College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the Atlantic 10 Conference.

By CCT Staff | January 5, 2009

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:  Rodney Green (Jr.), La Salle. It was a memorable week for Green, who became the 46th player in LaSalle history to reach the 1,000-point mark.  He did so while compiling 21 points in a win over Howard.  Green also scored 11 points during a 23-5 run which helped the Explorers pull away from Manhattan.  In two home wins this week, Green averaged 19.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals per contest.   In the seven-day span, Green shot the basketball at an outstanding 73% (16-of-22) clip from the field.

HONORABLE MENTION:  Tasheed Carr (Sr.), Saint Joseph’s;  Jonathan Hall (Jr.), St. Bonaventure; Ruben Guillandeaux (Jr.), La Salle

(Note: College Chalktalk’s week runs from the previous Monday through Sunday, given the release of ‘This Week in the A-10′ each Monday morning.)

GAME OF THE WEEK: December 30, 2008.  St. Bonaventure 80, Bucknell 72 (2 OT)

The Bonnies showed their maturity under coach Mark Schmidt by the way they prevailed in this contest.  The Brown and White built an early cushion and led by 14 at the half.  The home team battled back and with under a minute left maintained a three point lead.  The Bonnies, however, did not wilt.  Chris Matthews hit one-of-two free throws to slice the lead to two, and the Bonnies then forced a jump ball to regain possession.  Jonathan Hall was able to convert a layup to tie the game and send it into overtime.  The Bonnies, led again by Hall, overcame a five point deficit in the first overtime frame to force a second.  In the second extra five, the Bonnies hit 8-of-10 from the charity stripe to ice the win.
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College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the Atlantic 10 Conference.

This Week in the A-10

By CCT Staff | December 29, 2008

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:  Ahmad Nivins (Sr.), Saint Joseph’s. Nivins was a monster this past week, averaging 20.5 points and nine rebounds per game in a 1-1 effort for the Hawks.  Against Cornell, Nivins turned in the best performance of any A-10 player during the seven-day frame, scoring 26 and grabbing 16 rebounds.  He added another 15 points in the Hawks close loss to Siena.  The senior from Hawk Hill shot a remarkable 16-of-20 over the two games, an 80% clip.  Nivins now has six double-doubles on the season.

HONORABLE MENTION:  Andrew Nicholson (Fr.) St. Bonaventure; Aaron Jackson (Sr.) Duquesne

(Note: College Chalktalk’s week runs from the previous Monday through Sunday, given the release of ‘This Week in the A-10′ each Monday morning.)

GAME OF THE WEEK:  December 23, 2008.  Fordham 60, New Hampshire 56

No, it wasn’t a battle of two traditional powers, but Fordham and New Hampshire gave the fans at Rose Hill Gym a very entertaining contest… and one in which the home fans saw many positives.  Fordham was able to record their second win of the season, and did so by making key plays down the stretch.  Both Chris Bethel and Jio Fontan converted clutch baskets and free throws in the final minute, flipping a one point deficit into a Rams win.  “That was a gutsy win tonight,” said Fordham head coach Dereck Whittenburg. “It took us a while to get going after coming back from a 12-day layoff but I think we showed signs of what we’re capable of doing tonight.”

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College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the Atlantic 10 Conference.

This Week in the A-10

By CCT Staff | December 22, 2008

CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:

Kevin Anderson (So.), Richmond.  Anderson set the pace for the Spiders once again last week, keeping Richmond within striking distance of No. 10 Wake Forest before he and his teammates fell just short by a score of 86-79.  Anderson’s 21 points came on an impressive 8-of-11 shooting.  It marked the second 20-point game of the season for the sophomore point-man and the fifth of his career.  It also marked the 19th straight game in which Anderson registered in double digits.  In addition to his scoring, Anderson added four rebounds and a season-high four steals to his stat line.  On the year, Anderson is averaging 17.1 points per game on 48% shooting from the field.

Tommie Liddell III (Sr.), Saint Louis.  The Billikens registered two wins this week, thanks in large part to the play of Liddell.  Against USC-Upstate, Liddell contributed a double-double, with 12 points and 11 boards.  He also added three steals and five assists to help the cause.  Versus Liberty, Liddell once again recorded a double-double, this time with 15 points and 11 rebounds.  In addition, his blocked shot at the buzzer helped prevent Liberty from tying the game with a three.  One month into his senior campaign, Liddell boasts averages of 13.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest.

HONORABLE MENTION:  Ray Blackburn (Jr.), St. Bonaventure; Kimmani Barrett (Jr.), La Salle

(Note: College Chalktalk’s week runs from the previous Monday through Sunday, given the release of ‘This Week in the A-10′ each Monday morning.)
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College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the Atlantic 10 Conference.

This Week in the A-10

By CCT Staff | December 15, 2008

CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:

Dionte Christmas (Sr.), Temple. Although he played just one game this week, Christmas made the most of his opportunity.  In Temple’s 88-72 win over No. 8 Tennessee, Christmas scored 35 points on 12-of-22 shooting, including 7-of-14 from behind the three point arc.  What helped him earn this distinguishment though, was an impressive 90 second spurt in the second half, where he scored 13 points – including three three-pointers which turned a heated contest into a blowout almost instantly.  Christmas also chipped in with two rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Aaron Jackson (Sr.) Duquesne. Jackson was on absolute fire this week, shooting an unreal 80% (20-of-25) from the field in two games.  Against Radford, Jackson had his best game as a collegiate player, scoring a career-high 36 points on 15-of-17 shooting from the field.  Against West Virginia, Jackson poured in 19 more points, bringing his two game average to 27.5 per contest.  He also averaged 3.5 boards, and 4.5 assists over the week.

HONORABLE MENTION: Derrick Brown (Jr.) Xavier; Kaheim Seawright (Sr.) Rhode Island.

(Note: College Chalktalk’s week runs from the previous Monday through Sunday, given the release of ‘This Week in the A-10′ each Monday morning.)

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College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the Atlantic 10 Conference.

This Week in the A-10
By CCT Staff | December 8, 2008

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

Tony Gaffney (Sr.), Massachusetts.  While others may have scored more points, no player helped his team any greater on both ends of the floor than did Gaffney.  For the week, Gaffney averaged a double-double (13 points, 13 rebounds per game), and also intimidated opponents by swatting away five shots per outing, including a nine block effort against Boston College.  A model of efficiency on the offensive end as well, the senior shot 67% in UMass’ two close defeats. He also narrowly missed a triple-double in the overtime thriller against BC (below).  For the year, Gaffney has been an iron man, ranking second in the conference in minutes played (37 per game).  He ranks in the Top 10 in seven statistical categories, including leading the league in rebounds (13.1 per game) and blocks (5.0 per game), as well as ranking fourth in steals (2.14 per game).

HONORABLE MENTION: B.J. Raymond, (Sr.) Xavier;  Ahmad Nivins, (Sr.) Saint Joseph’s.

(Note: College Chalktalk’s week runs from the previous Monday through Sunday, given the release of ‘This Week in the A-10′ each Monday morning.)

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Game of the Night. Gonzaga 74, Washington St. 52. This game, more than any other thus far this year, proves to us that Gonzaga is for real.  More than the Maryland blowout one day after the Terps pounded Michigan State.  More than the Tennessee win where the Zags held the high-scoring Vols to 36% shooting.  No, while all you guys were sleeping on the east coast, the Zags were laying waste to their in-state nemesis in a rivalry game whom had frustrated and annoyed and outworked them in victories the last two seasons.  Not this time around. Take a look at the gametracker below.  Wazzu hung in there for a half, only going into the locker room down 32-29.  After a quick post-halftime bucket, Gonzaga then went on a 15-0 run followed by another 10-4 run (totaling 25-4 for the mathematically challenged) to completely eviscerate the Cougs on their home court.  What was the difference?  Once again, the Zags played some serious defense.  They held WSU to only 33% shooting from the field and a paltry 2-19 (11%) from three while grabbing seven steals and hitting ten threes on the other end.  The Zags are currently 9th nationally in defensive FG% (34.7%) and 8th in defensive pts per possession (.80), and they’ve done so against the current RPI #2 schedule in the nation.  Josh Heytvelt continued his renaissance with 22 pts, Austin Daye added 14, and Jeremy Pargo contributed 11/10 assts for the Zags.  We were all over this team a year ago, but we didn’t realize the extent of Heytvelt’s injuries – now that he appears to be nearly 100% back, this team is legit.

Upset of the Night. Charlotte 70, Mississippi St. 64. Can we just go ahead and establish the SEC as a two-bid league this year?  When a 2-6 team can come into the house of (supposedly) one of the better SEC West teams (6-2 prior to tonight) and run out to a 24-pt lead and never really be threatened, something is seriously wrong with the league.  We’re certain RTC’s SEC correspondent Kurt Wurth will have something to say about this next week.

Mushing Eric Devendorf.  You’ve probably heard by now that the Syracuse Judicial Board decided to boot guard and key cog Eric Devendorf out of school for “punching” a woman in the face on Nov. 1.  Devendorf will probably get reinstated on appeal, but if you read the comments at Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician, you’ll learn about “mushing” someone who might be a little too amorous on the dance floor (and what Devendorf may have allegedly done to this woman).  Great stuff.  Check it out.

Other Games You Really Care About.

• St. Peter’s 51, NJIT 38. 42 in a row.  NJIT actually led 20-19 at the half.  Short-lived.
• Xavier 78, Ohio 56. Terrell Holloway returned from his foot problem to lead XU to its second-best start ever.  Now they prepare for the Crosstown Shootout on Saturday at Cincy.
• Indiana 66, TCU 56. We have to admit, Indiana is better than we thought they would be.  We didn’t think they would win games like this one.
• Oklahoma 78, Maine 52. Blake Griffin continues to slow down a little – only 22/10 tonight.
• California 72, Utah 69. Nope, we can’t figure either of these teams out, but Cal is starting to make us think they’re finishing top three in the Pac-10 this year.  Jerome Randle hit a three to win the game with six seconds left.
• Butler 87, Bradley 75. Butler moves to 8-0 with a solid win over an MVC foe.
• Creighton 77, Dayton 59. Dayton takes its first loss in a tough way, getting thumped by Creighton and their 13 threes, five of which came for Booker Woodfox, one of the best names in CBB this year.
• Arizona 69, San Diego St. 56. A close game became not close as UA scored the last 11 pts of the game behind Jordan Hill’s 25/14.
• BYU 94, Boise St. 56. BYU rode a 61-pt second half to a humiliation of Boise, and remained unbeaten as a result.

On Tap Thursday (all times EST):

• Miami (OH) (-14.5) v. Wisconsin-Milwaukee (ESPN FC & 360) – 7pm
• Villanova (-10) v. St. Joseph’s (ESPN2) – 8pm
• Kansas St. (-5.5) v. Southern Mississippi (ESPN FC & 360) – 8pm

College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the Atlantic 10 Conference.

By CCT Staff | December 1, 2008

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

Damian Saunders (So.), Duquesne. Saunders enjoyed an excellent week, capped by an immense performance in one of the toughest environments in all of college basketball, where he scored 22 points and snared 10 boards in a loss at Duke.  It was his second performance recording at least 20 points and 10 rebounds on the week, as he filled the statsheet with 20 points and 12 boards earlier in a win over USC Upstate.  Saunders shot 16 for 25 from the field in the seven-day span, including a 4 for 9 effort from beyond the arc for the 6-foot-7 forward.

HONORABLE MENTION: David Gonzalvez, (Jr.) Richmond; Chris Wright, (So.) Dayton.

(Note: College Chalktalk’s week runs from the previous Monday through Sunday, given the release of ‘This Week in the A-10′ each Monday morning.)

GAME OF THE WEEK: November 29, 2008.  Dayton 89, (15) Marquette 75.

When your bench outscores an opponents’ bench 48-5, good things usually happen.  Such was the case for Dayton, as the Flyers backups led the upset of the fifteenth ranked Marquette Golden Eagles to claim the Chicago Invitational Challenge title.  While Tournament MVP Chris Wright (13 points, 13 boards) was solid as usual, it was Rob Lowery’s 21 points (career high) that stood out.  Chris Johnson also contributed with his first career double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 boards.

GAME OF THE UPCOMING WEEK: Rhode Island @ Providence: This battle is for bragging rights in the Ocean State, as the Rams take on their rivals from the Big East, the Friars.  The Rams (5-2) won last year’s contest held in Kingston, 77-60.  Providence (4-3), however, holds a 66-53 edge overall in the series.  The Rams will aim to stop Providence’s balanced offensive attack which features eight players that average at least 6.5 points per game.  The Friars look to frustrate the fast-paced Ram offense, currently averaging 81.1 points per contest.

RPI BOOST OF THE WEEK: Dayton; RPI No. 19 (Up 156 spots from 175 last week):  As is evident, early season RPIs fluctuate greatly, but Dayton ensured its RPI continued in the preferred direction, maintaining a perfect record and knocking off a strong Marquette team in the procecss.

RPI FALL OF THE WEEK:  Saint Louis; RPI No. 183 (Down 151 spots from 32 last week):  Two road losses and zero wins hurt the Billikens this week.  The loss at Nebraska (39) wasn’t a killer, but the same cannot be said for the loss to Detroit Mercy (209).
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College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the Atlantic 10 Conference.

This Week in the A-10
By Christian Marge | November 24, 2008

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:  Keith Cothran, Junior, URI.  Quite simply, Keith Cothran had his best week as a collegiate player, leading URI to a 2-0 week with wins over Monmouth and Virginia Commonwealth.  In back to back games, Cothran set new career highs in points, as he poured in 18 against Monmouth, and 23 against the CAA favorites, VCU.  Cothran shot a blistering 17-26 (65%) from the field during the two-game stretch.  On the year, the junior is averaging 14.7 points and 1.7 steals per game, while also shooting 42.9% from three point range; up 19% on the young season, from his figure last season.

HONORABLE MENTION: Aaron Jackson, (Sr.) Duquesne; Dionte Christmas, (Sr.) Temple; Rodney Green, (Jr.) La Salle.

(Note: College Chalktalk’s week runs from the previous Monday through Sunday, given the release of ‘This Week in the A-10′ each Monday morning.)

GAME OF THE WEEK:  November 21st, 2008.  Xavier 63, Virginia Tech 62.

In a week full of close games, this one took the cake as Xavier’s Dante Jackson nailed a half-court buzzer beater to lead the Musketeers to a one-point win in the semifinal of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.  Jackson had been 0-8 from the field before he let his miraculous shot fly.  The win for Xavier marked the first blemish for Virginia Tech.  In fact, it marked the first game any ACC team had lost this season, as the conference had gone 29-0 til Jackson’s shot banked off the glass and dropped through the net.

HONORABLE MENTION: St. Bonaventure 64, Rutgers 63 (OT).

GAME OF THE UPCOMING WEEK: Ahmad Nivins (21.0 ppg., 12.5 rpg) leads Saint Joseph’s out to Maui to face a Texas Longhorns squad in the Maui Invitational.  Texas has excellent balance, led by A.J. Abrams and Damion James.  The Hawks’ Tasheed Carr, formerly of the Big 12 (Iowa State) will try to contain Abrams and frustrate the Longhorn attack, as SJU would prefer to keep this contest in the sixties.

RPI BOOST OF THE WEEK: Xavier (Current RPI: No. 13)

A perfect 4-0 on the week with your lowest ranked opponent at RPI#119 (Missouri) will certainly boost team standing.  The Musketeers made a final jump, leaping fifteen spots by knocking off Memphis to claim the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Championship.

RPI FALL OF THE WEEK: Charlotte (Current RPI: No. 319)

It’s difficult to fall harder than the 49ers have to start the season.  Their lone win on the season came against RPI #337 UNC-Greensboro.  A strength of schedule at 299 and a 1-3 record hurts the ‘Niner cause.  RPI help is on the way if Charlotte can seize the opportunity in a loaded Anaheim Classic field this coming weekend.

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Predicted order of finish:

1. Xavier (29-6, 14-2; Schedule)
2. Temple (23-11, 12-4; Schedule)
3. Charlotte (20-13, 11-5; Schedule)
4. UMass (19-14, 10-6; Schedule)
5. Dayton (22-11, 9-7; Schedule)
6. St. Louis (21-11, 9-7; Schedule)
7. St. Joseph’s (21-12, 8-8; Schedule)
8. Rhode Island (16-17, 7-9; Schedule)
9. Richmond (15-17, 7-9; Schedule)
10. La Salle (13-18, 6-10; Schedule)
11. George Washington (13-16, 6-10; Schedule)
12. Duquesne (11-19, 5-11; Schedule)
13. Fordham (8-22, 4-12; Schedule)
14. St. Bonaventure (7-22, 4-12; Schedule)

WYN2K.  If the A-10 wants to lay claim to being one of the premier mid-majors [Note: Hold the e-mails, I’m not putting the A-10 with the big boys yet. If you want to, become an RTC correspondent], they will have plenty of shots against the big boys: Duke (3 times-Rhode Island, Duquesne, and Xavier), Kansas (2 times-UMass and Temple), Memphis (UMass), Tennessee (Temple), Texas (St. Joe’s), and many other less prestigious programs in BCS conferences.

Predicted Champion. Xavier (#4 NCAA). Last year, #3 seed Xavier made it to the Elite 8 before falling to perennial national semifinalist UCLA. While Xavier loses several key seniors, they should be able to remain the dominant team in the A-10 due to their superior depth (6 players last year averaged between 9.7 and 12.4 PPG with 3 of those players returning). The Musketeers return Derrick Brown (10.9 ppg), C.J. Anderson (10.7 ppg), and center Jason Love. The loss of the seniors may also be eased by the addition of 6-11 freshman Kenny Frease, freshman point guard Terrell Holloway, freshman shooting guard Brian Walsh, and Indiana transfer Jordan Crawford.  Helping lead the Musketeers will be Sean Miller who became the first Xavier coach to turn down an offer from a bigger name program in quite some time (see: Gillen, Pete; Prosser, Skip; and Matta, Thad). Xavier has a chance to put itself in position for a very high NCAA seed if they can beat Duke in a “neutral site” game in East Rutherford, NJ, on December 20th.  Here’s a clip on Xavier’s trip to the E8 last season.

Others Considered. To be perfectly honest, Xavier should run away with the A-10 this year. Their depth makes them resistant to any reasonable expectation of injuries. The only other legitimate contender if Xavier slips up is Temple (NCAA #10). The Owls, coached by Fran Dunphy (still seems weird not to see John Chaney on the sidelines or storming into other coach’s press conferences), will need to replace the all-around output of Mark Tyndale. They return Dionte Christmas, the A-10’s leading scorer, but he will face increased defensive pressure this year. The Owls also lost Chris Clark to graduation so they will need Ryan Brooks, Lavoy Allen, and Sergio Olmos to step up this year if they want to seriously challenge Xavier.  We also see Charlotte (NIT) and Dayton (NIT) as postseason teams.

RPI Boosters.

• Rhode Island at Duke  (11.16.08)
• UMass at Memphis  (11.17.08)
• Virginia Commonwealth at Rhode Island  (11.22.08)
• St. Joe’s vs. Texas (Lahaina, HI)  (11.24.08)
• Dayton vs. Marquette (Hoffman Estates, IL)  (11.29.08)
• Boston College at UMass  (12.06.08)
• UMass vs. Kansas (Kansas City, MO)  (12.13.08)
• Tennessee at Temple  (12.13.08)
• Temple at Kansas  (12.20.08)
• Oklahoma State at Rhode Island  (12.20.08)
• Xavier vs. Duke (East Rutherford, NJ)  (12.20.08)
• Butler at Xavier  (12.23.08)
• Vanderbilt at UMass  (01.03.09)

Neat-O Stat. Despite being a mid-major league, the A-10 managed to get 2 programs into ESPN.com’s Prestige Rankings. Interestingly, they are the only programs to make the top 20 without having made a Final 4. The only A-10 team to have made the Final 4 is UMass, which checks in at #52. I guess this speaks to the rewards of being consistent. A while back some bums stated they were going to revise the criteria to come out with their own rankings. It’s coming. We promise. . .

65 Team Era.  As stated above, the A-10 is often the bridesmaid, never the bride, when it comes to the Final Four.  Ok, UMass did have its one shot at glory in 1996, but ten other times an A-10 team has gotten to the Elite Eight only to have its hopes dashed in that round (five times in the last decade).  This includes Temple five times, Xavier twice, UMass once, St. Joseph’s once, and Rhode Island once.  During the era, the A-10 has gone 63-65 (.492), which puts it right there with CUSA as the top mid-major league over the last quarter century. 

Final Thoughts. Despite my cheap shots, the A-10 is one of the top conferences in the country. Last year, they only managed to get three teams into the NCAA tournament, but has the potential to get a couple of more bids. To do this, teams will have to get to 10 wins in this conference since the bottom of the conference is so weak. If a lot of teams end up 9-7 or 8-8 in conference play, those teams will end up in the NIT again.

(h/t to College Hoops Net for this find of Charlotte’s Charlie Coley figuring out inventive new ways to dunk at Midnight Madness last week)