A10 quarter-finals ticker

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The 35th annual Atlantic 10 tournament tips off at noon with the first of four games on the day.  Pickin’ Splinters is court side bringing you scores, stats, analysis, insights – we might even get a quote or two from players or coaches.

Grab a seat on the Pine for the day. Come early. Stay late. Check back often. Make sure to hit your refresh button.

#1 Xavier (15-1/ 24-6) vs. #9 Dayton (7-9/ 20-12)

I75 rivals meet for the 155th time in history.

Dayton holds an 82-72 advantage in the all-time series.

The Musketeers won both meetings this year: 81-76 on January 15th at the Cintas Center. 66-62 at UD Arena on February 27th.

The X-Men topped the Flyers in last year’s A10 quarter-finals 78-73.

Xavier is 11-4 all-time in A10 quarter-final matchups and 23-11 overall. Dayton is 5-7 in the field of eight and 16-14 in all A10 post-season contests.

About the schools

University of Dayton

Location – Dayton, Ohio

Founded – 1850

Undergraduate Enrollment – 7,700

Home Court – Tom Blackburn Court at UD Arena

Xavier University

Location – Cincinnati, Ohio

Founded – 1831

Undergraduate enrollment – 6,800

Home court – Cintas Center

 

Xavier’s Probable Starters
F 22 Jamel McLean Sr.  10.8ppg   8.5rpg
F 25 Danté Jackson Sr.   7.9ppg    3.1rpg
C 32 Kenny Frease Jr.      11.9ppg  7.2rpg
G 10 Mark Lyons So.          13.8ppg  3.1 apg
G 52 Tu Holloway Jr.          20.1ppg  5.5 apg

Off the bench

F 21 Jeff Robinson So.    4.5ppg  3.2 rpg

F 15 Andrew Taylor Sr.   2.3ppg  1.6rpg

F  11 Jay Canty Fr.              1.6ppg    .9rpg

Dayton’s Probable starters

G 3 Juwan Staten Fr.            8.7ppg    2.1rpg  5.6apg
F 4 Chris Johnson Jr.          11.6ppg    5.8rpg
G 22 Paul Williams Jr.            8.2ppg    2.7rpg  .422 3pt.%
F 33 Chris Wright  Sr.            12.9ppg   8.3rpg     45 blocks
F 44 Josh Benson  Rs-So.       5.6ppg    3.6rpg

Off the bench

G 12 Josh Parker Rs.-Jr.          7.4ppg    2.1rpg

F 23 Luke Fabrizius Jr.             3.5ppg

F 34 Devin Searcy Sr.                 3.9ppg   4.2rpg   57 offensive rebounds

F 35 Matt Kavanaugh So.          2.0ppg     2.6rpg  43 offensive rebounds

TEAM STATISTICS                                     UD                      OPP
SCORING                                                            1035                   1047
Points per game                                               64.7                    65.4
Scoring margin                                                -0.7 –
FIELD GOALS-ATT                                     374-910             359-847
Field goal pct                                                  . 4 1 1                   . 4 2 4
3 POINT FG-ATT                                        100-285                 93-297
3-point FG pct                                                . 3 5 1                    . 3 1 3
3-pt FG made per game                                   6.3                         5.8
FREE THROWS-ATT                                 187-282              236-340
Free throw pct                                                . 6 6 3                     . 6 9 4
F-Throws made per game                             11.7                         14.8
REBOUNDS                                                          583                          549
Rebounds per game                                        36.4                         34.3
Rebounding margin                                       +2.1 –
ASSISTS                                                                226                          190
Assists per game                                               14.1                          11.9
TURNOVERS                                                       215                          203
Turnovers per game                                      13.4                           12.7
Turnover margin                                            -0.7 –
Assist/turnover ratio                                     1.1                             0.9
STEALS                                                                   73                              84
Steals per game                                                  4.6                             5.3
BLOCKS                                                                  50                              59
Blocks per game                                                3.1                              3.7

 

TEAM STATISTICS                                 XU                                       OPP
SCORING                                                        2184                                     1933
Points per game                                          72.8                                      64.4
Scoring margin                                          +8.4 –
FIELD GOALS-ATT                               738-1594                            657-1648
Field goal pct                                            . 4 6 3                                     . 3 9 9
3 POINT FG-ATT                                      163-490                               195-588
3-point FG pct                                           . 3 3 3                                    . 3 3 2
3-pt FG made per game                            5.4                                          6.5
FREE THROWS-ATT                              545-727                               424-577
Free throw pct                                          . 7 5 0                                       . 7 3 5
F-Throws made per game                       18.2                                            14.1
REBOUNDS                                                   1076                                             933
Rebounds per game                                   35.9                                            31.1
Rebounding margin                                  +4.8 –
ASSISTS                                                             401                                              386
Assists per game                                           13.4                                              12.9
TURNOVERS                                                    361                                               372
Turnovers per game                                    12.0                                               12.4
Turnover margin                                         +0.4 –
Assist/turnover ratio                                   1.1                                                 1.0
STEALS                                                                167                                              173
Steals per game                                                 5.6                                               5.8
BLOCKS                                                                  93                                                98
Blocks per game                                                 3.1                                               3.3

Xavier has earned 21 NCAA Tournament berths, including last year’s Sweet Sixteen run and Elite Eight showings in 2008 and 2004. Dayton’s resume includes 14 appearances in ‘The Dance.’ Brian Gregory took the Flyers to the tourney in 2009 and in 2004.

Foreshadowing: Sixteen Flyers have gone on to enjoy careers in the NBA, including Jim Paxson Jr. and Johnny Davis.  Seventeen Musketeers have played in the Association, including current stars Derrick Brown, Jordan Crawford, James Posey and David West.

2 hours to tip-off Spiders on the court going through a walk through. More to follow.

We have movement! Both teams for Game 1 have taken the floor. The anticipation is growing.

Interesting note: Dayton has limited an opponent to 22 points or less in a half eight times this season.

Sharing is also a major part of Dayton’s vocabulary – The Flyers have had an assist on 63 percent of its converted field goals this season. Their best performance came against St. Joe’s when they had 21 assists on 23 field goals.

Great stat for Xavier – The Musketeers have graduated each of the last 77 men’s basketball players that have played as seniors. Add in 2 current fifth year seniors – Jamel McLean and Andrew Taylor and you have 79.

40 minutes until tip-off and Dayton fans are already chanting, “Let’s go Flyers .”

The Xavier’s band is singing along to Journey’s “Don’t stop Believing.’

It is the Dayton Band’s turn – they are serenading  the Xavier basketball team. 21 minutes to tip-off and the excitement is growing.

Game time!! And away we go!

The slogan on the back of Dayton’s Band Members ?  ” Go Crazy or Go Home! ” Need I say anymore?

Starting lineups have been announced and we are seconds from tip-off.

In 7 seasons under coach Brian Gregory, the Flyers have rattled of a 170-92 record.

First timeout of the game and Dayton is off to a fast start, leading 7-0.

4 minutes in and Xavier gets its first bucket of the game – a 3 from Tu Holloway.

Timeout in the action – 15:30 left and Dayton is leading 12-3.

Early problems continue for the Musketeers – Dante Jackson just picked up his second foul  of the game.

Like a swarm of bees, the Flyers are all over Xavier in this game.  The Flyers have opened a 21-3 lead and Xavier has already used its 2nd timeout.

Dayton is using its entire bench and running players in and out. How this will affect Xavier will be seen in the 2nd half?

How organized is Dayton’s substitutions? Dayton managers are communicating to the coaching staff when to sub and how long a player has been on the floor.

Dayton continues to pour it on. At the 10 minute mark, the Flyers are leading 25-9.

Here come the Musketeers!! A 9-0 run and the lead has been cut to 25-18. Holloway and Lyons have led the way, with Holloway hitting 2 3’s.

Media timeout and it couldn’t come at a better time for the Flyers. They have missed their last 5 shots and it has given the Musketeers a chance to get back in the game.

Big problems for the Musketeers – Dante Jackson just picked up his 3rd foul of the game with a little over 6 minutes left the first half.

After starting strong behind the 3 point arc, the Flyers are now attacking the basket and starting to rack up Xavier fouls.

The waves of substitutions continue for the Flyers. Of course at the track meet pace they are playing – it is warranted.

We have a Baker’s special as it is a turnover delight. Teams have traded back to back turnovers and the pace has slowed down.

McLean with the put back and the Musketeers trail 30-23.

Halftime and Dayton leads 36-27.

We are back at teams start the half off by trading 3 point buckets

Paul Williams has been leading the Flyers. Williams is 3 for 4 behind the 3 point arc and has 11 points in the game.

The Flyers kept up their sharing ways in the first half, with an assist on 10 of the 14 first half field goals.

This just in Devin Searcy is out for the Flyers and will not return.

Dayton is flying again and has jumped out to a 14 point lead. The Flyers lead 46-32.

Some second chance points and Coach Brian Gregory is not happy with his team’s rebounding.

Paul Williams is on fire!!!  Another 3 for junior.

The Flyers have picked up where they left off in the first half with the 3 point shooting and they now lead 54-37. Xavier is holding on for dear life!

Media Timeout and Dayton leads 54-39

Coach Gregory just yelled out, “You have the close out with a high hand!! ”

How to do you lead by 9 at halftime? Try shooting 56% from the field. The only signs of trouble for the Flyers?  Already they have 7 team fouls with less than half of the second half gone. The Musketeers will be shooting on every foul from here on in.

Here comes a Musketeer run and they have trimmed the lead to 55-47.

Chris Wright brought the crowd to its feet with a thunderous dunk!!

Holloway answers with a huge 3 and the lead is the smallest it has been since about the 4 minute mark of the first half, 59-53.  Media timeout.

Jamel McLean with the a huge dunk and the lead is down to 4. Flyers followed with an airball and we might be seeing the Flyers fading a little.

The Musketeers with another bucket and the lead is down to 2!! Xavier fans are loud as they smell a comeback.

The Atlantic 10 tournament has some Rochester representation – Kevin O’Connell from Rochester is one of the referees for today’s game.

Holloway has 18 points right now  but no assists. More of a product of other players not finishing.

Dante Jackson with a kiss! The lead is back down to 2, 64-62 with 3 minutes to play.

Andrew Taylor not to be confused with Andy Taylor of Duran Duran with the steal. Holloway with the easy bucket and we are tied!! 64-64.

Dayton with bucket and they are up 66-64.  Whoa Nelly we have a barn burner going on here!

Lyons with the miss and Dayton with the stop. Flyers have the ball with less than a minute to play.

Holloway’s line 20 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.  Holloway has a hit 4 3’s.

Xavier just got a 5 second count and it is their ball with 36.5 seconds left.

Wow!! Holloway with the bucket and one!! Game tied with Xavier poised to take the lead.

Josh Benson for the Flyers just fouled out.

Holloway hits the free throw and Xavier leads 67-66!

12.6 seconds left and Dayton with the ball. Everyone is one their feet!

Dayton with the miss, but on the rebound there is a Xavier foul. 2 shots with 5.8 seconds to go.

Flyers hit both free throws and they are now leading 68-67.

Xavier timeout – you can be sure that Holloway is getting the ball.

Holloway misses the 3 and Dayton holds on. Flyers with the victory and the Flyers celebrate!

Note: Fabrizius was 33% from the Free Throw line all season! Talk about stepping up and becoming a hero on campus!

Paul Williams  and Chris Wright led the way for the Flyers with 14 and 15 points respectively.

Tu Holloway led Xavier with 23 and Mark Lyons did a lion’s share – chipping in 14 points.

No time to waste Duquense and St. Joe’s are warming up.

Game #2

#4 Duquense (10-6/18-11) vs. #12 St. Josephs (4-12/10-21)

This is the 47th meeting between the Hawks and the Dukes.

SJU leads the series 34-12.

Duquesne beat St. Joe’s 75-63 on January 5th.

Last time the Hawks and Dukes met in the A10 tournament? 1986. St. Joe’s won the semi-final game 60-59. The Hawks went on to take the conference crown with 72-64 win over West Virginia.

St. Joe’s is 13-12 all-time in A10 quarter-final games and 30-26 overall. Duquesne is 7-12 in the round of eight and 19-31 since 1977.

Duquesne is an original member of the A10.

About the schools

St. Joseph’s

Location – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Founded – 1851

Undergraduate enrollment – 4,550

Home court – Michael J. Hagan Arena

Duquesne

Location – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Founded – 1878

Enrollment – 10,363

Home Court – A.J. Palumbo Center 4,406 / CONSOL Energy Center/ 15,147

St. Joe’s probable starters
F‐ #32 Idris Hilliard 8.0ppg 4.5rpg
F‐ #24 Daryus Quarles 5.2ppg 2.7rpg
F‐ #13 Ronald Roberts 6.1ppg 4.6rpg
G‐ #35 Carl Jones 16.9ppg 2.6rpg 3.3apg
G‐ #10 Langston Galloway 12.9ppg 5.4rpg 2.8apg

Duquesne’s probable starter

23 G/F B.J. Monteiro 6-5 Jr. 11.9ppg 4.6rpg
30 F/G Bill Clark 6-5 Sr. 16.1ppg 6.2rpg
25 F Damian Saunders 6-7 Sr. 12.4ppg 7.8rpg
20 G T.J. McConnell 6-0 Fr. 10.6ppg 3.8rpg
1 G Mike Talley 5-10 Fr. 7.2ppg 1.5rpg

STATISTICAL COMPARISON
Saint Joseph’s             Duquesne
Overall Record                               10‐21                          18‐11
Conference Record                       4‐12                             10‐6
Home Record                                    4‐9                              11‐4
Away Record                                    5‐12                             7‐6
Neutral Record                                 1‐0                               0‐1
Points per Game                              63.7                           77.3
Opponent Points per Game         69.3                            66.6
Field Goal Pct.                                   .411                            .453
Opponent Field Goal Pct.             .435                             .421
3‐Pt. Field Goals Made per Game 6.1                             7.8
3‐Pt. Field Goal Pct.                         .321                           .352
Opponent 3‐Pt. Field Goal Pct.    .366                           .328
Free Throws Made per Game       12.9                            15.7
Free Throw Pct.                                 .712                            .621
Rebounds per Game                        32.2                            35.4
Opponent Rebounds per Game   36.6                            38.3
Assists per Game                               12.3                           17.9
Turnovers per Game                       10.9                             13.1
Opponent Turnovers per Game 10.7                             20.4
Blocks per Game                                5.6                                 5.3

The Hawks have made 17 appearances in the NCAA tournament including the national semi-finals in 1961.

Duquesne seeks to punch their sixth ticket to the NCAA tournament.

Eighteen Hawks have laced them up in the Association.

Twenty Dukes have played in the N.B.A.

The A-10 isn’t taking any breaks and neither are we!! We are ready and tip-off is moments away.  Announcing starting line ups and the noise levels have picked back up.

Coach Martelli is coaching his players up and they are ready to play. Here we go!!

Duquesne’s pressure is already getting to St. Joe’s. We just had a chair fly our way from the St. Joe’s bench.

This game is off to a track meet start and it doesn’t appear to be what Coach Martelli wants.

An airball by Hilliard on a free throw and Duquesne’s fans serenade him

Mediate timeout and Duquesne leads 11-10 after just 4 and 1/2 minutes.

Timeout by the Hawks. The Dukes lead 19-12.

The Hawks have missed a couple of easy shots and Coach Martelli is upset. Add in a couple of blown assignments on defense and he is not happy.

Duquesne’s problems at the free throw line continue. Already they have been to the line 8 times and they have hit only 3 of them.

A run by the Hawks! We are tied at 20.

St. Joe’s is fighting back and Coach Martelli is loving it! Hawks lead after a Dukes’ timeout, 26-22.

This has been talked about on Pickinsplinters.com but freshman point guard for the Dukes – T.J. McConnell. His assist to turnover ratio is more than 2 to 1 and bordering on 3 to 1 (128 assists and 49 turnovers).

And on that note, McConnell just turned the ball over.. Work with me TJ, work with me!!

Teams are trading buckets and St. Joe’s lead with a little over 5 minutes to go.

A missed bucket and an Intentional foul called on the Hawks. Questionable call and Coach Martelli is leading with the questions.

Just in case anyone is wondering.. The Hawk doesn’t stopping flapping its wings during timeouts. The Hawks lead 33-28.

Dayton Flyer fans are beginning to invade Pickin Splinters!

This just in, a Dukes player just hit both ends of  the free throws. Stop the press!

Damian Saunders with the 3 and the Dukes cut the lead to one, 38-37.

Another Damian Saunders basket. This time a putback at the buzzer and  St. Joe’s leads at the half, 40-39.

Some interesting stats at the half:

Duquesne had 9 steals  but 11 turnovers and was 5-10 from the free throw line.

St. Joseph’s  had 7 steals, 9 turnovers and had 7 offensive rebounds.

Damian Saunders led the Dukes with 10 points and 6 rebounds.

Idris Hilliard led the Hawks with 11 points and 5 rebounds.

Starting the half off with both teams trading buckets. Hilliard with the latest and Hawks lead, 47-45.

Carl Jones with a 3, followed by a Dukes turnover. Hawks lead 52-47.

Carl Jones with another 3 and the lead has been pushed to 8 , 56-48.

Missed shot by the Dukes and Ronald Roberts on the dunk – and one!! Timeout Dukes as the Hawks lead 58-48.

The Dukes drought ends with a bucket by Sean Johnson, 58-50.

Some trouble brewing for the Hawks as their best player, Idris Hilliard just picked up his third foul with 11:36 to play.

Bill Clark with a 3, followed by a McConnell steal and Clark is one the foul line.

Clark hits 1 of 2 and the lead is cut to 6, 60-54.

Carl Jones with a fade away jumper and the lead is back out to 8, 64-56.

A 3 by Langston Galloway at the shot clock buzzer and the Hawk’s lead is extended to 11, 67-56.

A pair of easy buckets with the help of a steal and the lead is trimmed to 7, 67-60.

Subsequent offensive foul on the Hawks and the ball goes back to the Dukes.

A Dukes bucket, a turnover by the Carl Jones, a 3 by McConnell and  lead has been trimmed to 1!! Hawks lead 68-67 with 4:31 to play.

Teams trade buckets and the Hawks still lead 70-69. We have another game going down the wire!!

A pair of free throw by each team and the Hawks lead 72-71.

A steal by McConnell and the Dukes lead 76-74. 1:23 to play and Hawks are having problems with the Dukes’ pressure defense again. Bad time for that to happen.

5th foul on Dukes’ Montiero and he has fouled out of the game.  Hawks hit one of two and they trail 76-75.

A scramble for the ball after a missed Dukes’ shot and Sean Johnson hits 2 free throws for the Dukes. Dukes up 78-75.

A foul by the Dukes and C.J. Aiken hits a pair of free throws to bring the Hawks within 1, 78-77.. 22.4 seconds to play.

The Dukes inbound and the Hawks are forced to follow. Hilliard with the foul and it is his 5th. He is done for the game and the Hawks will miss him badly.

Sean Johnson hits one of two to extend the Dukes lead.

The Hawks bring it down and with 1.5 seconds left, Ronald Roberts ties the game up on an emphatic dunk!

We are heading to overtime!!

The Dukes start the overtime with a basket.

Carl Jones follows with an answer and we are tied aga1n, 81-81.

A 3 by Charoy Bentley and the Hawks lead 88-84.

A missed shot, scramble for the ball and a Duke foul. Problem – some pushing and shoving and a punch might have been thrown.

A pair of  missed free throws by Ronald Roberts, a McConnell  jumper at the Hawks lead 88-86.

A dunk by Aiken and the lead is back to 4, 90-86 with 28 seconds left.

A pair of free throws by Sean Johnson and lead is back to 2, 90-88.

Aiken hits one of two free throws and the lead is 3, 91-88 with 18.2 seconds left. The Dukes will have the ball after the timeout and will come down to the last shot again.

A layup by Saunders, and C. J. Aikens heads to the line for 2, 91-90.

Aikens hits both free throws and the Hawks lead, 93-90 with 7.7 seconds to play. Let’s try this again – down to the last shot.

McConnell misses the 3 pt attempt and the Hawks hold on!!! Final score 93-90 and St. Joseph’s moves on the semi-finals.