McNeal: Three takeaways from SLU's record-setting win in Philly
After yet another impressive victory for the 13th-ranked Saint Louis Billikens, is it time to start thinking they can run the table in the Atlantic 10?
Well, it certainly doesn't hurt to ponder as the Billikens arrived at the halfway point with a 65-47 victory at Saint Joseph's. With eight games down and eight to go, the Billikens are the Atlantic 10's lone unbeaten team and seem to be improving.
Still, based on the records of the teams remaining on SLU's schedule, the toughest half is still to come. The Billikens have two games left against VCU as well as games at La Salle, George Washington and, in the regular-season finale, Massachusetts. That lineup pretty much comprises the top half of the conference standings after SLU.
With their school-record 15th straight victory in the books, the Billikens (22-2) will stay in Philadelphia until Saturday, when they'll face La Salle in an attempt to go to 9-0 in conference. Before we get ahead of ourselves, let's look back on Wednesday night's victory at Hagan Arena.
THE BENCH DELIVERS
With foul trouble saddling three SLU starters in the first half, the bench players got a little more time than they're used to. You could hardly tell the starters were out. Four Billikens backups played and all four scored to help SLU take a 35-22 halftime lead. Austin McBroom, no surprise, led the backups with seven points, while freshman Mike Crawford hit his only 3-point attempt and juniors John Manning and Grandy Glaze also contributed a basket.
We should not be surprised by the bench's strong play, though. Coach Jim Crews has done an excellent job of using his backups all season, resulting in two more reasons the Billikens should fare well in March. For one, the bench is gaining valuable experience that will pay off not only this season but next, too. The four key reserves all have at least another year of eligibility.
Almost as important, SLU's starters should not have to contend with fatigue when the games turn tougher. No SLU starter went into Wednesday's game averaging more than Jordair Jett's 30.5 minutes a game, which ranks only 19th in the conference. By comparison, Saint Joe's has five players averaging more than 32 minutes.
LANGSTON WHO?
Saint Joseph's senior guard Langston Galloway came into the game as the conference's leading 3-point shooter (45.1 percent) and the Hawks' leading scorer (16.7). Then he met Jett. Galloway's final line: 3 for 15, 0 for 6 on 3-pointers, six points. Jett did a solid job of taking Galloway out of Saint Joe's offense simply by not allowing him to catch the ball. The guy not only is big, quick and strong, he is a very smart player who takes his video work seriously.
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It wasn't all Jett, of course. The Billikens switch on defense as well as any team, and Galloway also seems to be in a shooting slump. He went 0 for 3 on 3-pointers and scored only seven points against Massachusetts last week.
ROAD WARRIORS
Before conference play began, Crews talked about how much the Billikens enjoy playing on the road. "Maybe the pillows are nicer," he joked.
More likely, it's one of the benefits of starting five seniors. Whatever the reason, the Billikens played with the aggression and confidence at Hagan Arena that's usually seen in the home team. SLU started cold and fell behind 5-0 but then took control with a 14-2 run. Saint Joe's closed to 20-18 before the Billikens closed out the half with a 15-4 run.
The win was SLU's eighth without a loss on the road (their neutral court loss to Wisconsin doesn't count).
Saint Joe's coach Phil Martelli certainly noticed his team's lack of assertiveness. In as telling a courtside TV interview as you'll see, the dean of Atlantic 10 coaches called out his team for "playing scared" at halftime.
"We're at home and we're tentative," Martelli said.
Though Saint Joe's played more aggressively after the intermission, it still finished with season lows in points, field-goal percentage (31.9, the first time they've shot less than 40 percent) and 3-point percentage (1 for 15 for a less-than-robust 6.7 percent).
You can follow Stan McNeal on Twitter at @stanmcneal or email him at stanmcneal@gmail.com.
