St. Joseph’s has a real chance to capture an Atlantic 10 title. Here’s how the Hawks can do it.
As they get set for tournament play, the Hawks need to do three things if they want to ride a current hot streak, improve on last year’s results, and secure their first A-10 title since 2016.
Sometimes the key to success for a team is timing, and St. Joseph’s is getting hot at the right time, having won seven of its last nine games.
A loss to La Salle in the last game of the regular season snapped the Hawks’ five-game winning streak, but they still secured the No. 6 seed in the Atlantic 10 tournament and a first-round bye. St. Joseph’s will play its first game in the second round of the tournament on Thursday (5 p.m., USA Network).
For the Hawks, there’s also the memory of upsetting top-seeded Richmond in the tournament quarterfinals last season, only to fall to Virginia Commonwealth in the semifinals.
Here are three things St. Joe’s needs to do if it wants to improve on last year’s results and secure its first A-10 title since 2016:
Knock them down
Coach Billy Lange’s method has always been to favor the three-ball. And when it works, it works.
Standing third in the A-10 in three-point attempts behind VCU and St. Louis, the Hawks are 13-3 when shooting above a 34% clip from beyond the arc and sit just below .500 when the perimeter shots aren’t falling. The Hawks’ best chance at coming out on top will come from finding consistency in their long-range shots.
The only other option is to adapt.
St. Joe’s put up one of its worst three-point shooting performances this season against Duquesne on Jan. 29, when it shot 18.8%. Still, the Hawks managed to pull out a win. The difference came from their 32 points in the paint.
Dig in deep on defense
Even if shots aren’t falling, the Hawks must display a consistently strong defensive effort to give them the room they need to adjust.
Against Duquesne, the Hawks defense came up big behind five blocks, six steals, and 27 defensive rebounds. St. Joe’s got creative and came out on top.
Rasheer Fleming has stepped up since last season; the junior forward leads the team in defensive boards with 206 and ranks second in the A-10 with 8.6 rebounds per game. He also leads the Hawks in steals with 45 this season.
Along with Fleming, the addition of fifth-year center Justice Ajogbor, who has recorded 70 blocks this season, has helped strengthen the St. Joe’s defense.
Moving the ball
Fleming also has stepped into a bigger scoring role, averaging 15.5 points.
Sophomore Xzayvier Brown also has grown since his first A-10 tournament appearance last season and leads the Hawks with 17 points per game. Senior Erik Reynolds II is a close second, averaging 16.8 points.
Last season, Brown averaged five fewer points. This season, he has finished in double figures in all 18 games he has played. While Brown and Fleming’s growth has been a significant storyline, the Hawks will need more than just those two and Reynolds to reach the A-10 final.
Sharing the ball has been a plus for the Hawks this season, as they average a team assist rate of almost 60%. In games in which they are meeting or exceeding that rate, St. Joe’s is 10-5.