To see the previous teams ranked in the 82 in 72 series, please see below:
74. Oklahoma Sooners
75. West Virginia Mountaineers
76. Georgia Bulldogs
77. UAB Blazers
80. Missouri Tigers
Additionally, here is where each of our college basketball analysts had Saint Joseph’s ranked:
| Steven | Maxwell | Kam | Cody |
| 60 | 74 | Unranked | 73 |
The days of the A10 becoming a one bid league appear to be behind us. After years of being a multi-bid league, the A10 Conference has been a one bid league for each of the last two seasons. However, the top of this conference is as strong as it’s been in a while. St. Joes, along with VCU, Dayton, and St. Louis appear to be the cream of the crop this season. Additionally, it’s highly plausible that the A10 Player of the Year currently plays on the main line in Philadelphia in the Hawks’ Erik Reynolds. Reynolds, along with VCU’s Max Shulga, are the two lone A10 First-Teamers to return to the conference this season. Additionally, the reigning A10 Rookie of the Year also plays on Hawk Hill in Xzayvier Brown. Many in the industry anticipate Brown taking a major step forward this season.
Brown and Reynolds form an extremely formidable duo in the backcourt. Additionally, St. Joe’s welcomes New Jersey native, Derek Simpson from Rutgers. For the frontcourt, Rasheer Fleming and Harvard transfer, Justice Ajogbor, round out an extremely competitive starting lineup. However, this St. Joe’s team will go as far as their three point shooting will take them. If there’s anything Billy Lange coached teams do, it’s shoot threes in volume. When Lange moved from the Philadelphia 76ers coaching staff to become the head coach of the Hawks in 2020, 49.7% of St. Joe’s shots were 3s, which was 5th in the nation. In 2021, that number was 49.2%, which was 4th in the nation. As Lange is heading into his sixth season at the helm, his St. Joe’s teams have never shot less than 45% of their shots from three.
Last season, 40% of the Hawks points scored were three pointers, which was tenth in the entire nation. And the scary part is, last year was the best three point percentage the team shot under Lange. While Ajogbor is a non-shooter, both Simpson and Fleming saw spikes in their improved three point percentage last season, and Billy Lange and the Hawks staff must feel confident there’s even further untapped potential. Both Reynolds and Brown shoot 38% or better from three. Having a three guard lineup with a bunch of playmaking and shooting on the court will give Lange the opportunity to totally this offense.
While the starting five is strong, the bench is young. In total, the Hawks have four freshmen, a redshirt freshmen, and two sophomores. However, last season the Hawks only had bench players play 23% of their total minutes, with the D1 average being 30.8%. Health permitting, the starters will play heavy minutes, shoot the hell out of the ball, and have multiple playmakers on the court at all times. To put this offense into perspective, see below charts from CBBanalytics.com.
In this first chart, it shows that St. Joe’s was in rare territory last year. Notable teams above them in 3 point attempts/game and assists/game include Alabama, Creighton, and BYU. Alabama was a Final Four team last season, BYU was nationally ranked nearly the entire season, and Creighton was a Sweet 16 team. Additionally, other teams around the range of St. Joe’s were Indiana State, Charleston, and Princeton, all of which were three of the best mid-majors last season.
In this second graphic, it’s the same chart but with just A10 teams. St. Joe’s offensive scheme really pops compared to their conference competition.
Finally, there’s plenty of reason for optimism on the main line. At the very least, this team will be extremely fun to watch. But with the A10 likely being a multi-bid league once again, it’s likely SJU will be right in the thick of it.
The Center Hub 
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