WASHINGTON – Taking its five-game win streak on the road, the American University men's basketball team is heading back to Philadelphia for a 7 p.m. contest at Saint Joseph's on Wednesday, Dec. 18. The Eagles (6-4) will be playing again after two weeks off since winning on Dec. 4, while the Hawks, with an identical record of 6-4, last played on Dec.10.
Quick Info
- Date/Time: Wednesday, Dec. 18; 7 pm
- Site: Philadelphia, Pa. (Hagan Arena)
- Series History: Saint Joseph's leads, 18-5
- TV: ESPN+
- Talent: Matt Martucci, Joe Lunardi
Inside the Series
- Saint Joseph's has an 18-5 lead all-time against American dating back to 1955, but there has only been one meeting since 2012.
- The Hawks got the best of the Eagles in Hagan Arena a year ago, winning 69-53 after AU made only three treys in the contest.
- The teams split a home-and-home series in 2011 and 2012, with each winning on its home court. AU got a 66-60 win in DC on Dec. 4, 2011, and the Hawks won 74-55 a year later in Philadelphia.
- American's last victory over Saint Joseph's in Philadelphia was an 84-83 overtime decision at the Palestra on Feb. 24, 1981.
What to Know About American
- The Eagles are riding a five-game win streak to improve to 6-4 overall, and are coming off a big victory over GW out of the Atlantic 10. Behind a career-high 26 points from grad student Colin Smalls, including a triple to tie the game at the end of regulation, American won 81-71 in overtime.
- Grad student Matt Rogers, an All-PL First Team honoree last year, was tabbed as the Patriot League's Preseason Player of the Year for 2024-25. Rogers is leading AU with 14.2 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game. Rogers and Smalls are both shooting 50 percent from the field to rank seventh in the Patriot League. In a win over NDMU, Rogers led AU with 20 points and nine rebounds, hitting 9-for-9 from the floor.
- Three-point shooting was a key strength for the Eagles in 2023-24, and they led the Patriot League with 8.7 made threes per game. The triples weren't falling as easily for AU in the opening run of the season, but they hit 10 against NDMU on Dec. 1 and 13 against GW on Dec. 4. Smalls is on a tear from long range, hitting 5-of-7 vs. UAlbany, 3-of-4 against NDMU, and 5-of-9 against GW.
- Of 13 non-conference games, only four are being played at home in Bender Arena for the Eagles. American played six straight games away from home before returning to beat Notre Dame of Maryland (DIII) 97-52 on Dec. 1 and GW 81-71 in OT on Dec. 4. The Eagles are facing back-to-back Atlantic 10 opponents in GW and St. Joseph's, before a third challenge at ACC school Virginia on Dec. 22.
- Second-year head coach Duane Simpkins has brought a new energy to the program. American's 10 conference wins in 2023-24 were the most since 2020 (12), and just the second time since 2014 that the Eagles reached double-digit wins in the Patriot League. The Eagles finished in a tie for second place in the Patriot League despite being plagued by injuries for most of the conference season.
- American returned seven of its nine leading scorers from last season, and all three of its leading rebounders. Last year, the Eagles set a program record with 279 three-pointers made, and hosted a Patriot League quarterfinal game for the first time since 2020.
What to Know About Saint Joseph's
- Saint Joseph's also enters Wednesday's game after more than a week layoff dating back to a hard-fought 78-75 loss to Charleston at Hagan Arena on Dec. 10. The Hawks saw an 11-point second-half lead disappear after a 15-2 Cougars run. Charleston never relinquished what was its first lead of the game, and a Xzayvier Brown tying three-point attempt with three seconds left missed the mark.
- Brown, a sophomore guard who was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year last season, was one of three Hawks on the Preseason All-A10 team. He was tabbed as a Second Team selection while senior guard Erik Reynolds II earned First Team status and junior forward Rasheer Fleming got the nod as a Third Teamer.
- Reynolds scored 17.3 points per game last season and is putting up 14.5 a contest thus far this year. Brown's 15.7 points per game leads this year's Hawks, with Fleming's 15.4 a game right behind.
- The Hawks were picked third in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll. They earned five first-place votes and trailed only VCU and Dayton. The Hawks are 6-4 this year and claimed their 22nd Philadelphia Big Five championship with wins over Villanova, Penn, and La Salle.
- Head coach Billy Lange is in his sixth season on Hawk Hill after six seasons as an assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers. Last season's 21-14 mark was his first winning record at Saint Joseph's.
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