Few Atlantic 10 teams have been as hot as the Hawks of St. Joseph’s University recently. They are 5-2 in conference play and have won six of seven overall.
Both of their losses came on the road against really good defensive teams in UMass and Richmond. This game will be played at Hagan Arena in Philadelphia, PA, but it will come against the top defensive team nationally according to various analytical sites.
St. Louis has built a solid brand and reputation based off an excellent defense that communicates well. Their speed and lateral quickness at the guard position is tremendous. It has enabled them to start the year 20-2 and they have not lost a game since December 1.
The Billikens are the class of the conference and should be ranked in the near future if they keep this up. But, Jim Crews’ squad struggled at home in a near overtime loss to George Mason just days ago.
The Mason guards, and in particular Byron Allen, attacked them aggressively and shot the ball very effectively. St. Joe’s will counter them will a stellar guard combo as well tonight.
Langston Galloway and Chris Wilson have been solid this year. Galloway, in particular, really makes this offense go. He is relentless in moving without the ball and he attracts a lot of defensive attention.
But what has really elevated this Hawks squad is their interior play. Freshman DeAndre Bembry has been a revelation at the small forward slot. His aggressiveness on the offensive end has only served to create more space for Halil Kanacevic and Ronald Roberts to work with.
St. Louis enters as two point favorites after opening at -1. They have attracted 79% of the betting public as people clearly do not like the Hawks enough yet to back them.
I like St. Joe’s here based on what they are capable of on the inside. Their forwards should provide a serious challenge to a Billikens group that really only plays two forwards above 6’5 with any regularity.
Dwayne Evans could in many ways be the key to this game. He is a talented and physical 6’6 player who is a versatile defender. But St. Louis has not faced interior talent like what they will see here in a long time.
Crews will use match-up zones which will effectively hide their lack of a true power forward, but it could hurt them on the boards here. Ultimately, St. Louis warrants being the road favorite based on how they started the year, but this game should be closer to pick ’em and I’ll take the two points given how massive the public support is on the favorite.
SJU +2
