Today’s Action
7:00 PM: La Salle (20-7, 10-4 A-10) vs. George Washington (12-15, 6-8 A-10)
After a bad loss to rival Temple, the Explorers have won two straight and another win tonight would clinch a first round bye in the Atlantic 10 conference tournament. La Salle will be playing a team laying everything on the line as the Colonials find themselves in a three-win tie for 11th place, with one of those teams missing the conference tournament entirely. Surprisingly given their record, George Washington is an excellent defensive team, ranking among the top 40 teams in the nation in points allowed per possession.
Isaiah Armwood does the bulk of the work down low for GW, averaging team-leading 11.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. In the teams’ first meeting at the beginning of February, Armwood had a strong game tallying 17 points and 9 rebounds. However, the Explorers were hitting from behind the arc, going 11-25 from downtown on their way to an 80-71 victory. La Salle will need to hit their outside shots once again to put away a Colonials’ team that has a slight size advantage over them.
7:00 PM: Temple (21-8, 9-5 A-10) @ Fordham (6-23, 2-12 A-10)
Sticking with Atlantic 10 action, Temple is currently tied with Butler for the 4th seed and one of those first round byes in the conference tournament. Having lost the head-to-head contest to the Bulldogs earlier in the season, it would behoove the Owls to sweep their final two regular season games and hope Butler drops one of two down the stretch. Luckily for the Owls, tonight’s game pits them against a Fordham squad that finds itself next to last in the conference.
The Rams were blown out by St. Joe’s on Saturday night and come into action on a 9-game losing streak. Senior forward Chris Gaston, second on the team in scoring (14,0 ppg) and first in rebounding (7.7 rpg), missed the St. Joe’s game with a stomach flu and will likely be back in the lineup for Fordham. Gaston previously missed about half the season with a knee injury, greatly contributing to the woes of an undermanned Rams’ squad. The Owls are currently riding a 5-game winning streak and should have no problem handling Fordham. However, the Owls dropped a similar game to last-place Duquesne less than three weeks ago and can’t afford to slip up and take any team lightly as they still find themselves among the last four teams in the NCAA tournament field.
7:00 PM: Saint Joseph’s (16-11, 7-7 A-10) vs. Rhode Island (8-19, 3-11 A-10)
Looking to our last Atlantic 10 pairing, the Hawks look to secure their first winning streak in 8 games as they sit firmly in the middle of the conference standings. Despite their poor record, Rhode Island has been playing tough of late, losing close games to Temple and La Salle. Rams’ leading scorer Xavier Munford can put up points but that’s all he brings to the table, as he somehow scored 30 points against Temple without recording a single rebound or assist. Both the Hawks and Rams play at an extremely slow pace so expect a low-scoring affair. However, with the struggles Rhode Island have experienced scoring the basketball, shooting only 40.4%, I would expect Saint Joseph’s to take care of business at home and build momentum toward the conference tournament.
7:00 PM: Villanova (18-12, 9-8 Big East) vs. Georgetown (23-4, 13-3 Big East) – ESPN2
The Wildcats badly need a victory in its regular-season finale, coming off consecutive excruciating losses in a buzzer-beater against Seton Hall and an overtime defeat to Pittsburgh. Villanova still finds itself among the last four in to the tournament field, but each loss is another blow to their dreams of dancing. Unfortunately, a visit from the 5th-ranked Hoyas is not a cure for what ails you.
The Hoyas play at an extremely slow pace, having won games by scores of 37-36, 46-40, and 53-51 this season. Georgetown finds success through its 4th-rated defense in the country and effective shooting of the basketball, ranked 50th in the nation at 46.1%. Otto Porter leads Georgetown with 16.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game; his play of late has propelled him into the conversation for national player of the year. Porter sports tremendous percentages with 51.0 FG%, 77.3 FT%, and 46.9 3PT%, as a true do-it-all player. His counting stats would be even more impressive if he played for most other teams playing at a faster tempo. The Wildcats will need to contain Porter and find some holes in the vaunted Hoyas’ defense to come out on top. Though they have a tough task ahead of them, the Wildcats have performed well at home, where they’ve already secured key victories over Louisville, Syracuse, and Marquette this season. Hopefully, for Villanova faithful, tonight’s contest will yield a similar result.
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