ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Rick Majerus can coach. And the St. Louis mentor is opinionted. Moments after his Billikens edged LaSalle in a 62-60 overtime thriller in the first round of the Atlantic Ten Tournament, Majerus spoke his mind. “It would be a shame to beat Xavier (St. Louis’ quarterfinal opponent) and not have Xavier go to the tournament,” Majerus said. “We won’t win anyway but I don’t like conference tournaments. I think they take time away from academics. You are on the road three or four days and that does not help the academic situation.”
Majerus has had success in his coaching career in these events. To him the body of work put together in the regular season is more significant. “The regular season is everything,” he said.”You win a three or four day event, that’s phony. The regular season winner is the champion. And I’m not saying that because of (negative) tournament experiences. We’ve been successful at Marquette, Ball State and Utah.”
Agree or disagree, Majerus with his comments was one of the highlights of the A-10’s opening round action at Boardwalk Hall. His comment of a win over Xavier would keep them pout of the NCAA was a head-scratcher. So was his next line of saying his club would not beat Xavier. He did follow up regarding the Xavier meeting by promising,”we will play our asses off.” Vinatge Majerus. He can coach, there’s no doubt. And he’s never at a loss for words and opinions.
Quick hitters
- Saint Joseph’s battled back from 13 down to secure a 72-62 win over Charlotte. Tasheed Carr’s game high 22 points was significant. The Hawks need that extra threat to complement Ahmad Nivins, who had his normal workmanlike 15-point, 14-board outing.
- Duquesne saw a 19-point first half lead evaporate but the Dukes regained the lead midway through the second half en route to a 91-81 victory. A switch to a zone midway through the final half stopped UMass’ penetration, allowing Duquesne to get a few stops and regain a lead they never relinquished.
- Turnovers, a year-long nemisis, doomed St. Bonaventure in a 65-49 loss to Richmond. The Bonnies had 20 turnovers in a 68-possession outing. Their turnover rate (TO divided by possessions) was 29 percent. Over 20 is excessive. The Bonnies saw their first postseason since the dreaded scandal 6 years ago. They finished 15-15, which proved to be an outstanding job by second-year mentor Mark Schmidt.
