Perimeter defense..........

[Salt City Sooner]

is going to be HUGE in this game. I was just looking at SJU's stats, & they've got 4 guys who can hit the trey. In an interesting role reversal, their frontcourt guys are actually the leaders in this category:

Calathes at 6'10" shoots 40.3% (73 out of 181)
Ferguson at 6'8" shoots 43.8% (56 out of 128)

The guards:

Carr (6'4") is 30 out of 87 for a 34.5% clip
Govens (6'1") is at 37.3% (66-177)

The 5th starter (Nivins, who's 6'9") hasn't taken a 3 all year.

Our bigs HAVE to play smart D, because in addition to foul trouble putting us in a bind on a personal level, their 3 froncourt guys are also their best free throw shooters (Ferguson hits 83%, Calathes 82%, & Nivins 74%).

[Big Red Ron]

Looks like a big team, I wonder how deep the bench is?

[SleestakSooner]

From their ESPN profile page.

No team personifies the schizophrenic Atlantic 10 better than the Hawks. Their tourney status shifted by the hour as they went from a lock after a pulverizing win against Villanova to a disaster with three ugly home losses down the stretch to a bubble team with a win against Xavier. St. Joe's got its act together really in the nick of time.

Seniors Pat Calathes and Rob Ferguson are tricky to guard. Both big and strong, they can do some damage in the post and with mid-range jumpers, but are lethal from the arc. Calathes shoots 40 percent from the perimeter, Ferguson 44. Ahmad Nivins is the low-post force.

If there is a disclaimer to St. Joe's, it is its defense. The Hawks can flat-out score, but can fall in love with their offense a little too much. They aren't necessarily good enough to win every footrace, and when their shooting abandons them, they really struggle. The big games that the Hawks won -- against Villanova and Xavier -- they played smart defense. St. Joe's would be wise to load up those tapes as it prepare for the tourney.

-- Dana O'Neil