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Atlantic 10 Notebook

CHN » Fan Blogs » Atlantic 10
February 26th, 2007 by ljk2171

If the final week of the Atlantic 10's regular season is as unpredictable as the one that has just passed, the conference will be giving fans an early treat heading into championship week. Over the past five days there was a change atop the standings, leaving a tie between Xavier and Massachusetts as well as the two last place teams in the conference, Saint Bonaventure and Richmond both pulling off upsets and shaking up the A-10 tournament picture. Saint Joseph's which previously had sole possession of fourth place and control of the final first round bye for the upcoming A-10 tournament in Atlantic City, lost in Richmond on Saturday as the Spider claimed only their seventh win of the season. Now the Hawks find themselves tied with a hot George Washington team that has won three in a row with games versus Charlotte and Duquesne remaining whereas St. Joe's faces the two conference leaders, Xavier and Massachusetts.
The Musketeers and Minutemen confiscated first place earlier in the week thanks to Xavier knocking off then conference leader Rhode Island. Both teams face St. Joe's and LaSalle this upcoming week, where the Hawks will try to play themselves out of a first round game as opposed to the Explorers hoping to somehow slide into Atlantic City and extend their season at least one more game.

Atlantic 10 Player of the Week: Justin Doellman, Xavier. The senior has helped Xavier win six straight games and two this past week while capturing first place with their win over then first-place Rhode Island. Doellman averaged 20 points per contest this past week including thrashing the Rams for 29 in this past week's marquee Atlantic 10 showdown. Doellman has helped the Musketeers all season with his ability to play both inside and out, using his 6'9, 210 pound frame and showing the ability to shoot the three has created match up problems for Atlantic 10 rivals.

Atlantic 10 Game of the Week: Saint Joseph's @ Xavier, 7:00 Wednesday. The conference leading Musketeers take on Saint Joseph's at the Cintas Center in a key late season battle. The Hawks stars will need help if they want to rebound from a horrible loss to Richmond in which four players combined for all 68 of the Hawk's points. While the Hawks rely heavily on Pat Calathes, Ahmad Nivens, and Rob Ferguson for their scoring, the Musketeers use the most balanced scoring attack in the conference. Expect Xavier to extend their winning streak in a 77-72 victory and enhance their chances at an at-large bid should they stumble in Atlantic City.

Bubble Busters: With Selection Sunday rapidly approaching, Xavier now welcomes one more team to the bubble as Massachusetts has won four straight and hopes to give the Atlantic 10 multiple NCAA tournament bids. Should they both reach the tournament finals, the conference which had appeared to be a surefire one bid league for most of the season would have a very good shot at sending both, especially if the Minutemen can attain the automatic berth. While the two keep winning, many bubble teams throughout the power conferences and Mountain West have suffered what seems to be setback after setback.

Be sure to check back later in the week for a preview of the final weekend of action in the Atlantic 10 and a special Atlantic 10 Notebook next week featuring a conference tournament preview, as well as a preview of championship week to see how Xavier and Massachusetts compare with the remainder of the NCAA hopefuls.

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