By Malcolm Price
3 14 2025
ST. JOSEPH’S GAME NOTES
https://sjuhawks.com/documents/2025/3/14/33_-_A-10_Quarterfinals_-_Dayton.pdf
DAYTON GAME NOTES
https://sjuhawks.com/documents/2025/3/14/Dayton_A-10_Quarterfinals.pdf
Game Info: March 14, 2025 – 7:30 p.m.
Location: Capital One Arena – Washington, D.C.
Tickets | TV: Peacock | Listen: sjuhawks.com | Live Stats: sjuhawks.com | Saint Joseph’s Game Notes | Dayton Game Notes
Social Media
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Opening Tip
The Saint Joseph’s men’s basketball continues play in the Atlantic 10 men’s basketball championship with a quarterfinal matchup against the Dayton Flyers. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. with the game to air on Peacock.
Hawks In The A-10 Tournament
Saint Joseph’s has competed in the Atlantic 10 Championship in every season of the event, winning four times, in 1986, 1997, 2014 and 2016. The Hawks also advanced to the championship game in 2005, 2006 and 2008. SJU is 47-37 all-time in the A-10 tournament. A full history of Saint Joseph’s in the A-10 tournament begins on page 13 of these notes.
No More Exploration
Thursday night saw the fourth and final installment of the St. Joe’s-La Salle series in 2024-25. It was the first time in the 115-year history of the series the teams played four times in a season and was just the sixth time they had even gone three times in a year. The game marked just the 27th time in the last 50 years that two teams faced off four times in a year. The last one prior to this was Oregon State and Stanford, 16 years ago. The Beavers and Cardinal met twice in the regular season, in the play-in round of the Pac-12 Tournament and in the semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational.
Make It Four for #5
Anthony Finkley continues to impress as a member of the starting lineup, recording his fourth consecutive game in double figure scoring. The sophomore scored 14 against La Salle, adding five rebounds, five assists and two steals. He had also netted 13 against La Salle on March 8, a career-best 18 against Rhode Island on March 5 and started the month with 15 at Fordham. He is posting 15.0 points per game in his last four contests and shooting 58.8 percent from the floor. Overall a a starter, he is averaging 9.8 points and 5.0 rebounds as a starter, up from 5.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in a reserve role.
Turning The Tide
With its win on Thursday, the Hawks have now won a game in the A-10 Championship in three consecutive years and four of the last five,. They are 5-2 in conference postseason play since the start of the 2023 tournament. Prior to the run, SJU was 3-6 after winning its second title in three years in 2016. Billy Lange is now 6-5 as the head coach of Saint Joseph’s in the A-10 Tournament and is one of two coaches with a winning record in the event.
Lucky Number 6
The number six seed has been a good place to be in recent history in the Atlantic 10 Championship. With the Hawks win on Thursday, the No. 6 seed has won a game in six of the last seven tournaments. In three of the last five tournaments that were played to completion, the sixth seed has won three. times. Saint Louis claimed the title from the spot in 2019, Richmond turned the trick in 2022 and Duquesne achieved the feat last season, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1977.
So You’re Saying There’s A Chance
Winning four games in four days to take home a conference tournament is a tough task, but not impossible. Since 2017, 22 teams across NCAA Division I have accomplished it, an average of 2.75 per season. Last year, three teams were successful, including Duquesne in the A-10. New Mexico and NC State were the other two. NC State became the second team to win five games in five days in their run to the ACC crown. The most in any season since 2017 was in 2021 when five teams won four games in four days to earn a title.
(Block) Party Like It’s 2013
Saint Joseph’s finished the season atop the A-10 in blocks and was sixth in the nation at 5.6 rejections per game. The 5.6 swats per contest are the most for the Hawks since 2013 when they had 5.7 an outing. This season’s blocks per game number is the fourth highest in program history. In 2011-12, led by 120 by C.J. Aiken, SJU knocked away 7.2 opposing shots a night. St Joe’s has double digit blocks in a game three times this year. When it achieved the feat against Navy in the season opener, it was the first time SJU had turned away 10+ opponent shots in a game since January 12, 2013 at Duquesne.
Scouting Report
Dayton enters play 22-9 overall went 12-6 in the A-10. The Flyers earned the No. 3 seed with a win against VCU to end the regular season.
Leading the way for UD is on offense is Nate Santos at 14.1 points per game. Three additional players average more than 10 points a night with Enoch Cheeks scoring 13.4 and Javon Brown and Malachi Smith posting 10.7 and 10.4 an outing, respectively. Bennett has upped his game lately, scoring 13.0 in his last 10 contests. Cheeks bests the team at 6.3 rebounds per game. Smith has 159 assists.
A tried and true method for winning fuels the Flyers who are second the A-10 in assists per game at 15.3 a game while ranking fourth in fewest turnovers at 10.5. They don’t take a ton of threes, sitting at 11th in the conference in attempts, but make them when they do hoist them up, sitting second the Atlantic 10 at 35.7 percent.
Dayton is a battle tested team that has wins against three power conference schools, including No. 2 UConn. It lost a pair of games to No. 5 Iowa State and No. 12 North Carolina by a total of seven points.
A couple of areas of concern for UD would be bench scoring and field goal percentage defense. The Flyers rank 11th in the conference in both categories.
Anthony Grant is in his eighth season as the head coach of his alma mater with a record of 171-81 in southwest Ohio. Overall in 17 seasons, he has amassed 364 victories, has 12 years with 20 or more wins and guided his teams to the NCAA tournament four times.
All-Time Series
Friday is the 49th meeting between the Hawks and Wildcats. Dayton has a 28-20 series edge in a matchup that dates back to 1939. The teams have met in the A-10 Tournament eight previous times, most recently in 2023.
Last Time Against Dayton
Saint Joseph’s overcame a 19-point first half deficit, cutting the game to a single possession in the final minute, but the Dayton Flyers escaped with a 77-72 win at UD Arena on January 24, 2025. Erik Reynolds II had 21 points to lead the Hawks. Xzayvier Brown scored 18 while Rasheer Fleming recorded 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Trailing 25-6 at the 10:39 mark of the first half, SJU outscored UD 66-52 in the final 30 minutes.
Bright Lights Don’t Faze Him
For all of his impressive performances throughout his career, Erik Reynolds II has been at his best in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. He leads all active A-10 players at 18.4 points per game in conference championship play and is second in total points with 137. From a national perspective, he is tied for the 13th most points in conference tournament games in NCAA Division I and is fifth on that list in PPG. The Temple Hills, Md. product has two of his career 30-point games in the A-10 Championship. His 34-point effort against George Washington in 2023 was the most in an Atlantic 10 tournament game since 2018 and he is one of two players with multiple games of 30+ in the conference championship since 2005 (Peyton Aldridge – Davidson).
Up Next
The winner of Friday’s game will take on the winner between No. 2 George Mason and No. 7 George Washington in the A-10 semifinals on Saturday, March 15. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. with the game to air on CBS Sports Network.
COURTESY ST. JOSEPH’S ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
