2008 Woodie Awards
Hawks look to beat the odds in tourney
Patrick Kirby '10
Issue date: 2/7/07 Section: Sports
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Gambling is an inexact science. It requires the proper combination of luck and skill.
Some gamblers ruin their lives while others hit the jackpot.
Casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City can hold one's future in something as unsure as a deck of cards.
For the St. Joe's men's basketball team, Atlantic City will decide their fate.
The popular gambling city in New Jersey hosts the Atlantic 10 tournament, as well as the Hawks' postseason life.
The hopes of an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament left when St. Louis went back to Missouri with a win last week.
The only hope for St. Joe's will be to at least make the A-10 tournament final.
Before that, the Hawks must worry about even making the A-10 tournament. Currently seventh in the standings, the Hawks must stand their ground because only the top eight teams (out of 14) in the Atlantic-10 make the postseason.
This conference, however, is up for grabs. It would not be shocking if the eighth seed put on a run and wound up in the final game.
That eighth seed might very well be St. Joe's.
Winning the championship game would ensure an automatic berth into the field of 65 teams, while making the final game should sway the selection committee in favor of the Hawks. Can they do it? Can they get into the final game of the A-10 tourney? My answer is yes.
The rest of the schedule is favorable to the Hawks. They face four of the bottom five teams in the A-10: Temple, Richmond, La Salle, and St. Bonaventure.
Although none of them are at home, count these two Big Five and two road games as four St. Joe's wins.
The other three games will be the true test.
They can beat George Washington, especially away from the Smith Center (home to 24 consecutive George Washington wins) in D.C., where the Hawks lost 74-65 two weeks ago.
If they can avoid the astounding 18 to 3 run that GW put on in the final seven minutes of that game, you can make the Valentine's Day affair a St. Joe's win.
Some gamblers ruin their lives while others hit the jackpot.
Casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City can hold one's future in something as unsure as a deck of cards.
For the St. Joe's men's basketball team, Atlantic City will decide their fate.
The popular gambling city in New Jersey hosts the Atlantic 10 tournament, as well as the Hawks' postseason life.
The hopes of an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament left when St. Louis went back to Missouri with a win last week.
The only hope for St. Joe's will be to at least make the A-10 tournament final.
Before that, the Hawks must worry about even making the A-10 tournament. Currently seventh in the standings, the Hawks must stand their ground because only the top eight teams (out of 14) in the Atlantic-10 make the postseason.
This conference, however, is up for grabs. It would not be shocking if the eighth seed put on a run and wound up in the final game.
That eighth seed might very well be St. Joe's.
Winning the championship game would ensure an automatic berth into the field of 65 teams, while making the final game should sway the selection committee in favor of the Hawks. Can they do it? Can they get into the final game of the A-10 tourney? My answer is yes.
The rest of the schedule is favorable to the Hawks. They face four of the bottom five teams in the A-10: Temple, Richmond, La Salle, and St. Bonaventure.
Although none of them are at home, count these two Big Five and two road games as four St. Joe's wins.
The other three games will be the true test.
They can beat George Washington, especially away from the Smith Center (home to 24 consecutive George Washington wins) in D.C., where the Hawks lost 74-65 two weeks ago.
If they can avoid the astounding 18 to 3 run that GW put on in the final seven minutes of that game, you can make the Valentine's Day affair a St. Joe's win.
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