posted March 14, 2008 at 17:33 in NCAA B Articles

While the St. Joseph’s Hawks, (20-11 SU, 18-11 ATS, 13-16 O/U), have recorded two straight A-10 Tournament wins in convincing fashion by beating Fordham 80-62 on Wednesday before trouncing Richmond 61-47 last night, they Hawks will have a much tougher time beating No. 12 Xavier Musketeers, (27-5 SU, 13-15 ATS, 13-15 O/U), when the teams hook up in this A-10 semifinal showdown tonight.

The Musketeers have won nine of their last ten games in the BetUS.com Sportsbook including a 74-65 victory over Dayton in the A-10 Tournament last night.

The Hawks are averaging 74.0 points per game on 47.9 percent shooting while allowing 67.7 points per game on 43.6 percent shooting.

The Musketeers are averaging 76.0 points per game on 48.1 percent shooting while holding their opponents to just 62.4 points per game on 40.3 percent shooting.

St. Joe’s has covered the spread in three of their last four games while the Musketeers are 1-3 against the spread over the same span.

The teams split two regular season meetings with Xavier winning at home 76-72 and St. Joe’s returning the favor on March 3, winning 71-66.

Here is a look at tonight’s Key Trends, followed by my NCAA Basketball Picks.

The Hawks are 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven Friday games.

The Hawks are 4-1 ATS in their last five neutral site games.

The Musketeers are 23-6 ATS in their last 29 neutral site games.

The Musketeers are 13-4 ATS in their last 17 neutral site games as a favorite.

The Over is 4-1 in Hawks last five games vs. a team with a winning percentage above .600.

The Under is 4-0 in Musketeers last four games as a favorite of 0.5-6.5.

The Hawks are 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings.

The Under is 5-2 in the last seven meetings.

Analysis: The immensely longtime popular saying at St. Joe’s University is that ‘The Hawk will never die,’ but the fact of the matter is that their A-10 Tournament will come to a quick and decisive end in this matchup tonight against arguably the most well-rounded team in the nation. I say take the Musketeers to win and cover NCAA Basketball bettors.

NCAAB Free Picks: Xavier -6 Points/Over 135½ Total Points

06:30 PM EST NCAAB Betting Odds

St. Josephs +6 -110

Xavier -6 -110

Over 135½ -110

Under 135½ -110

Atlantic 10 Conference Semifinals @ Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ

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