Preview of Wednesday's City Six Games
Wednesday night's action is highlighted by a Wells Fargo Center showdown between No. 1 Villanova and No. 10 Xavier.
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St. Joseph’s (7-7, 2-1 Atlantic Ten) at George Mason (7-9, 1-2)
Wednesday, 7 p.m., at EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Va.
TV: None
Radio: 98.1 WOGL-FM HD2
Livestream: Atlantic 10.com; SJUHawks.com.
Coaches: Phil Martelli, 23rd season at St. Joseph's (421-300); Dave Paulsen, 3rd season at George Mason (38-44).
Series: St. Joseph's leads, 4-1.
Last meeting: George Mason won on Hawk Hill, 75-67, on Jan. 10, 2017 despite a combined 51 points from Lamarr Kimble, Charlie Brown and James Demery.
The latest: St. Joseph's is 2-6 away from Hagan Arena, and Martelli is a little concerned. "I have to stay on them about their maturity, and I'm going to continue to do that," he said. … Taylor Funk, a 6-foot-9 freshman, leads the conference in three-pointers, making an average of 3.1 per game, and shoots 44.8 percent from deep. … Senior forward James Demery has scored in double figures in all 14 games. … George Mason was trounced, 86-59, at home by Davidson on Sunday. … Junior guard Otis Livingston II averages 15.8 points and scored a career-high 33 in a road win at Massachusetts on Jan. 3. … Basketball analytics expert Ken Pomeroy ranks George Mason as the 15th-youngest team in Division I.
La Salle (7-9, 1-2 Atlantic Ten) at Massachusetts (8-8, 1-2)
Wednesday, 7 p.m., at Mullins Center, Amherst, Mass.
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Radio: None.
Livestream: TV: Atlantic 10 Digital Network; Radio: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/lasalle/# or Tune-In radio app.
Coaches: John Giannini, 14th season at La Salle (206-216); Matt McCall, 1st season at UMass (8-8).
Series: UMass leads, 21-16.
Last meeting: The Minutemen defeated the Explorers, 84-71, on Feb. 26 in Amherst. Pookie Powell scored 24 points and B.J. Johnson 20 for La Salle.
The latest: Johnson, the Atlantic Ten's leading scorer, is considered day-to-day as he continues to recover from an ankle injury. He played 26 minutes in Saturday's loss to VCU after missing three games. … Powell has scored 20 or more points in four of his last five contests. … Freshman Miles Brookins grabbed a career-high seven rebounds Saturday. … Massachusetts shot 58 percent in the second half Saturday in a 62-60 win at Dayton. … Junior Luwane Pipkins leads the team in scoring with an 18.3-point average. … Rashaan Holloway, a 6-11 junior who played his high school ball at Schalick in South Jersey, is UMass' No. 3 scorer (9.9) and rebounder (4.9).
Atlantic 10 Standings | Atlantic 10 Leaders
Temple (7-8, 0-4 AAC) at Southern Methodist (12-5, 2-2)
Wednesday, 9 p.m., at Moody Coliseum, Dallas
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: 1210 WPHT-AM
Livestream: WatchCBS; Tune-In radio app.
Coaches: Fran Dunphy, 12th season at Temple (237-144); Tim Jankovich, 3rd season at SMU (51-10).
Series: SMU leads, 6-4.
Last meeting: The Mustangs, then ranked No. 25, went into the Liacouras Center and left with a 66-50 victory. Shizz Alston led Temple with 13 points.
The latest: It's not a good stretch for Temple. Three days after losing, 60-39, at Central Florida for their fifth straight defeat, the Owls head to an arena in which SMU has won 33 straight games, second-longest active home court streak in the country. … Freshman Nate Pierre-Louis has provided a spark and is Temple's No. 2 scorer in AAC games with a 10.3-point average. … The SMU Mustangs' starting five all averages double scoring figures, led by the wonderfully named Shake Milton, who tops the team with 17.0 points and 4.5 assists per game. … SMU is eighth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing an average of 60.8 points per game, and is second in the AAC in turnovers forced at 15.7 per game.
American Athletic Standings | American Athletic Leaders
Xavier (15-2, 3-1) at Villanova (14-1, 2-1)
Wednesday, 8 p.m., at the Wells Fargo Center
TV: FS1
Radio: 610 WTEL-AM
Livestream: villanova.com/collegesportslive/
Coaches: Jay Wright, 18th year at Villanova (522-247, 400-162 at VU); Chris Mack, ninth year at Xavier (201-93).
Series: Villanova leads, 22-5.
Last meeting: Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo each scored 17 as the Wildcats won, 73-57, last season in Cincinnati. Xavier shot just 35 percent in the game.
The latest: After a one-week stay at No. 3, the Wildcats moved back to the top of the rankings after beating Marquette, 100-90. … Brunson had 27 points and eight assists. He's averaged 26.7 points and six assists in three Big East games. … Eric Paschall matched his career high with 19 points, and freshman Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree scored 10 on 5-for-5 shooting. … Xavier dropped from fifth to 10th after losing at Providence. The Musketeers had won 10 straight before falling, 81-72. Senior all-America candidate Trevon Bluiett leads the Musketeers with 19.4 points and 5.6 rebounds a game.