AP Phot

February 14, 2009 | AP Press

CINCINNATI, OH – Brad Redford matched his career high with 15 points, all of them from behind the arc, and 14th-ranked Xavier recovered from back-to-back losses by dominating the second half and beating Fordham 88-53 on Saturday.

Xavier (21-4, 9-2 Atlantic 10) saw its defense slip during consecutive road losses at Duquesne and Dayton, both of whom shot 50 percent from the field. After a ragged start on Saturday, the Musketeers got back into form against the league’s worst-shooting team.

The Musketeers haven’t lost three in a row since early in the 2004-05 season, and were never in trouble against the Rams (3-19, 1-9), who start a pair of freshmen and two sophomores. Fordham has lost four in a row, all by at least 23 points.

Redford led six Xavier players in double figures. Xavier made a season-high 14 3-pointers and had a season high in points. Sophomore guard Mike Moore led Fordham with a career-high 24 points.

In addition to trying to fix his team’s defense the last few days, Xavier coach Sean Miller has been working on his fan support, too.

Miller had a new message for fans played on the videoboard before the game, urging them to be loud. He also had his players walk through the stands — past the student section — before taking the floor for warmups, another new twist.

There was yet one more change at the tip-off: Terrell Holloway was out of the starting lineup. The freshman point guard failed to get an assist in the last two games, and gave way to Dante Jackson in the lineup. Holloway had started the last 13 games, but struggled to take care of the ball.

The student section was louder — it chanted Miller’s name when he got a technical foul for arguing a call — and Holloway passed the ball more often when he got onto the floor. The defense? At the outset, that was another matter.

Fordham made nine of its first 16 shots, keeping it close for the first 12 minutes. At that point, Xavier’s man-to-man defense toughened, and Derrick Brown dunked off a rebound and had a 3-pointer during a 12-2 run that pushed the lead to 36-24.

Redford’s fifth 3-pointer pushed the lead to 68-38 midway through the second half. The freshman shooting guard went 5-of-9 from behind the arc.

Holloway had another subpar game, getting only one of Xavier’s 21 assist and two points.

Xavier played without 7-foot reserve center Kenny Frease, who sat on the bench in his warm-up jacket resting a sprained right ankle. The freshman played only 13 minutes during a loss at Dayton on Wednesday, getting four points and two rebounds despite the injury.

The Musketeers figured they could get by without him. They beat Fordham by 26 points on Jan. 11, and have won 16 of their 17 against the Rams since they joined the league.

Charlie Coley throws down a monstrous dunk against GW.

February 14, 2009 by Jordan Keyser | A10 CollegeHoops

CHARLOTTE, NC – It may have been Valentine’s Day, but the GW Colonials certainly didn’t feel the love. The 49ers were dominant on both sides of the ball, delivering a beat down worthy of homecoming weekend.

With this win, Charlotte (9-15, 3-7 A-10) is now back in the hunt to make the A-10 tournament in Atlantic City.

The Colonials (7-15, 1-9 A-10) have now lost 14 out of 15 games and their hopes of making the conference tournament are grave at best.

Charlotte dominated from the start, sparked by Lamont Mack’s 8 points in the opening minutes. George Washington shot an abysmal 30% from the floor in the first half, and managed to score only 17 points. Mack continued to dominate in A-10 play, scoreing 14 in the half and led the Niners into the locker room with a 20 point advantage. He ended the game with 23 points and 5 rebounds.

Dijuan Harris continues to be a great court general for Charlotte, delivering a career-high 15 assists while committing just 1 turnover. Harris has produced double-digit assist games in 4 out of his last 5 contests and is leading the conference in assist/turnover ratio for the second straight season. Despite his great individual performance, Harris remained focused on the team and their aspirations to make it to Atlantic City for the A-10 Conference tournament.

“It was very important for us to make a push late in the season like this. We want to play in the (A-10) tournament,” said Charlotte’s Harris.

Harris had a career-high 15 assists.

Coach Bobby Lutz was slightly more nonchalant regarding his teams postseason chances:

“I don’t talk about those kinds of things with the team, but obviously we needed to win this game (to make the tournament.) I was really pleased with the way we played today. I know George Washington’s record isn’t great, but they’ve played some good teams close. We got out to a good start and built off that.”

Lutz also beamed with A-10 pride with his comment regarding the 49ers upcoming game against 9th ranked Xavier:

“They’re a great basketball team and they’ve lost a few games in our conference, but that’s because we play in a great conference. We’re rated the 8^th best league, but we’re better than the SEC this year, I don’t think there’s any doubt about it.”

There weren’t many bright spots for the Colonials, but despite the poor performance, all 10 players scored for GW, led by Damian Hollis’ 13 points and 8 boards.

Charlotte hosts 9th ranked Xavier on Thursday. Former 49er star Eddie Basden will become only the 8th player in Charlotte history to have his jersey retired.

The Colonials host St. Bonaventure on February 19th and hope to somehow salvage their season.

harris-coley-mack-press-conference-214

lutz-press-conference-214

February 12, 2009 by Ryan Pohle | A10CollegeHoops

Updated Weekly Every Thursday

Based on Games Played Through Wednesday, February 11th.

1 Seeds

UConn, UNC, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma

2 Seeds

Duke, Memphis, UCLA, Louisville

3 Seeds

Michigan St., Clemson, Villanova, Missouri

4 Seeds

Wake Forest, Arizona St., Illinois, Xavier

5 Seeds

Gonzaga, Marquette, Kansas, Butler

6 Seeds

Purdue, Washington, Texas, Florida

7 Seeds

Syracuse, Utah St., Ohio St., California

8 Seeds

West Virginia, BYU, Utah, LSU

9 Seeds

Miami Fl., Davidson, Minnesota, Florida St.

10 Seeds

San Diego St., Kentucky, South Carolina, Dayton

11 Seeds

Georgetown, USC, Tennessee, UAB

12 Seeds

Wisconsin, Arizona, Temple, North Dakota St.

13 Seeds

Miami Oh., Creighton, George Mason, Siena

14 Seeds

Vermont, Stephen F. Austin, Portland St., Cornell

15 Seeds

Robert Morris, Cal St. Northridge, Jacksonville, American

16 Seeds

Murray St., Western Kentucky, Radford Play in Game: Morgan St. vs. Alabama St.

Last Four In:

UAB, Wisconsin, Arizona, Temple

First Four Out:

Virginia Tech, UNLV, Cincinnati, Oklahoma St.

Multiple Conference Bids

Big East – 8,  ACC – 6, Big Ten – 6, Pac 10 – 6, SEC – 5, Big 12 – 4, A10 – 3, Mountain West – 3, Conference USA – 2.

Thoughts

Xavier – Not the greatest week for X fans by any means.  A very talented Duquesne squad was able to knock them off at home, and Xavier’s road woes continued last night when Dayton dominated most of the game.

Dayton – Dayton’s road loss to Charlotte Sunday kept them on the bubble until they were able to get a convincing win over Xavier last night to solidify their spot in the bracket.

Temple – Temple picked up a must win over URI on Sunday to stay in the bracket.  They face another tough test tonight when they travel to St. Joe’s.  That’s another must win to stay in the bracket.

Arizona – Arizona quietly sneaks into the bracket this week after being one of the first four teams out in last week’s bracketology.  They have reeled off five straight victories, although they do have a nasty part of their Pac 10 schedule coming up.

Virginia Tech – Virginia Tech is in most brackets, but I’ll list them as my first team out.  I’m not sure why people have them so comfortably in.  Their current and projected RPI numbers are in the mid to high 40s, they have a home loss to bubble team Wisconsin, and have no signature non-conference wins.  Looking at the rest of their schedule, 3-5 looks like the best case scenario.

Davidson – I was asked a question recently about Davidson’s status if they didn’t win their conference tournament.  Honestly, it’s hard to imagine the committee not giving them an at-large (if needed) after the run they made in the tourney last year.  Plus, they have that win over West Virginia.  I’d re-visit their status if they lost their Bracket Buster home game against Butler.

February 12, 2009 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Dionte Christmas had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Temple held off a late run by Saint Joseph’s, beating its longtime rival 61-59 in another city series thriller Thursday night.

The Owls (14-9, 6-3 Atlantic 10) needed this conference win more than the first-place Hawks and maintained their hold on fourth place in the standings. The first four spots earn the coveted bye in the A-10 tourney next month in Atlantic City, N.J.

Ahmad Nivins scored 21 points for the Hawks and got the better of Christmas in a battle of the two leading scorers in the conference. Christmas is on track for his third straight scoring title, but the personal goals can wait.

Christmas wants to lead the Owls into the NCAA tournament for the second straight season.

This one appeared over when Temple had a late 11-point lead, but that vanished in the final two minutes. The Owls missed 11 free throws in the final 2:28, letting the Hawks back in the game and nearly allowing them to pull off the comeback win.

But, the two-point game shouldn’t have been much of a surprise. This was either the 146th meeting (according to Temple) to 144th meeting (according to SJU) and each of the last five games have been decided by five or less points.

This was the first matchup for the longtime city rivals since Temple won the A-10 tournament championship game last March. The Hawks made the tournament with an at-large bid and came into the Palestra as winners of nine of 10.

Besides Nivins, the Hawks had no reliable scorer, especially on the perimeter. They hit a pair of late 3s that only gave them six total jump shots.

But it was enough to inch them back into the game.

Nivins kept Saint Joseph’s faint shot at victory alive on a dunk with 21 seconds left that cut it to 58-53. Garrett Williamson calmly made his two free throws for the Hawks and it was 59-57 with 10 seconds left.

Juan Fernandez, a 70 percent free-throw shooter, missed the first, and another packed Palestra crowd erupted at the home of the Big 5. He hit the second to make it 60-57 with 9.2 seconds left.

Williamson was fouled again with 6.2 remaining and went to the line for the 1-and-1. He made both and it was 60-59.

Fernandez then went 1-for-2 and the Hawks missed a desperation shot.

Semaj Inge had 11 points and Sergio Olmos added 10 for the Owls. Tasheed Carr scored 14 points for the Hawks.

The Owls used an 18-0 run stretched over the first and second half to build a double-digit lead. The Hawks missed 10 straight shots in the same span before going on a short spurt that pulled them within six.

Christmas hit a layup and Craig Williams hit a 3 that pushed the lead back to 11. Williams hit another arching 3 from the corner with 8:30 left for an 11-point lead.

Nivins dunked off an offensive rebound and it was 49-41 with 5:45 left.

No worries for Temple. Christmas drilled a 3 and let out a “Whoo!” as he backpedaled down court. Williamson came right down and hit a 3-pointer. It was that kind of game.

Christmas tossed up an awkward jumper trying to draw a foul and the ball banked in for a 54-43 lead.

Christmas and Inge each hit 3s during a 14-0 run and the Owls made their last six of the half to take a 29-21 lead into halftime.

February 11, 2009 by Patrick Gill | A10CollegeHoops

The Richmond Spiders and Duquesne Dukes came into Wednesday nights’ Atlantic 10 conference match-up as teams headed in opposite directions. The Dukes came in oozing confidence, having won 10 of their last 13 and fresh off a victory over perennial conference powerhouse, Xavier. The Spiders had lost four in a row, six of eight, and were still nursing wounds from a triple overtime defeat at the hands of St. Louis on Sunday.

The combination seemed to provide a perfect storm for the Dukes at the outset of the game. Duquesne jumped on Richmond early, reeling off the games’ first 12 points with relative ease. They dominated all facets of the game, converting turnovers into dunks, half court possession into open three point attempts, and missed shots into put backs. On the other hand, the Spiders early performance might have caused Dr. James Naismith to turn a 360 in his grave. They showed minimal effort on defense, lacked movement on the offensive end, and threw the ball around with reckless abandon. Richmond coach Chris Mooney said of the start, “I think Everybody’s worse nightmare was having a slow start after Sunday’s game and that certainly came true.”

The early onslaught certainly did not hint towards the 71-67 victory the Spiders would gut out in front of a delighted Robins Center crowd. Mooney was able to ride out the eye of the storm by inserting Cedric Francis-Martel, Kevin Hovde, and Justin Harper off the bench. However, the strong play of Duquesne’s Bill Hall tossed Richmond back into the squall, and they still trailed by 15 with 3:29 remaining in the first stanza. Harper, who did not start because of an ankle injury, responded by sparking a 7-0 run that enabled the Spiders to envision a happy destination heading into halftime. “That was huge to get the lead down to eight, psychologically it seems much more manageable,” stated Mooney.

At the start of the second half the home team turned to David Gonzalvez to lead them into safer waters. Richmond’s leading scorer hit a trio of shots from well beyond the arc to erase a lead the Dukes had earned over the games first twenty minutes. Duquesne head coach Ron Everhart said of the comeback, “A lot of that had to with Richmond just coming back and playing well. I thought we did a real good job in every aspect tonight.” After Francis-Martel knotted the game at 40 with 14:53 remaining, the lead switched hands several times. With Duquesne up 54-51 and 9:39 remaining, Ryan Butler (11 points) went on a personal 6-0 run, by hitting back to back 3s, to give the Spiders a lead they would never relinquish.

However, the Spiders had not reached land yet. When the Dukes cut the lead to 61-60 with 2:53 remaining, point guard Kevin Anderson took the wheel and brought the Spiders home. On three straight possessions the Spiders point guard, Kevin Anderson, was able to get into the lane and hit tough pull ups. Anderson’s final bucket, a high arching fade away, put the Spiders up 67-65 with 1:08 remaining. “I just thought he controlled the game late. We had no answer for him,” stated Everhart.

After the teams exchanged turnovers, Francis-Martel blocked a Melquan Bolding three point attempt, allowing the Spiders to regain possession. Anderson was subsequently fouled, and sank two foul shots with 19 seconds remaining to give Richmond a four point advantage. After a Duquense put back cut the Spiders lead back to two with 2.6 seconds remaining, David Gonzalvez broke long on the inbounds play and laid it in at the buzzer to provide the final score.

Anderson finished with 14 points and his backcourt mate Gonzalvez added a game-high 16. Harper (13 points), Butler (11 points) and Jarhon Giddings (11 points) also notched double figures. The Dukes were paced by Damian Saunders and Aaron Jackson who each scored 14 points.

Following losses in several close games in which they played well, the win is something Anderson thinks the Spiders can build on. “A lot of games we have lost when it is close. We took a step forward tonight because we closed the game out.”

February 11, 2009 by Chris Frechette | A10CollegeHoops

KINGSTON, RI  – URI Coach Jim Baron said it best, “This was a tale of two half’s.”  That statement was as on the mark as a Jimmy Baron three pointer.  It appeared as if the teams traded uniforms in the locker room at halftime.

St. Bonaventure (12-11, 3-7 A-10) decimated the URI press en route to a 49-34 halftime lead.  The Rams looked good in the first five minutes of the game building an 8-5 lead with 15:24 remaining when Will Martell, URI’s 7 foot center, picked up his second foul and sent him to the bench with four points.  Not coincidentally St. Bonaventure went on a 9-2 run to make the score 14-10 Bonnies, with 13:53 left in the first half.  After trading buckets for the next minute and a half, the Bonnies made another run.  With 12:21 left in the half, St. Bonaventure went on an 8-0 run as Malcolm Eleby beat the Ram press for a layup, freshman Andrew Nicholson (19 points, 13 in the first half) chipped in his own layup and free throw as he was fouled by Delroy James, and Tyler Benson hit an open 3 pointer the next time down court with 11:08 left in the half to give the Bonnies a 27-18 lead.

St.Bonaventure Coach Mark Schmidt when asked on his teams first half, “I thought we played extremely well in the first half, we shot the ball, and shared the ball extremely well. We did well against their press and they backed off.”  And back off they did as URI abandoned the press after a layup by Jonathan Hall on a pass from Chris Matthews at the 9:56 mark which put the Bonnies up 32-20.

St. Bonaventure wasn’t done yet, as they closed out the last 4:47 of the first half with an 11-2 run with point contributions from five different players to build their halftime advantage to 49-34.

No doubt the Rams were embarrassed being down by 15 at home at halftime.  Said URI forward Kahiem Seawright, “Everybody saw the first half, it was disgusting, they got whatever they wanted, open threes, layups, they outrebounded us (19-11).”

URI guard Jimmy Baron put the first half in context, “We were embarrassed as a team on our first half play, a lot of mistakes, we were very emotional in the locker room, it was unacceptable, no excuses.  Our defense was not good in the first half and I think that was the biggest adjustment we made.”

Jim Baron, on what was said in the locker room at halftime, “We got some upperclassmen, and I talked to them about taking responsibility, they (St. Bonaventure) out-worked us in the first half and took it to us.  We came out flat and they took advantage of it.  You got to be ready for each team you play.”

Whatever was said at halftime, it worked as the Rams went on a 16-5 run at the beginning of the first half cutting their deficit to 54-50 at the 15:40 mark.  Ten of those points were scored by Jimmy Baron, who scored 23 of his game high 28 points in the second half despite playing with a sore back.  “It (my back) hurts, it’s sore, but once you step out onto the court; you can’t think about it”, said Jimmy Baron.

“Jimmy had a great game, he hasn’t practiced in the last two days, he was in the zone,” said Coach Baron.

Baron’s biggest shot of the game may have come at the 8:53 mark when, down 64-61, Baron dribbled the ball about ten feet past the top of the key, stopped, and popped a 30 foot three pointer to tie the game at 64-64.

“We knew he could shoot it from the CVS logo,” Schmidt said, referring to the CVS logo near midcourt on the Ryan Center floor, “he hit some tough shots and if you give him some easy ones he gets his rhythm.”

Asked about how he felt when he took that shot, Baron replied, “When you feel it, I can’t explain it, it just happens and when you’re at home, you spot up and let it go, you don’t think about it.”

And Jimmy Baron was feeling it, he hit a fadeaway three pointer to break a 66-66 tie and after a Delroy James steal the Rams regrouped and found Baron again for a three pointer to give Rhode Island (17-8, 6-4 A-10) a 72-68 lead.  James made another steal at midcourt and finished unabated to the hoop with a thunderous dunk which brought the 4,211 in attendance at the Ryan Center to its feet as the Bonnies called a timeout, down 74-68 with 2:39 left to play.

The closest the Bonnies would get was 85-80 after a three pointer by Tyler Benson, but with just 20 seconds left in the contest, it was too little too late.

Schmidt said, “It’s a disappointing loss as well as we played in the first half.  Ask any coach, the first five minutes of each half are critical.  We turned the ball over 12 times in second half, it’s hard to beat anybody.”

The turnover situation (St. Bonaventure 18, URI 10) was the difference in the game, the Bonnies shot the ball well (48% for the game compared to 46% for URI).  The difference was the Rams scored 24 points off of turnovers compared to 11 for St. Bonaventure.

Coach Baron was visually pleased with his teams second half performance, “It’s a tremendously positive sign. The comeback.  I’m real proud of how we fought back, this is an excellent win.  We forced turnovers and attacked the bucket in second half.  Our long term goal is to win the (Atlantic 10), but we want to get better too, each and every game, and I think we got better in the second half.”

That you did Coach Baron.  That you did.

February 11, 2009 | AP Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ruben Guillandeaux matched his career-high with 22 points as La Salle broke a three-game losing streak with a 68-57 victory over George Washington on Wednesday night.

Kimmani Barrett and Rodney Green added 14 apiece for La Salle, and Guillandeaux also had three assists and four steals.

The Explorers (13-10, 4-5 Atlantic 10 Conference) never trailed, took a 16-point lead after a 14-0 run late in the first half and held on after GW cut the gap to three with 8 minutes left in the game. Guillandeaux’s 3-pointer with 2:13 remaining made the score 61-50, essentially ending the Colonials’ hope for a comeback.

Damian Hollis scored 20 points in 21 foul-plagued minutes for the Colonials (7-14, 1-8), who have lost 12 of 13 games. Hollis picked up his fourth with 15:20 remaining and fouled out with 2:43 to play.

February 11, 2009 | AP Press

NEW YORK, NY – Tony Gaffney and Ricky Harris each scored 19 points and Massachusetts routed Fordham 91-68 on Wednesday.

Chris Lowe added 10 points for and a game-high seven assists for the Minutemen (9-13, 4-5 Atlantic 10).

Mike Moore led the Rams (3-18, 1-8) with 21 points. Fordham has lost three straight games, each by at least 23 points. Jio Fontan added 19 points for the Rams, and Jacob Green and Herb Tanner each scored 10.

Gaffney scored Massachusetts’s first five points, leading the Minutemen to a 9-0 lead.

Luke Bonner had a pair of 3-pointers in a 12-0 run that made it 34-13 with 8:46 of the first half. Then UMass ended the half on a 7-0 run to lead 57-28 at the break.

The Minutemen shot 51 percent from the field.

AP Photo

February 11, 2009 | AP Press

DAYTON, Ohio — Chris Wright led a balanced offense with 19 points, and Dayton ended its six-game losing streak against No. 14 Xavier with a 71-58 victory Wednesday night in one of the Atlantic 10’s marquee matchups of the season.

Using its depth and balance to full advantage, Dayton (22-3, 8-2) led the entire game against the defending two-time conference champions, who now have to work to make it three in a row.

Xavier (20-4, 8-2) has lost back-to-back games for the second time this season, denting the Musketeers’ chances of a high seed in the NCAA tournament. The regular-season A10 title is now up in the air, too. The southwest Ohio rivals play again on March 5 in Cincinnati, where Dayton has lost its last 23 games since 1981.

Wright scored the last nine points for Dayton, which had lost to the Musketeers six times in the last two years. Dayton joined Duke as the only teams to shoot 50 percent from the field against Xavier, which got 17 points from Derrick Brown.

Both teams were coming off upset losses on the road set up by lackluster defense. There was no letting up Wednesday in the most-played rivalry for both teams.

Dayton suffered a setback to its pressure defense when guard Rob Lowery hurt his right knee midway through the first half and didn’t return. He went down hard after getting off a shot in a crowd of defenders, and cradled his knee for several minutes. He didn’t put any weight on the leg as he was helped off.

Lowery is a key to Dayton’s pressure defense, which is the stingiest in the Atlantic 10. It made its mark in the opening minutes, helping the Flyers pull ahead and set a tone.

Xavier turned the ball over on its first three possessions — C.J. Anderson drew two charging fouls, and the Musketeers had a shot clock violation. Dayton took advantage by pulling ahead 8-1. The Flyers led by as many as eight in the half, turning back a couple of Xavier rallied that cut the lead to one.

With Lowery out, sophomore guard Stephen Thomas got an opportunity to play more than usual. Thomas, who hadn’t scored in the last seven games, hit a floating jumper and free throw in the closing minutes of the half, putting Dayton up 33-28 at the intermission.

The Flyers’ problems deepened when point guard London Warren picked up his third foul only 13 seconds into the second half. Still, Xavier had a hard time taking advantage and putting together a run that would get them a lead. A pair of 3s by Wright helped the Flyers extend the lead to 47-39 while Warren was on the bench.

Marcus Johnson made a driving basket and a 3-pointer, and Wright followed with a jumper in traffic that pushed the lead to 64-50 with 5:26 to go. Xavier never got closer than 10 the rest of the way.

February 11, 2009 by Jeff Garrett | A10CollegeHoops

Cincinnati, OH -- The Xavier Musketeers are coming off a tough 72-68 loss last Saturday to the Duquesne Dukes; a game in which Xavier shot 43% from the field, and committed 14 turnovers. Reflecting on the loss at Tuesday’s press conference, head coach Sean Miller said, “There’s no shame in losing. Our goal at Xavier is not to go undefeated on the season, and our goal is not to go undefeated in conference play. We’re trying to be the best team that we can be.”

Xavier (20-3, 8-1) has fallen to 14 in the both the AP Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today Poll following the Duquesne loss. Tonight they face conference foe the Dayton Flyers (21-3, 7-2) who are also coming off a road loss to the Charlotte 49er’s. The game marks a unique point in the history of the two schools as both come in having won 20 or more games in the season.

When assessing his team’s success in conference play so far, Sean Miller sums it up in two words: “Our defense.” However, he is cautious about the upcoming game saying, “We lost a game and we have another game on Wednesday, which we could lose. Dayton is a very, very good team. And if there’s a lesson to be learned at Duquesne, it’s just that there’s not a real big difference between us and a lot of teams, especially if we’re not an excellent defensive team.”

In addition to defense, another key for Xavier coming out with a win tonight is the play of freshmen point guard Terrell Holloway who matches up against Dayton’s junior guard London Warren. When Miller was asked what advice he’ll be giving Holloway he notes, “Terrell just has to be himself. Really what we’re asking Terrell to do is just really value and take care of the ball, get us into whatever we’re getting into, and defensively be on-assignment, be tough-minded, and just continue to play his style of play.”

Miller also looks for his team to improve their free-throw shooting which could become a key stat in a close game. Says Miller, “Making free throws is important for every team, in particular for our team. Why is it maybe more important? Because we get there so regularly. And when you get there regularly, you depend on the percentage that you shoot.”

Tipoff tonight at UD Arena is 7:00 pm ET, and the game will be aired on ESPN2.