Tonight the Saint Joseph's University Hawks will visit the Saint Louis Billikens in an Atlantic 10 match up that could have huge implications for the Hawks. After being predicted to win the A-10 in the pre-season, the Hawks have not lived up to their billing, but a win against the 18th ranked Billikens could be the turn around the Hawks need.
Saint Joseph's currently boasts an unimpressive 15-10 record and a 6-6 record in A-10 play. They will face an A-10 leading Saint Louis squad that enters the contest with a 21-5 record overall and 10-2 record in conference play. A win tonight would help to improve the Hawks resume, pulling them to a 2-3 record against ranked opponents on the season, after an early season upset that saw the Hawks defeat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Saint Louis enters the contest on a 9 game winning streak and having won 18 of their previous 20 games after the tragic passing of their coach Rick Majerus. The Billikens are truly playing inspired basketball this season and will prove to be an especially difficult opponent for the struggling Hawks. To make the matters worse, Saint Joseph's will not be playing this game in the friendly confines of Hagan Arena, and will have to travel to Saint Louis and attempt to upset a solid squad on their home court. Saint Joseph's will need to start a winning streak if they have any post-season aspirations, and it will have to start tonight.
With only four games remaining in the regular season, Saint Joseph's is in dangerous territory and faces the possibility of missing the A-10 Tournament. If the Hawks have any hopes of going dancing in March they will most likely need to sweep the remainder of the regular season and have an impressive showing in the A-10 Tournament. Saint Joseph's will need to play mistake free basketball for the remainder of the season and show more team chemistry, which has at times appeared lacking this year. If they hope to pull an upset tonight, the Hawks will need Langston Galloway to get into a groove, as the team often runs through him. Galloway had averaged only 8.8 points per game over the previous eight contests until going off for a season high 26 points on Saturday against George Washington. If the Hawks have any aspirations of beating Saint Louis and possibly making the NCAA Tournament, they will need Galloway to look more like the player who led his team to victory against Notre Dame despite having his tooth knocked out, and less like the slumping player he has appeared as of late. The time to turn the season around is now, as they say it's not over until the fat lady sings, and I don't hear any singing quite yet. Look for Galloway to lead the Hawks tonight as they attempt to turn this season around. The game starts at 8 and can be seen on CBS Sports Network. Remember, THE HAWK WILL NEVER DIE!
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