh on the SJU career list. With his 148 swats, Ajogbor is now five behind Halil Kanacevic (2011-14) in Saint Joseph's history. Ajogbor is also believed to be the only active player in D1 to be in the top-10 at multiple schools in any category. He graduated from Harvard 10th on the Crimson's career list. Loyola Chicago has been one of his favorite targets as he has rejected 14 shots in three games against the Ramblers.

Ball Movement Masterclass    
Saint Joseph's ball movement and propensity for sharing the ball was on full display on Wednesday in Olean as the Hawks recorded 20 assists in a game for the fifth time this season. Derek Simpson led the way with seven dimes. Justice Ajogbor posted a career-high five helpers. It wasn't just the ability to find an open teammate that served SJU well as the team was in single digits in turnovers for the fourth time this year. The game marked the second time St. Joe's had at least 20 assists and less than 10 turnovers in 2025-26, matching the contest against Loyola Chicago on January 27 when it had 25 dimes and gave the ball up just eight times.

Making His Case    
Austin Williford earned his second Big 5 Rookie of the Week honor on Monday after a career-high 19 points against Fordham. He started this week well, with 14 points and four rebounds, playing all 40 minutes for the first time in his career at St. Bonaventure. He has also been named the A-10 Rookie of the Week twice. The Charlottesville, Va. native is also one of only 28 freshmen nationally to average at least 7.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. He is the only Atlantic 10 or Big 5 freshman to hit all of those benchmarks.

Battle For The Double Bye    
Things have tightened drastically in the last week as it's not just the four-seed, but the three-seed is also in play for a handful of teams. George Mason sits at 9-5 in conference and has a bye this Saturday. Hot on their heels are St. Joe's, Dayton and Duquesne, who are all 8-5. St. Joe's holds the tiebreaker at the moment with a 2-0 record combined against the Flyers and Dukes. SJU has not earned a double-bye since 2016 when it won the Atlantic 10 championship as a four-seed.

Dynamic Defense    
Since January 11, St. Joe's has shown a marked improvement on the defensive end. In the last 10 games, opponents are scoring 67.0 points per game, shooting 38.5 percent from the floor overall and 32.0 percent from distance, going 7-3. They have kept six opponents 65 points or fewer in the stretch and one under 60. Rim protection has been key during that time, as the Hawks have blocked 5.3 shots per game. In its first 14 games against Division I competition this season, SJU was 7-7 and was allowing 75.2 points per game with opponents shooting 44.4 percent from the floor.

Scouting Report    

• Loyola Chicago enters play at 6-21 overall and is 2-12 in the A-10 following a 62-59 setback at Fordham on Wednesday. It has been a rough go for the Ramblers, who were picked to finish fifth in the conference preseason poll.
• Leading the offense for Loyola is Xavier Amos who has started 12 of the 13 games he has played and is averaging 11.1 points per game. Miles Rubin and Justin Moore each tally 10.9 per night, with Kayde Dotson close behind at 9.6. Rubin tops the team at 7.2 rebounds per night and is 15th nationally with 61 blocks. Moore is the leading distributor, dishing 84 assists.
• Rim protection is one of the best things the Ramblers do as they are just outside the top-100 in NCAA D1 with 3.7 blocks per game. They also do a decent job of keeping teams off the line, committing 16.7 fouls a night.
• Maintaining possession of the ball and the three-point line have been significant issues for LUC this season. It ranks 306th nationally, giving the ball up 13.1 times per game. It is also fifth from the bottom in turnover margin (-4.3) and third to last in the country in turnovers forced (8.8). Loyola is 330th in NCAA Division I in three-point shooting at 30.7 percent, but ranks in the bottom-5 in perimeter defense with the opposition connecting on 38.4 percent of shots from beyond the arc.
• Drew Valentine is in his fifth season as the head coach of the Ramblers and his ninth season on the staff overall. He has guided LUC to three seasons with 20+ wins and a berth in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

All-Time Series    
Saturday is the 12th meeting all-time between the Hawks and Ramblers in a relatively new series that dates to the 2016-17 season. SJU holds a 7-4 advantage. The two teams split last year's games, with each winning on its home floor. This is only the fourth game in the series to be played at Hagan Arena. St. Joe's is 2-1 in those contests. The 93-57 win for Saint Joseph's in last year's matchup at Hagan is the largest margin of victory in an Atlantic 10 game for the Hawks in the last 10 years.

Last Time Against Loyola Chicago    
The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team raced out to a 25-8 lead and never looked back, earning an 85-64 win against the Ramblers on January 27, 2026. Six players scored in double figures for the Hawks, led by Austin Williford, who posted his first career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Derek Simpson also had a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists. Jaiden Glover-Toscano netted 15. Dasear Haskins dropped 12 while Justice Ajogbor and Anthony Finkley each scored 10. SJU scored the first five points, but LUC pulled it back to 11-7 three-and-a-half minutes in. From there, St. Joe's went on a 14-1 run in a matter of 5:22 to take a 25-8 lead at the midway mark of the first half. The Hawks extended the lead to as much as 29 in the opening frame and pushed the gap to 33 early in the second. The Ramblers made a late push, but never closed the deficit to less than 17.

Dunking Derek    
On February 12, senior Derek Simpson was named to the watch list for the State Farm Slam Dunk Championship. The event is set for Friday, April 3 at 7 p.m. ET inside historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, and will be broadcast nationally at 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 5 on ESPN. Simpson is a two-time Atlantic 10 Player of the Week. He has three double-doubles on the season, all of them coming in conference play. He is the only player in the A-10 and one of only 16 nationally to average at least 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Since the beginning of conference play, he is posting better than 15.0 points per game and is leading the Atlantic 10 in assists. He scored his 1,000th point overall on January 11 at Richmond.

Next Up    
The Hawks have one of their biggest games of the year, hosting George Mason with major conference implications on the line on Wednesday, February 25. Tipoff from Hagan Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with the game to air on ESPN+.