SLU beat George Washington 78-56 on Saturday and it wasn't until midway through the second half that SLU had the game safely in hand. But they ended up winning by 22 points, SLU's seventh win by at least 20 points this season.
Do you know how many wins SLU has in Atlantic 10 play by 22 points? That was SLU's fourth-largest margin of victory in A-10 play, and two of the three bigger margins came against awful Fordham teams. The games:
30 at Fordham 88-58, 1/31/09
27 Fordham 75-48 1/20/10
25 George Washington 63-38 2/13/08
So I guess the message is, it may not matter how you get there as long as you get there. Statistically, SLU ended up with good numbers on both ends of the court. Its points per possession was 1.25, one of its best numbers of the year and its defensive PPP was a very respectable .90. SLU boosted its numbers in the final 11 minutes, when it made 10 of 12 shots and scored 24 points. Prior to that point, SLU was shooting 41.6%. Because of that stretch, they were able to get to 50 percent on the game. So yes, SLU cleaned up in garbage time, but SLU also created that garbage time.
If there's a concern right now, it's that SLU is missing a lot of easy shots. Of course, it's always better to have easy shots to miss and, when you start making them, everything looks better. From the game play by play, I count 15 misses described as layups. This isn't sitting too well with coach Rick Majerus. I've been harping on this for a while: How often do you see someone steal the ball or get it on a breakaway and they end up getting the shot blocked or just flatout miss at the other end? At least once a game, and sometimes more.
"They try to style layups," Majerus said. "It's the?worst thing about TV.? I jumped Kwamain about it and Jordair. These guys watch and watch Kobe Bryant and?don't understand he's one of five human beings that can do that. It's tough. Kids get pulled a lot of ways. Obviously Kwamain?at the end of the?half. They?can't help themselves. Everyone wants to do degree of difficulty and try to be cool."
SLU's 42 first-half points?was its?second best opening 20 minutes of the season. SLU had 50 against Washington.
SLU shot 68.8 at the foul line, making 11 off 16, but really, those numbers reflect Dwayne Evans' struggles. Other than Evans,?who was 2 for 6, SLU was 9 for 10 at the line.
SLU's assist percentage was still low, at 43 percent. After being above 50 percent in 10 of the first 11 games, they've been under 50 in four of the past five.
Still only one opponent, Illinois-Springfield,?has shot above 50 percent against SLU.
Majerus said he made a mistake in scheduling the New Mexico game, not in agreeing to play it, but in the date it was played on. SLU got home from?New Mexico on Sunday afternoon, then left on Monday for Dayton, making for a quick turnaround from one game to the next. (Obvioulsly, if the A-10 schedule had them starting at home, it would have been less of a problem.)
Kwamain Mitchell's offense does look to be coming around. He had 15 points against GW on 6 of 9 shooting, and is 11 for?20 in the past two games. He also made both of his 3-point tries.?He played only 28 minutes though he wasn't in foul trouble and was +9.
Kyle Cassity went to the foul line for the first time since Dec. 3 and made both shots.?In the past?seven games, he has?14 points. Majerus was asked postgame if he's told Cassity?NOT to shoot, to which Majerus said, "I never told anyone that can shoot and pass not to score. I'm not fixing any games." Cassity's hesitancy to shoot is, of course, been a concern since he first got to SLU. "If you're a good passer, you have to be a good scorer,"?Majerus said. "You?have to look to score to make your passing effective. He's been told that for four years. He's been shown that film. Tell him that when you see him." Cassity had three assists and no turnovers, making him 16-2 in those stats in the past six games. He was +9 in 21 minutes.
I've already said much of what I have to say about Dwayne Evans, except that he said he heard it from Majerus -- "Which was well deserved," he said -- about his layin in the first half that hit the highest part of the face of the backboard and went in. "Just trying to make SportsCenter, I guess." He was +16 in 28 minutes. With Cory Remekun out, Evans was told before the game he might have to play more at the 4 spot, but in looking at the substitution patterns, I don't think he had to do it the whole game.
Brian Conklin's FG percentage is going to take a hit after he made just 1 of 9. He was 5 of 19 for the first week of A-10 play. Majerus termed his game "horrific." On the other hand, he's made 13 straight free throws and had seven free throws. He was a team-high +22 in 31 minutes.
Remekun's injury also meant SLU needed more minutes from Rob Loe, who went a season-high 29 minutes and had a season-high six rebounds. He also made 5 of 9 shots for 11 points, the second time this season he's been in double figures. He was +6.
Jordair Jett had three of SLU's 11 turnovers, which Majerus was not too happy about. He was +8 in 17 minutes. "Jordair is so immature as a sophomore," Majerus said.
Mike McCall's defensive effort won praise from Majerus, and his plus-minus number, +22, matched Conklin for team-best. McCall played 25 minutes, almost as many as Mitchell. "McCall played his best defense of the year," Majerus said.
Cody Ellis didn't fill up the stat line much, six points, 1 rebound, but he was +16 in 18 minutes.
Cory Remekun is expected to be back on Wednesday for the Temple game after spraining his left knee in practice Friday.
Jake Barnett, John Manning and Grandy Glaze got a minute or so at the end.
Just the other day, we were talking about how tough it was going to be to win on the road in the A-10, and then on Saturday, four road teams win. The biggest surprise was Dayton winning at Temple, which had just come off a win over Duke and had won 25 straight at home. The other big surprise was St. Joseph's losing, at home, to Charlotte which is 2-0.?Xavier got a win at Fordham, Duquesne used a 13-0 run in the second half to push back St. Bonaventure, and Richmond won at Rhode Island.
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