By Paul Gotham
Atlantic 10 play opened Tuesday. Reigning champion St. Louis needed two Jordair Jett free throws with :07 remaining to win at Rhode Island. Home teams went 5-1 in the first matchups. Five A10 clubs rank top 50 RPI: UMass (5), George Washington (27), Dayton (39), St. Louis (48) and VCU (49). Fasten your seat belts and please hold on while the train is moving.
Words of the week — St. Joseph’s Phil Martelli on his team’s response to setbacks suffered against cross-town rivals Villanova and Temple: “When you lose Philadelphia games it’s more than just a loss. There’s a serious psychological blow that occurs.”
Four Atlantic 10 games of the weekend in order of importance.
St. Louis (14-2/1-0) at Dayton 12-3/0-0) 11 am Saturday ESPN2
Opposite forces collide at UD Arena. Dayton leads the A10 in field goal percentage (.484) and 3-point percentage (.385) while St. Louis sets the defensive standard leading in field goal percentage defense (.392) and 3-point percentage defense (.246). Both clubs figure to challenge for the league title. The Flyers earned a spot in the polls earlier this year. The Billikens, NCAA Tournament participants the last two years, figure to dance in March. Balance scoring is the attack for both clubs. Jordair Jett netted a career-high 31 in SLU’s league opener Tuesday. The senior guard has an assist to turnover rate of 2.3. Dayton’s Devin Oliver is one of three Flyers scoring in double figures with 12.3 and leads with 7.3 rebounds.
UD by three.
La Salle (8-6/1-) at Duquesne (8-6/1-0) 2:30 pm Sunday NBC Sports Network
Two teams with plenty to gain from a successful run through conference play. The Explorers, coming off a Sweet Sixteen run a year ago, looked the part in a 76-72 win Wednesday over a George Washington club which has received votes in the polls for the last eight weeks. The Dukes look to make two in a row at home after an 87-81 win over Fordham. Duquesne looked susceptible to perimeter scoring against the Rams whose backcourt scored 70 points in Wednesday’s opener. La Salle’s guards Tyreek Duren, Tyrone Garland and Sam Mills will look to exploit. Jerrell Wright (13.3 ppg/ 6.3 rpg) gives La Salle an inside presence. Duquesne’s Ovie Soko did this Wednesday:
La Salle wins by five.
Rhode Island (9-7/0-1) at George Washington (12-3/0-1) 2:30 pm Saturday NBC Sports Network
Two teams predicted to finish in the bottom half of the conference have earned impressive non-conference wins (URI at LSU and George Washington over Creighton, Miami and Georgia). May be early to refer to this as desperate times, but no one wants to open conference play with a pair of setbacks. GW has their sights set on a conference title. URI is looking to gain traction. GW is tied with Dayton leading the conference in 3-point percentage (.385). URI’s Xavier Munford (15.8 points) is the reigning conference player of the week. Maurice Creek (15.5 points) paces the Colonials hitting better than 41 percent (39 of 94) behind the arc.
The Rams will find Foggy Bottom tough to navigate. GW by five.
St. Bonaventure (11-4/1-0) at No. 19 UMass (13-1/1-0) 12:30 pm Saturday NBC Sports Network
Over-under on combined points scored for this game could be 175. UMass leads the conference scoring 79 and tallied 105 versus BYU earlier this season and have also scored 85 or more in four games. St. Bonaventure just hung 84 on a Richmond club known for holding opponents in check. Part of the UMass defensive scheme is making opponents play faster than they want. The Bonnies get on the glass with the best teams in the country leading the conference in rebound percentage at 55.9. UMass grabs a league-leading 40 board per contest. Quantity or quality? Which one wins out? SBU big man Youssou Ndoye notched a double-double in the win over Richmond. Cady Lalanne and the UMass interior are up to the challenge.
The Minutemen at home? In front of national television audience? UMass by seven.
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