For St. Joe's, so far so good

SPOKANE, Wash. - The Saint Joseph's basketball team arrived midafternoon Wednesday in this town so far east in the state that the Idaho border is just 20 miles away. The Hawks would like to stay a while. Truth be told, they would like to stay until, say Monday, when they would like to catch another flight down the coast to Anaheim, Calif., the site of next week's West Regional.

That, of course, would require them to win two NCAA games at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, first late Friday night against Cincinnati and then almost certainly against Pac-12 champion Oregon Sunday.

The Hawks practiced Wednesday morning at Hagan Arena before heading 2,500 miles north and west and will practice Thursday at a junior college before a late-day shooting session at the Arena.

The team and the rest of the traveling party are staying at the Davenport Grand, hard by Riverfront Park and just across the Spokane River from Gonzaga and the Arena.

Unfortunately, the distance and travel cost will preclude the vast majority of the players' families and St. Joe's fans from being here Friday night. The NCAA, with its billions of television cash generated by the players in this tournament, could pay to fly players' families when teams are sent so far from home with a few days notice. They just choose not to.

"The fans are going to be tuning us in, watching us on TV, but we're going to be feeling their spirit," Hawks senior Isaiah Miles said.

The team's routine is similar to the regular season, with one exception. The travel was moved up a day because of the distance.

"Do you watch more tape because it's the NCAA Tournament?" St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli said. "No, why would I change a routine?

"We'll practice an hour and 20 minutes and then we'll watch film. We're not going to watch double-sessions of film. We're not going to watch 45 minutes of film. We're going to watch 30 minutes and give them the scouting report."

That report will include some of these facts on the Bearcats: They are eighth nationally in defensive efficiency, .931 points per possession. They block 15.5 percent of opponent shots, second nationally. They had 170 more blocks and steals than their opponents, numbers befitting a team that is about defense first, last and always.

"We're worried about getting to the low-post trap," said Hawks assistant Dave Duda who is in charge of scouting Cincinnati. "We trap every post pass, but they get so deep that sometimes you can't get them there and that's my fear. We had trouble with Mo Alie-Cox at the end of the VCU game. I'm worried about foul trouble because we need Isaiah to be in the game for 40 minutes.

"That deep post-up is going to be a real problem. I think we need to mix in some zone here to keep them off balance. We can't compete with the size inside. It's just imposing.

"We've seen matchup zone against Richmond, but you've never seen matchup zone with this kind of size. Against Richmond, we were able to beat them off the dribble. I don't think we are going to be able to do the same here. We have to move their bodies by moving the ball. We have to keep the floor really, really well-spaced."

Spacing is the beauty of the St. Joe's offense and it was never more obvious than Sunday in the Atlantic 10 championship win over VCU when every Ram defender seemed to be on an island and the Hawks had their two best shooting halves of the season, first 64.5 percent and then 65.2 percent.

The Hawks do not foul much normally and the reward for that is revealed in one incredible stat. They have actually made more free throws (548) than their opponents have attempted (517), outscoring teams from the free- throw line by 291 points over 34 games.

Miles, who averages 18.4 points and 8.1 rebounds, shoots 52.8 percent from the field and 88.3 percent from the free-throw line, just shy of Delonte West's school record (89.2 percent), set in 2003-04. The team's free-throw shooting went from 61.5 percent last season to 71.3 percent. The Hawks scored 75 or more points in 22 games.

"Everybody's confident in each other," said A-10 Player of the Year DeAndre' Bembry. "We have played very well on the road."

Yes, they have, going 15-3 in road/neutral games.

St. Joe's was in the NCAA two years ago, but only Bembry has any real tournament experience. He played all 45 minutes, scoring 16 points, in the overtime loss to eventual national champion Connecticut. Miles did not play. Shooting guard Langston Galloway also went 45 minutes. Point forward Halil Kanacevic only played 41 minutes because he fouled out in the first minute of OT. Point guard Chris Wilson played 43 minutes and power forward Ron Roberts played 42.

This Hawks team goes deeper with Papa Ndao (who played six minutes against UConn), James Demery and Lamarr Kimble getting significant minutes off the bench.

"We play a really balanced game of basketball," Martelli said. "We have two really certifiable college superstars and we have guys that are willing to play their role. We don't turn the ball over and that should give us a chance."

They had a chance 34 times this season and won 27. Now, 28 would be quite nice, 29 even nicer, another trip to play more basketball as the reward.

jerardd@phillynews.com

@DickJerardi