ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Each year there is an obligatory trip down the Garden State Parkway to Atlantic “Always turned on” City and the Atlantic 10 Tournament. This year it was Friday’s quarterfinals at Boardwalk Hall. A few observations:
1. The Big East has marquee programs, the history and tradition of MSG mix in with the glamour of celebrities and notables, Bill Clinton, Spike Lee and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie just to name a few. The A-10 provides us with strong programs in arguably the best non-BCS conference in the land. The atmosphere at the Big East can be corporate at times but at the A-10 it is different. It’s like being around close friends you haven’t seen in awhile.
2. Unless you are on the opposing bench, you sit back and marvel at the simplicity and execution of Temple. They epitomize the late Al McGuire’s “K.I.S.S.” philosophy – “Keep It Simple Stupid”. Juan Fernandez buries threes. Come out and play him and he finds teammates like Lavoy Allen in the paint. In the 69-51 win over St. Bonaventure the Owls had 18 assists on their 30 field goals. That’s 60 percent of their field goals assisted and that’s great ball movement and unselfishness.
3. Speaking of St. Bonaventure, their stay was not long but getting to AC was progress as the Bonnies defeated Duquesne in the first round. It was the first quarterfinal appearance for Bonaventure since 2002 and further validation of the great job Mark Schmidt is doing in Olean.
4. Game of the day? On paper it was Xavier-Dayton. Two intense rivals. Close in geography but no love lost between. The pair split during the regular season and Dayton desperately needed this to keep its NCAA tournament hopes alive. The game did not disappoint. In an intense, fast-paced and physical contest, Xavier rallied from 15 down with just under 12 minutes to play to post a 78-73 victory. Credit Xavier‘s Jordan Crawford (20 points) and Terrell Halloway (22 points) for doing appreciable damage during the late run.
5. Rhode Island, another team fighting for its collective NCAA life, posted a convincing win over St. Louis. Rick Majerus’ club normally dictates the action through a succession of well oiled offensive sets. URI took St. Louis out of anything they tried to run, beat them on the boards 38-26 and forced 13 Billiken turnovers. A complete victory that began with defense.
6. UMass made a late run, but Richmond triumphed 77-72. The Spiders put five players in double figures and Chris Mooney’s club is another one that is very difficult to guard, especially with A-10 Player of the Year Kevin Anderson.
7. A little over 6,000 attended the quarterfinals, over 8,000 were at the semis and the Richmond-Temple final drew just under 8,000. In light of that, it seems the A-1- fans are warming up to AC. All three days did not see the best weather and Saturday in particular hit the area hard with a driving rain and wind storm. Still, the fans came out to support a quality event. Personally, I miss the Palestra days but the AC venue at renovated Boardwalk Hall is a fine setting.
8. A final note. Temple captured the championship game on Sunday by edging Richmond 56-52. It was the third straight championship for Fran Dunphy’s club. Only the John Calipari UMass teams won three or more consecutive A-10 titles. Juan Fernandez had 18 points and 4 turnovers for the Owls. The TOs are mentioned because the the previous two games the Owls’ sophomore guard did not have a turnover in 65 minutes.
Postscript: The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee was not too kind with the A-10. Dayton figured their chances were gone after the Xavier loss, but having Jim Baron’s Rhode Island club left off the board was a setback. The draw is not the best with Richmond facing a dangerous St. Mary’s team. Worse was Temple, the conference co-champions, A-10 post season tournament titlists and with 29 wins. The reward? Fifth seed and a very tough opening round draw in Cornell. Xavier has a Minnesota team that was defeated by Ohio State in the Big Ten finals and could be very dangerous.
Dayton and Rhode Island are in the NIT. As noted, Dayton knew their Big Dance ideas were dead after the quarterfinal setback. Rhody, on the other hand, held hope even after getting eliminated in the semis by Temple. URI has an intriguing first round foe as they host Northwestern. The key here is not to commiserate on the “what could have been” Rather, seize the opportunity and come ready to play . The Rams still have a post season opportunity and are good enough to get to New York.
