2013-2014 was a landmark year for the Atlantic 10 conference that saw six teams make the NCAA tournament. Better yet, five of these six teams received at large bids from the NCAA selection committee. VCU, Dayton, Saint Louis, UMASS, George Washington and Saint Joe’s all made the tournament – Saint Joe’s receiving an automatic bid after taking down VCU, 65-61 in the championship game.
No one expected Saint Joe’s to make the run that they did in the conference tournament this year. As a #4 seed, a lot of people counted the Hawks out, thinking the trophy would go to one of the conference powerhouses, Saint Louis, VCU or UMASS. George Washington was also a surprise, likely earning their way into the NCAA tournament with their performance in Brooklyn. Although they finished third in the A-10 regular season race, the Colonials lacked the out of conference resume (in terms of key wins) that UMASS, VCU and Saint Louis had. Their one top 25 win came against Creighton in the Wooden Legacy tournament earlier in the season. They struggled for a stretch in mid-February but regained their composure in the last three games of the regular season, picking up wins over George Mason, Saint Joe’s and Fordham. An 11-5 conference record was enough to garner a #3 seed in the tournament, although people were unsure about them coming in.
The Colonials, along with Saint Joe’s, #9 Saint Bonaventure and #2 VCU all made it to the semifinal round. GW, as a #3 seed, earned a first round bye along with VCU. The Colonials handily beat UMASS by eight in the quarterfinal, before losing to VCU in the semifinals.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the tournament was Saint Bonaventure, who came only two wins away from clinching an automatic NCAA berth. In the preliminary round, the Bonnies beat Dr. John Giannini’s LaSalle Explorers 82-72 in a hot-shooting matchup. Both teams shot over 50 percent from the floor, but Saint Bonaventure shot a stunning 18 of 20 (90 percent) from the free throw line. They also out-rebounded the Explorers, while only committing six turnovers.
The Bonnies continued their hot-shooting ways against Saint Louis, the No. 1 seed. Again, they shot over 50 percent, but the big difference in the game came in 3-point shooting. The Bonnies shot 7 of 12, compared to 7 of 21 from the Billikens, who went stone cold for long stretches of the game. The score was tied at 68 in the last 21 seconds, but Saint Bonaventure was able to stop Saint Louis on their next trip down the floor. In what was perhaps the greatest play of the tournament, Jordan Gathers sunk a 3-pointer from the top of the key with just one second remaining. Teammate Charlon Kloof, who finished with 22 points, found him open after dribbling into a double team to give Gathers the game-winning opportunity.
St. Bonaventure couldn’t stave off a red-hot Saint Joseph’s team, however, and the Hawks held Saint Bonaventure to just 48 points in the semifinal round. Saint Joe’s was led, as has been the case all season, by Langston Galloway, who scored 18 points.
Galloway came up big again in the tournament final, putting up 19 points and grabbing four rebounds, while leading his team to a 65-61 victory over VCU. With the win, Saint Joseph’s earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, making it a record six NCAA teams from the conference this year.
This weekend, keep an eye out for Saint Joe’s, as they are red hot right now. If they can get past UCONN, they will most likely face Villanova in a rivalry between two Philly-area schools. It will also be interesting to see what kind of Saint Louis team shows up in the second round against a play-in winner. If they wind up having to face a dangerous NC State team, it could be a short weekend for the Billikens.
Photo Credit: Duquesne Athletics
