Unbeaten Saint Joseph’s Reaches 22

Saint Joseph’s stayed undefeated, but Coach Phil Martelli still found something to complain about: the Hawks’ effort.

“We demand it from them every single day. We didn’t get it today,” Martelli said.

It was still enough for their 22nd victory.

Jameer Nelson scored 20 points and Delonte West had 14 points and nine assists to help No. 3 Saint Joseph’s to a 73-59 victory over Rhode Island on Saturday at Philadelphia.

Tyrone Barley made four three-point baskets and scored 14 points for the Hawks (22-0, 11-0 Atlantic 10), who extended their school-record winning streak and remained one of two unbeaten teams in Division I. No. 2 Stanford (21-0) is the other.

Saint Joseph’s struggled for most of the first half and finished the game outrebounded by 22.

The locker room was quieter than it has been most of the season after the players were lectured by Martelli. His message? Don’t get caught up in the expectations and hoopla.

“Everything that’s going on can go away with a snap of a finger,” said Nelson, bothered by a slightly sprained right shoulder from Friday’s practice. “We don’t want to let that happen.”

Nelson was on this week’s Sports Illustrated cover, and other national publications have visited the school to find out how the small school became the season’s biggest surprise.

There was an announcement after the game that for the rest of the season autographs would be signed for charities only because the individual requests had become overwhelming.

“Today I think guys were looking at the rankings and that hurt our performance today,” West said. “Coach came and questioned our heart. There are going to be games like this.”

Rhode Island (14-11, 3-8) was the only team with a winning record left on Saint Joseph’s schedule and the Rams appeared to be the biggest threat to the undefeated regular season.

For a half, at least, Rhode Island was, trailing by only five points thanks to tight defense, a huge rebounding edge and uncharacteristically poor three-point shooting by the Hawks.

Saint Joseph’s turned the game around in the opening minutes of the second half, getting two three-point baskets from Pat Carroll -- he missed both of his attempts in the first half -- during a 13-2 run that gave the Hawks a 49-33 lead.

While the Hawks didn’t end with a blowout, as has been the norm for most of their wins, one result did stay the same -- the chants of “Undefeated!” from the sellout crowd.

“We don’t go into every game thinking we’re going to win by 30,” Nelson said. “We just want to win the game.”

No. 6 Mississippi State 77, Arkansas 70 -- Winsome Frazier’s four late free throws helped the Bulldogs (21-1, 10-1 Southeastern Conference) win at Fayetteville, Ark., for the first time since 1972. They were 0-12 there since the Razorbacks (11-11, 3-8) joined the SEC in 1992, losing by an average of 17.8 points.

No. 7 Gonzaga 79, St. Mary’s 60 -- The Bulldogs (21-2, 11-0) took control with a 16-0 run late in the second half at Moraga, Calif., to beat the Gaels (15-10, 6-4) for the 16th consecutive time and clinch the West Coast Conference regular-season title.

Gonzaga has won the regular-season championship six times in seven seasons. The Bulldogs also tied a school record with their 14th consecutive win.

Georgia 74, No. 8 Kentucky 68 -- The victory at Athens, Ga., gave the Bulldogs (12-10, 4-7 SEC) a sweep of the Wildcats in their East Division games.

Georgia, which won 65-57 on Jan. 17 at Lexington, Ky., completed its second sweep of Kentucky in three years.

Like most teams in the SEC, the Bulldogs haven’t had much success in the series with the Wildcats -- they’re 21-101 -- and won consecutive games in a conference season against them for only the sixth time in 83 years.

Kentucky (17-4, 7-3) played without leading scorer Gerald Fitch, who has a sprained right index finger and sat out his third consecutive game. The Wildcats committed 22 turnovers, including five by reserve guards Josh Carrier and Brandon Stockton, and shot 41% in the second half.

No. 10 Oklahoma State 91, Baylor 58 -- The Cowboys (19-2, 9-1) won their ninth in a row by routing the overmatched Bears (7-16, 2-8) at Stillwater, Okla., and took sole possession of first place in the Big 12 because No. 11 Texas was upset by Iowa State.

Oklahoma State opened the game with a 17-2 run and extended that into a 43-14 halftime lead. Baylor made only five of 34 shots (15%) and its leading scorers -- Harvey Thomas and Terrance Thomas (no relation) -- were held to two points in the first half.

Iowa State 78, No. 11 Texas 77 -- Damion Staple got the winning basket on a dunk with 1:09 left, lifting the Cyclones (14-7, 5-5 Big 12) past the Longhorns (17-4, 8-2) at Ames, Iowa.

Iowa State had been routed in its three previous games but showed resolve this time after trailing, 61-47, with less than 14 minutes left. The Cyclones outscored the Longhorns, 31-16, the rest of the way.

Virginia 82, No. 15 Georgia Tech 80 -- Todd Billet made a three-point basket from the top of the key with 2.4 seconds left -- his only basket of the game at Charlottesville, Va. -- and the Cavaliers (13-9, 3-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) ended a five-game losing streak

The Yellow Jackets (18-6, 5-5) had one last chance to win, but Will Bynum missed an off-balance three-point attempt as time ran out.

No. 17 Wisconsin 78, Ohio State 48 -- Devin Harris scored 33 points at Madison, Wis., to lead the Badgers (17-4, 8-2 Big Ten) to their most lopsided victory over the Buckeyes (11-12, 3-7) since the series started in 1905.

The Badgers (17-4, 8-2) stayed in first place in the Big Ten and improved to 22-0 in conference games at the Kohl Center under third-year Coach Bo Ryan, the longest streak in school history. In all, they have won 26 games in a row there by an average margin of 20.5 points.

No. 18 Texas Tech 82, Kansas State 71 -- Andre Emmett, the Big 12 scoring leader, had 26 points to lead the Red Raiders (18-6, 6-4) past the Wildcats (11-10, 3-7) at Lubbock, Texas.

The Wildcats haven’t won on the road in eight games this season and have lost 16 in a row away from home dating to a 79-66 victory at Wichita State in December 2002.

Louisiana State 73, No. 22 Florida 70 -- Darrel Mitchell scored the tying basket and go-ahead free throws in the final two minutes at Gainesville, Fla., and the Tigers (17-4, 7-3 SEC), who trailed by eight points with 4:02 left, closed the game on a 15-4 run.

Anthony Roberson made a three-point basket with 5.4 seconds left to move the Gators (14-7, 5-5) to within 72-70. After Jaime Lloreda made one of two free throws a second later, Christian Drejer’s 30-foot shot at the buzzer fell short.

No. 23 Southern Illinois 59, Southwest Missouri State 58 -- Darren Brooks’ shot gave the Salukis (20-2, 14-0 Missouri Valley Conference) the lead. What he did with the shot he missed clinched the victory at Springfield, Mo. Brooks made the go-ahead three-point basket with just over two minutes left, and rebounded his own missed shot with 24 seconds left.

Southern Illinois extended its winning streak over Southwest Missouri State (15-10, 7-7) to six games. The Salukis won their 12th in a row despite shooting only 36% (24 for 66).

No. 24 Providence 61, Boston College 52 -- Rob Sanders made a three-point basket to key an 11-0 run late in the second half to lift the Friars (17-5, 8-3 Big East) past the Eagles (16-8, 5-6) at Boston.

Providence’s Ryan Gomes, the No. 2 scorer in the conference, scored 20 points -- the 12th time this season he has had at least 20.

No. 25 South Carolina 82, Vanderbilt 75 -- The Commodores (15-6, 4-6 SEC) reduced a 21-point deficit to seven with 8.6 seconds left at Columbia, S.C., but went on to lose their fifth in a row to the Gamecocks (20-5, 7-4) and 14th consecutive SEC road game.

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Conference Call

While Saint Joseph’s and Stanford are the only Division I teams with undefeated overall records, there are six others that have not lost in their conferences. Teams with undefeated conference records are listed in alphabetical order:

*--* Team Conference Conf. W-L Overall W-L AUSTIN PEAY Ohio Valley 13-0 16-7 DUKE Atlantic Coast 10-0 21-1 EAST TENNESSEE STATE Southern 13-0 21-4 GONZAGA West Coast 11-0 21-2 SAINT JOSEPH’S Atlantic 10 11-0 22-0 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS Missouri Valley 14-0 20-2 STANFORD Pacific 10 12-0 21-0 VERMONT America East 12-0 16-5

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