March 1, 2010

This Week in the A-10

By: Chris DiSano, Christian Marge & Doug Tifft
Photo Credit: Xavier University Sports Information

Player of the Week & Starting Five

Team Capsules

Charlotte: (19-9, 9-5), The skinny- In off-the-court news, Charlotte revealed this week that redshirt junior Charles Dewhurst will not be returning for his final season of eligibility. Dewhurst, who will be graduating on time, has decided to not join his 'Niner teammates in his final season and will instead pursue post-grad educational opportunities the university could not offer. Dewhurst has averaged 2.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game this season. On the court, The Niners once again used the three-ball as their main source of offense. In one game it worked, in another, it did not. The Niners destroyed Saint Joseph's behind the sharp shooting of Ian Andersen, who hit his first four attempts from deep on his way to a 19 point night. As a team, the Niners connected on 12 three-pointers in the game. On Saturday, Charlotte again launched the three-ball at will, but the results were not as satisfying, as they fell to George Washington at the Smith Center. While the Niners hit 10 shots from behind the arc, they hoisted up 30 attempts (33%), which accounted for nearly half of their shot attempts in the game (63 total shots from the field).

Up Next: The Niners wrap up their regular season with at trip to the Ocean State to face Rhode Island (20-7, 8-6) before ending things at Halton Arena against No. 24 Richmond (22-7, 11-3) next Saturday afternoon.

Dayton: (19-9, 8-6), The skinny- The Flyers missed another opportunity to bolster their NCAA Tournament resume when they shot just 26.3 percent in a 49-41 loss at Temple on Feb. 24. While the Flyers did bounce back with a home win over UMass, UD has now dropped six of its last eight road games-with the only victories coming at St. Bonaventure and Fordham. One of the road issues may be that Brian Gregory's club is an up-tempo unit, predicated on landing the first punch and parlaying that into 40 minutes of transition basketball-highlighted by a substitution pattern that will remind you of an Olympic hockey game. In a Feb. 20 loss at Duquesne the Flyers did not score a point in transition and in the loss at Temple there were only eight fastbreak points. Yet, in the return home against UMass the Flyers streaked to 28 fastbreak points, blowing open a game in front of a sellout crowd at UD Arena. Beyond transition problems, the Flyers have struggled with shot selection in halfcourt, jacking up 19.8 three point field goals per game, yet hitting only 33.7 percent. While it helps when periphery pieces like Mickey Perry knock down five threes as he did against Massachusetts on Feb. 27, Gregory has been concerned over sophomore Chris Johnson's 32.4 percent shooting over the past five games. Johnson was removed from the starting lineup against Temple, and has seen his minutes decrease to 24.3 per game in the last four contests. The athletic wing has fired up 53 of his last 59 shots from three point range.

Up Next: UD is currently a few steps away from an NCAA bubble, but could take one huge leap forward-and address the road demons in the process-when it travels to Richmond on March 4. The Flyers turn around two days later to host Saint Louis in a contest that could have major ramifications for the Atlantic 10 Tournament seeding.

Duquesne: (15-13, 6-8), The skinny - The Dukes fell prey to Saint Louis' deliberate style of play this week, and had their three-game winning streak snapped by the Billikens. While statistically the Dukes appeared to have a decent day, it was not enough to overcome Rick Majerus's young club. Duquesne shot the ball fairly well, hitting 45% from the field and 36% from deep. They didn't play terribly sloppy registering 13 turnovers in the game to 11 assists. The difference in this one arguably came down to fouls and foul shooting. The Dukes best player, Damian Saunders, was hampered with foul trouble for most of the second half, and only recorded nine points and five rebounds in the contest. Also, the Dukes got to the line just 10 times in the game, making just six. On the other hand, the Billikens managed to get to the stripe 26 times and knock down 18 of them. Coach Ron Everhart wouldn't be coaxed into using fouls as an excuse though. "You have to give Saint Louis credit. They made the big shots down the stretch," said Everhart.

Up Next: The Dukes hope to secure their position in the A-10 tournament by finishing up with St. Bonaventure (13-14, 6-8) at the Palumbo Center, and then at Fordham (2-24, 0-14) on Friday.

Fordham: (2-24, 0-14), The skinny- Coach Jared Grasso is basically in a live audition for the full-time position at Fordham, and after a demoralizing 26-point loss to Rhode Island at the end of last week, Grasso had to be concerned. Had his team finally given up hope? Despite yet another loss this week to St. Bonaventure, the answer has to be, "No". Chris Gaston provided yet another outstanding performance to help solidify his spot as the A-10 freshman of the year, netting 18 points and hauling in 13 rebounds. The Rams kept up with the Bonnies all night, as the game featured 13 ties and 12 lead changes. The Rams were as close as four points with under two minutes to go, but Fordham couldn't snag the win. Coach Grasso talked about his team's game following the loss. "I think the guys really played hard tonight. I told them after the URI game that I was worried about their effort and energy over these last three games. But tonight they came out and battled."

Up Next: The Rams season has two final contests, as they have been eliminated from the A-10 tournament. They finish up the home slate with Xavier (21-7, 12-2) and on the road against Duquesne (15-13, 6-8).

George Washington: (16-11, 6-8), The skinny- GW punched its ticket to the A-10 Tournament this week with a pair of home wins over La Salle and Charlotte. In the process, Lasan Kromah strengthened his case for a hotly contested Rookie of the Year race in the conference with 22 points against La Salle and by helping the Colonials to a 39-30 halftime lead against Charlotte by scoring all eight of his points before the break. The freshman has begun to diversify his game away from purely a three-point specialist, penetrating frequently to the rim in a style that Karl Hobbs said reminded him of Richard Hamilton. Kromah is averaging 19.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game over GW's last four contests. Kromah has gotten some help of late, as well, with Joseph Katuka providing an inside presence with three double-figure scoring games since Feb. 17, along with eight rebounds per game over that stretch. While Katuka has moved his way into the starting lineup, freshman forward Dwayne Smith has come off the bench to give Hobbs solid minutes, including a 21 point, eight rebound game against La Salle.

Up Next: GW will have a chance to win three in a row when they host Saint Joseph's on March 3, before traveling to Temple on March 6.

La Salle: (11-17, 3-11), The skinny- Coach (Dr). John Giannini might be getting paged from the AD soon if the slide that the Explorers are on leads to them missing the A-10 tournament altogether. It's been a disastrous season for a team that had expectations of perhaps reaching post-season play at the beginning of the year. La Salle dropped another two contests this week, and have now lost eight straight games and find themselves on the cusp of being left out of the A-10 post-season, as they are tied at 3-11 in conference with Big 5 rival Saint Joseph's for the last spot in the tournament. As luck would have it, guess who the Explorers face in their final regular season contest? You guessed it...the Hawks. Unfortunately for the Explorers, it doesn't look like they will be getting any good news from the infirmary before that one. Coach Giannini acknowledged that the losses to the lineup are taking their toll on the team. "I think any team if you take three of the best four players out, it changes things dramatically."

Up Next: La Salle holds their own A-10 tournament hopes in their hands as they face off against Massachusetts (10-18, 4-10) on Wednesday before a showdown with Saint Joseph's (9-19, 3-11) on Saturday.

Massachusetts: (10-18, 4-10), The skinny- While it's been a tough season for the Minutemen, there has been one constant they have been able to count on: Ricky Harris scoring in double figures. Now, even that can't be counted on. Harris's 37-game streak of reaching double figures came to an end this week, as UMass was drubbed at the hands of Dayton. Harris finished with just nine points on 3-of-15 shooting in the game. Another streak that ended in this one was UMass's recent domination over Dayton. The Minutemen had won the last four contests between the two squads. In this one, the defense was the big culprit, as they allowed Dayton, a team that averages 70 points-per-game, to score 96, as the Flyers shot 54% for the game. Six Flyers reached double figures in scoring as well, as they attacked the Minutemen with offensive balance. The Minutemen also came into this game as the top rebounding team in the A-10, and were out-rebounded by the Flyers, 44-27.

Up Next: The Minutemen hope to seal up an A-10 tournament birth this week in contests against La Salle (11-17, 3-11) and at the Mullins Center again Rhode Island (20-7, 8-6).

Rhode Island: (20-7, 8-6), The skinny- From 19-3 to a likely NIT. That's the story out of Kingston following a crushing loss to St. Bonaventure in what was essentially a "must-win" contest on Saturday afternoon. Just two weeks ago, it seemed as if the Rams were a near lock to earn their first NCAA tournament bid in 11 seasons. Now, URI will more than likely need a number of bounces its way and an A-10 final appearance at the least, or, must win the A-10 tournament championship outright to make the Big Dance. This type of late season collapse is not totally atypical in Kingston, though. In the '07-'08 season, the Rams entered February play with a 18-3 record, sitting in a similar position. They proceeded to go 3-7 over their final 10 contests, and eliminated any chance of being part of the brackets. There are other additional examples of poor play in the final months of the season in previous years. While coach Jim Baron has done a nice job in turning a downtrodden program into a respectable one, the Rams are still searching for an NCAA appearance during his time in Kingston.

Up Next: The Rams hope to keep their slim tournament hopes alive this week in contests against Charlotte (19-9, 9-5) at the Ryan Center and at Massachusetts (10-18, 4-10).

Richmond: (22-7, 11-3), The skinny - Richmond junior Kevin Anderson received high praise throughout the week, with Xavier head coach Chris Mack pleading with him to enter the NBA Draft after the season. Yet, the point guard's Player of the Year battle with Xavier's Jordan Crawford was a bit of a disappointment on Feb. 28, with Anderson not scoring in the first half (although finishing with 17 points on a series of second half drives and jump shots) and Crawford not scoring in the final 24:51. UR was able to remain in the game through double-overtime because of its defensive pressure-holding XU to 23.8 percent from three point range-and 12 three point field goals of its own. Still, many of the Spiders' issues can be attributed to the rebounding woes, as UR gets outrebounded by 5.5 boards per game. Many of the Spiders' rebounding woes can be traced to Chris Mooney's matchup zone defense, where defenders simply pass offensive players along through the paint, making it difficult to locate a player to box out on a shot. The zone can be further strained by consistent offensive movement, such as the frequent cuts and constant motion that George Washington runs, creating 48.3 percent shooting in a near-upset of the Spiders on Feb. 20 in Richmond. Conversely, the Richmond matchup zone can clamp down on teams with stagnant motion, a major reason why UR held Temple to 32.1 percent shooting in a 17-point runaway victory over the Owls on Feb. 6. Offensively, the Spiders know that they have the best point guard in the conference in Anderson, so Mooney's offensive set is a modified version of the Princeton offense. There are the signature back-door cuts when the ballhandler dribbles at a wing player, but there are also plenty of simple ball-screens to allow Anderson to split a double-team and penetrate into a five-on-three situation.

Up Next: UR is only a game back of Temple and Xavier for the A-10 lead, and could sneak into a share of the title if the other two stumble. That is, if Richmond takes care of Dayton on March 4 and Charlotte on March 6.

Saint Joseph's: (9-19, 3-11), The skinny- It wasn't too long ago that Saint Joseph's was the toast of Philadelphia, coasting to an undefeated 2003-04 A-10 regular season and a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed. Now, Phil Martelli and company are in serious danger of missing the Tournament, the A-10 Tournament that is, after a 95-58 pasting at Charlotte. While the game featured a familiar statline with the Hawks getting outrebounded, it was only a 43-35 disadvantage. This time around it was poor execution in other facets of the game-halfcourt defense, transition defense, three point shooting. A frequent issue this season for SJU, the Hawks surrendered 27 fastbreak points, allowing Charlotte to hum into its transition three point shots on its way to a 12-24 night from downtown. Meanwhile, the Hawks only shot 34.8 percent, scoring only 28 points in the paint. The question begs to be asked: How have the Hawks fallen this far? Other than a few misfires on the recruiting trail, the answers are hard to come by-as are the wins on Hawk Hill.

Up Next: Joe's has a chance to slip past La Salle for the final spot in the Conference
Tournament. In all likelihood it will come down to a head-to-head Big Five showdown on March 6 between the two schools-that is if Saint Joe's can't knock off George Washington on March 3.

Saint Louis: (19-9, 10-4), The skinny- The Billikens are among the best defensive teams in the country because of their ability to apply hard ball-pressure and eliminate easy looks in the halfcourt set. Yet, there is a chink in the SLU armor when the young Billikens are forced to defend in transition, as Xavier showed in a 73-71 win in Saint Louis on Feb. 24. XU big men Jamel McLean and Jason Love established position early on the interior in transition (as well as rolling off high ball-screens) enabling the Musketeers to score 42 points in the paint. With opponents getting easy buckets, SLU has been largely unable to counter with effortless scores of their own at the free throw line. Led by Willie Reed's 48.6 percent free throw shooting (which accounts for roughly a quarter of SLU's free throw attempts) the Billikens are second to last in the A-10-and 340th nationally-at 61.3 percent from the line. One of the secrets to Rick Majerus' rapid turnaround in Saint Louis has been the simplicity and effectiveness of his offensive system, utilizing frequent ball-screens and handoffs to stretch defenses and pull defending big men out of position. When combined with the rapid ball movement that the Billikens utilize, SLU has been able to find consistent scoring on the interior despite really only having one interior scoring threat-Reed. Yet, because Reed is the only formidable interior player (Cody Ellis being a 6-9 shooter, lacking the strength to battle in the post as a freshman) Majerus has been force to turn to frequent double-teams in his defensive scheme to assist Ellis, Brian Conklin and occasionally Reed with imposing big men.

Up Next: SLU currently sits in fourth place in the A-10, with a chance at a first round Conference Tournament bye by winning out. Yet with a home game against Temple on March 3, and a road trip to Dayton on March 6 that could be a tall order.

St. Bonaventure: (13-14, 6-8), The skinny- If you asked Mark Schmidt before his team's game on Feb. 27 what his chances would have been against Rhode Island, he probably would have pointed to Andrew Nicholson and said, "ask him." And if you told him that Nicholson would foul out after only playing 19 minutes he might not have even shown up at the Reilly Center. But Schmidt's Bonnies were able to pull of the improbable, using an unusually strong defensive performance to hold Rhody to 43.1 percent shooting in an 81-74 win - forming the first three game winning streak in A-10 play for the Bonnies since 2001-02. With Nicholson riding the pine for much of the afternoon, SBU - playing four guards most of the game - outrebounded the Rams 35-28, and are now in the discussion for a home game in the A-10 Tournament. Schmidt got a major boost from Jonathan Hall on Saturday, as the senior attacked the rim against URI, going 5-11 from the field, making up for a pedestrian 4-11 day from sharpshooter Chris Matthews. Hall's inside attack, along with the inconsistent but formidable potential of Michael Davenport and Ogo Adegboye, has diversified the Bonaventure offense, and allowed the Bonnies to shoot 46.1 from the field on the season.

Up Next: The Bonnies may be able to squeak into a home game in the A-10 Tournament with a win over Duquesne on March 3, a game that takes on greater importance with a trip to Xavier looming on March 6.

Temple: (24-5, 12-2), The skinny- The Owls used this week to make a statement to future opponents: We can dominate you with our defense or we can beat you with our shooting. In a game early in the week against Dayton, the Owls smothered their opponent, holding a Flyers team in a near must-win position to just 41 points. While Temple itself wasn't lighting the nets on fire (32% from the field), Dayton was that much worse, finishing at 26%, making just 15 field goals in the game. In their Big 5 win against La Salle later in the week, it was the offense that was the catalyst to the victory. Juan Fernandez buried seven three-pointers on his way to a 23 point night, and the man in the middle, Lavoy Allen, had a monster 17 point, 21 rebound game to lead the Owls to the win. In addition, the win over La Salle secured the Big 5 title for the Owls. Fran Dunphy didn't think lightly of the feat. "It's a big deal for me. It's a big deal for Temple basketball. From a personal standpoint, to be declared champion of the Big 5 is very important." Remember, the Big 5 includes No. 4 Villanova along with Penn, Saint Joe's, La Salle and the Owls.

Up Next: The Owls hope to lock up the 1-seed in the A-10 tournament this week with contests at Saint Louis (19-9, 10-4) and at the Liacouras Center against George Washington (16-11, 6-8).

Xavier: (21-7, 12-2), The skinny- Throughout the entire 2009-10 season, Xavier has had one answer in crunch time: Get the ball to Jordan Crawford and get out of his way. The strategy worked in a 73-71 win at Saint Louis on Feb. 24, with Crawford delivering 26 points on 11-20 shooting. Yet, when No. 55 is not hitting, the Musketeer offense often grinds to a halt, as it did in a pair of losses in the Old Spice Classic in November. Sunday's game with Richmond offered glimpses of both sides of Crawford, with the 6-5 sophomore scoring 19 points in the first 25 minutes, then failing to score in the next 25 as XU fought for a double-overtime win. Of course, the assignment of chasing David Gonzalvez around Richmond's Princeton offense did not ease matters-nor did UR's collapsing matchup zone, one that had been altered to focus on preventing Crawford from getting to the rim. Still, XU had to rely on 24 points from Terrell Holloway to rescue them as Crawford missed his last nine shots. Aside from a reliance on Crawford, a major Achilles heel for Xavier all year long has been their inability to defend athletic power forwards. Whether it was Lazar Hayward for Marquette, Gordon Hayward for Butler, Al-Farouq Aminu for Wake Forest or Damian Hollis for GW, XU's lack of the traditional Xavier forward like Justin Doellman or Derrick Brown has presented mismatches all season. The latest example was SLU freshman Cody Ellis putting up 19 points on 5-10 shooting in Xavier's 73-71 win at Chaifetz Arena on Feb. 24. Four days later Justin Harper posted 15 points on the Musketeers, but it took him 14 shots to do it-partly because of the effort of Jamel McLean, who is averaging 10.5 points and 10 rebounds over the last seven games.

Up Next: The Musketeers will head to Fordham on March 3 then send off senior Jason Love on Senior Night against St. Bonaventure on March 6.

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