The Ohio State Buckeyes
vs.
The Saint Joseph's Hawks
Saturday, December 10 - 2:00 p.m. (ESPN)
vs.
The Saint Joseph's Hawks
Saturday, December 10 - 2:00 p.m. (ESPN)
SAINT JOSEPH'S - Official Site of Saint Joseph's Athletics - The basketball season is finally picking up steam, and rightly so after the team had an extended hiatus following their 69-56 victory over the feisty and talented Virginia Tech Hokies. The Buckeyes fly out today and head into the Palestra tomorrow afternoon for their first road contest since falling to Wisconsin nine months ago in the Big Ten tournament. The Palestra is not St. Joe's true 'home' arena, oddly - that would be Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse - but should still very much be considered the Hawks' second home. Interestingly, the 9,000 seat arena has been in operation for almost eighty years and has hosted more games and NCAA tournaments than any other college facility in the country. Dallas-based writer Joe Rhoads was quoted as saying, "The Palestra has the acoustics of a big bass drum. It's a basketball echo chamber where every sound is amplified, where 100 people sound like a thousand, where a thousand sound like 10,000, and where 10,000 sound like nothing you've ever heard before. ... It is the best basketball gymnasium in the country - by far." You don't garner praise like that without good reason, so expect the atmosphere to be a big factor in this game. Fortunately for the Buckeyes, two things they are not short on are experience and senior leadership. Now, about the Hawks themselves:
If you've been paying attention at all, or if you even caught a snippet of the Hawks' televised win over Kansas, you should know that this team revolves around #13, senior guard Chet Stachitas (pictured below).
#13 - Chet Stachitas
Second in command on the floor for the Hawks is #5, senior guard Dwayne Lee (6-0, 180). Lee, who in his first year as a starter in '04-'05 led the Atlantic-10 in assists and was named to the conference's All-Defensive Team, finds himself atop the A10 in dimes again heading into Saturday's game. The pure point guard will be trying to set up Stachitas all night, but will likely post respectable scoring numbers himself. Aside from his 6.0 assists per game, Dwayne has averaged 12.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.2 steals to start the season. He too will be a man to keep our eye on; the match-up of Lee and JBut should be fun to watch.
Joining Lee in the backcourt will be the athletic sophomore, #1 Abdulai "Dula" Jollah. Jollah is nearly tripling his production from last season, averaging 12.8 points and ripping down 5.8 per game. He had an off night on Tuesday against Kansas, and crumbled in crunch time, missing three free throws in the final five minutes. Back in familiar territory, however, expect Dula to make a significant contribution, slashing to the basket and crashing the boards.
The remainder of the line-up will probably feature forwards #34, freshman Ahmad Nivins (6-9, 220) and #40, senior forward Dave Mallon (6-10, 240). Nivins is young and strong, posting 7.6 points and 5.4 boards per game so far this year, and Mallon is a big body with some shooting range who should see a lot of time defending Terence. Interestingly, Nivins and Jollah were absent from the starting five against Kansas, as head coach Phil Martelli noted the players were "unprepared." Should Martelli bring them off the bench again, we'll likely see #52, sophomore Rob Ferguson (6-8, 225) and #12, sophomore guard-forward Pat Calathes (6-10, 205). Calathes, while tall, actually sees time at the point - or at least did last year. An intersting story, the Florida native began his high school career an inch shy of six feet. Six years and eleven inches later, Calathes comes into tomorrow's game averaging 4.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 18.2 minutes per game - should be a very fun player to watch over the next couple seasons.
SJU head coach Phil Martelli needs no introduction. With 203 victories in ten seasons, the four-time Atlantic-10 and 2004 National Coach of the Year will have this team ready to play and chomping at the bit to avenge their 61-72 loss to us less than a year ago. Don't pay too much mind to their overtime loss to Davidson - it was on the road and they had a poor night from the field. This team is smart, well-coached, and can shoot - three elements that can keep you in (and win) just about any game. They rank second in the nation in free throw percentage (81.8%), fourth in three-point percentage (46.0%) and 25th in overall shooting (49.2%). My hope is that we will finally be able to dictate the tempo of the game. I have no doubt that, top to bottom, we are a more physically gifted team than they are. If we can keep them running, and get the ball to Dials in the post when we need those 'must-have' buckets, I think we'll be able to handle them. Look for the four senior captains (Dials, Sully, Kel and Syl) to get a lot of face time, as the Palestra will undoubtedly be an absolute madhouse.
My prediction: OSU 68 - SJU 65 (OT)
Up next, we return home Monday to face Norfolk State...
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