Game Info: Wednesday, March 18, 2026 - 11:00 p.m. EDT
Location: Moby Arena - Fort Collins, Colo.
Tickets | TV: ESPNU | Listen: sjuhawks.com | Live Stats: sjuhawks.com | Saint Joseph's Game Notes | Colorado State Game Notes 

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Opening Tip
Saint Joseph's sees its season continue with a berth in the NIT, facing Colorado State on Wednesday, March 18. Tipoff from Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colo. is scheduled for 11:00 p.m. EDT with the game on ESPNU.

Not Done Yet!    
For a third consecutive year, Saint Joseph's has been selected for the National Invitation Tournament. It is the 19th appearance in the NIT for the Hawks overall. SJU is one of five Atlantic 10 teams in the tournament and one of seven competing in the postseason overall.

Bringing Awards to Hawk Hill    
Saint Joseph's was well represented in the Atlantic 10 All-Conference honors, as announced by the league office on Wednesday. Justice Ajogbor earned co-Defensive Player of the Year accolades. He was also named to the All-Defensive Team and the All-Academic Team. Derek Simpson garnered First Team recognition. Jaiden Glover-Toscano is on the Second Team. Austin Williford picked up All-Rookie honors. Steve Donahue was voted as the A-10 Coach of the Year.

Hawks In the NIT    
SJU has an overall record of 16-18 in the NIT. Wednesday marks the team's 19th appearance in the tourney. It has reached the finals twice, in 1996 and 2005. The Hawks are looking for their first win in the NIT in a while, last claiming a victory in the tournament in 2006.

A First Time For Everything    
Wednesday will be a days of firsts for the Hawks and Rams. Saint Joseph's and Colorado State are playing in a one-on-one matchup for the first time in any sport. Specifically in men's basketball, the two schools have played a combined 5,728 games prior to this first meeting.

Rewriting The Record Book    
Several St. Joe's players have already moved into or are on the verge of cracking single season and career marks on Hawk Hill. Justice Ajogbor enters Wednesday with 158 blocks at Saint Joseph's in just two seasons, already sixth on the SJU all-time list. His 86 blocks last season are the eighth highest total in a year and his 72 this year are 10th. Derek Simpson moved into the single-season top-10 at Saint Joseph's in assists with his eight against VCU. He now stands at 174 in 2025-26, tied with Jordan Hall's output from 2021-22. Simpson is also shooting at an 85.1 percent clip at the line in his career with the Hawks, the third highest total in program history. His rate of 91.0 percent this year currently stands as the top mark. Jaiden Glover-Toscano has 83 three-pointers made this year. His next one will tie him with Taylor Funk in 2017-18.

Winning The Close Ones    
March 4 against Davidson may not have been the prettiest win of the season, but it displayed the grit down the stretch that St. Joe's has become known for this season. The Hawks are now 5-0 in contests that are decided by three points or less. Three of those games have been in A-10 play with a 67-65 win at Richmond and a 76-73 victory against George Washington. More impressive is that four of the five games have come in either road or neutral site games. In addition to Richmond and Davidson, SJU topped Princeton 60-58 at the Jersey Jam on November 30 and Temple, 70-69, at the Big 5 Classic on December 6.

No Second Chances    
Opponents tend to go one-and-done in their chances down the floor against Saint Joseph's thanks to being one of the top defensive rebounding teams in the nation. The Hawks average 27.2 defensive boards a contest, 28th in NCAA D1 and second in the A-10. Overall, SJU is 37th nationally at 38.8 caroms an outing.

Business Trip    
Since earning its first road victory of the season at Richmond on January 11, the Hawks have not been intimidated wherever they play. Saint Joseph's is 7-3 in its last 10 road and neutral site games. Its only losses coming at the hands of VCU twice and at George Mason, which was 14-1 at EagleBank Arena heading into the game. They are 6-2 in true road games during the span. In those eight contests, SJU has held its opponents to 64.8 points per game and 38.3 percent shooting. Going deeper into the numbers, the perimeter defense has been impressive with teams connecting on 29.5 percent from three-point range. The Hawks have also outrebounded teams by 4.2 boards an outing. Individually, Derek Simpson is scoring 15.6 points in those games and is hitting 38.6 percent from distance. Justice Ajogbor is tallying 9.1 per game with 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks a night.

Gotta Guard The Post    
In his time at St. Joe's, Justice Ajogbor has been known almost exclusively for his defense. In the last several games, however, he has become an offensive force in the low post. In his last five games, he is averaging 13.2 points per game on an eye-popping 28-for-35 (80.0 percent) shooting. Included in that stretch are a career-high 20 points against La Salle on March 7 and 18 against Davidson in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals. In 63 games in an SJU uniform prior to this most recent stretch, he had averaged 4.9 points per game.

Scouting Report    

• Colorado State enters the NIT with a 21-12 record overall and most recently was dealt a 71-62 loss by San Diego State in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Championship. The Rams went 11-9 in conference play this season and were 87th in the NET.
• Brandon Rechsteiner leads a balanced offense for CSU, averaging 12.2 points per game. Kyle Jorgensen is scoring 11.9. Carey Booth and Josh Pascarelli are netting 10.7 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. Two further players score better than nine a night. Booth tops the team at 5.6 rebounds per contest. Bethlehem, Pa. native Jevin Muniz tops the team with 162 assists.
• Colorado State shoots the ball well at all levels of the floor. Leading the way is their three-point shooting, where it ranks ninth nationally at 39.1 percent. They also connect at 58.3 percent from two-point range, resulting in an overall field goal percentage of 48.9, a mark that ranks 29th in NCAA D1. The Rams are also in the top-30 in the nation in free throw percentage at 77.1.
• As well as CSU shoots the ball, it does allow opponents to connect at a high percentage at 45.4 overall and 33.9 percent from beyond the arc. It also doesn't do well on either side of the ball with turnovers, forcing just 10.03 per game and is a -1.8 in turnover margin, both ranked lower than 300th nationally.
• Ali Farokhmanesh is in his first year as the head coach of the Rams and his eighth season on staff overall. As an assistant coach in Fort Collins, he was a part of Colorado State teams that went to the NCAA Tournament in 2022, 2024 and 2025.

All-Time Series    
Wednesday is the first ever meeting between Saint Joseph's and Colorado State in men's basketball.

20-20-20     
St. Joe's enters the NIT with a 22-11 record, a historically significant number for the Hawks. It marks the third consecutive year that SJU has won 20 or more games. In the 116 years of Saint Joseph's basketball, there have only been two other times that the men's basketball program has won 20+ games in three straight years. St. Joe's won 21, 25 and 25 games in the seasons from 1979-80 to 1981-82 and then claimed 26, 30 and 24 victories from 2002-03 through 2004-05.

Clamping Down     
Through the first three Atlantic 10 games, St. Joe's allowed 84.7 points per game, skewing its overall numbers for the year. The last 16 games including the conference tournament, however, have seen a resounding turning of the tide. Beginning with the game at Richmond, the Hawks are surrendering just 65.63 points a night, the best in the A-10 since January 10 and 23rd nationally. They have held 12 opponents to 68 points or fewer and kept three four below 60. The 38.2 percent field goal percentage defense in the last two months is second in the nation. They are also surrendering just 30.2 percent from beyond the arc. Not surprisingly, the defensive effort has fueled Saint Joseph's rise in the standings. Its 13-3 mark and .813 winning percentage are third in the A-10 behind VCU at 14-2 and 14-3 for Saint Louis. No other team was better than 9-6.

Non-Charitable Donations    
One thing that the Hawks have done well all season on the defensive end is keep teams off the free throw line. SJU is seventh nationally in fewest fouls per game, committing just 14.0 an outing. As a result, opponents have shot 529 free throws against St. Joe's, the third lowest total in the A-10.

A Special Season    
Derek Simpson has made his senior season one to remember for the Hawks, taking the court every game as a triple threat. He is the only player in the Atlantic 10 and one of just eight nationally to average 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. Simpson has four double-doubles this season, which ranks eighth in the conference. Three of those double-doubles have come with 10+ rebounds and assists. The Mount Laurel, N.J. native is the only player in the A-10 with three games of 10 or more dimes. He also tops the conference and is tied for 21st nationally with nine games with eight or more assists.

More Than Just A Dime A Dozen    
The win at Davidson was the 12th A-10 victory of the season for Saint Joseph's. SJU has not won that many games in conference play since 2015-16, when the team went 28-8 and won the conference tournament. It is also the second most A-10 victories in the last 20 years, since the Hawks went 14-2 in 2004-05.

Next Up    
The winner will face either Cal or UIC in the Second Round of the NIT on either March 21 or 22. If the Hawks are the advancing team, St. Joe's will be on the road.