A-10 Preview...

The banners are now up at the Hagan Arena! We'll open the joint on Friday the 13th but Crosgile has two more weeks to rest his thumb and Baptiste's participation depends on his MRI taken today.


The Sports Network - College Basketball Preview - Atlantic 10 Conference By Pat Taggart, Associate College Basketball Editor

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -

OUTLOOK: One of the most difficult tasks in college basketball is winning the regular season title in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Not only is there a wealth of talent every year and more parity than is found in most leagues, but the conference has 14 members, and they aren't even split into two divisions. Since joining the A-10 back in 1996, the Dayton Flyers have never captured an outright regular season crown, but considering the fact that 11 of the 12 top scorers are back from last year's team that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, head coach Brian Gregory and his squad have to be viewed as the favorites in 2009-10. Xavier, which reached the "Sweet 16" a year ago, will certainly put up a fight, but it remains to be seen if the loss of three starters will be too great to overcome. Richmond doesn't receive much attention nationally, but the Spiders have a chance to boast one of their best teams in recent memory. La Salle, UMass and Temple appear to be second-tier contenders, but all three have a puncher's chance. Saint Joseph's has been a perennial power in the conference under the guidance of Phil Martelli, but there isn't an excess of talent to work with this season. Duquesne, Charlotte and St. Bonaventure are good enough to hang with some of the better teams in the A-10, but those three squads will be fortunate to finish with .500 records. Finally, there is the bottom group of the A-10, consisting of Rhode Island, Saint Louis, George Washington and Fordham, teams that have either lost a great deal of talent recently, or had very little in the first place.

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: 1. Dayton, 2. Xavier, 3. Richmond, 4. La Salle, 5. Temple, 6. UMass, 7. Saint Joseph's, 8. Duqesne, 9. Charlotte, 10. St. Bonaventure, 11. Rhode Island, 12. Saint Louis, 13. George Washington, 14. Fordham

SAINT JOSEPH'S - We have learned over the years not to doubt Phil Martelli, who consistently fields A-10 title-contending teams at Saint Joseph's. The Hawks will be playing in a new arena on campus this season, so excitement in the form of fan support will be a certainty. But expectations have to be tempered for obvious reasons. The two best players from last season's team, Ahmad Nivins and Tasheed Carr, are gone. Nivins was the A-10 Player of the Year, and Carr was explosive at the guard position. Seniors Darrin Govens and Garrett Williamson, a pair of experienced backcourt performers, must take huge steps forward to offset the losses of Carr and Nivins. Govens scored 12.7 ppg last year and will get many more touches at the offensive end. Williamson wasn't much of a scorer last season, and if he can be even half as good offensively as he is at the defensive end, the Hawks should be okay. But let's face it, at Saint Joseph's, being okay isn't good enough.

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TDow dunking?

Sadly St. Ignatius did not help the Phillies tonight ;-(