If there's one thing coach Phil Martelli's teams have traditionally been, it's resourceful. Put the Hawks up against anybody, and they'll find a way.
But Friday's first round matchup against the 10th-seeded Auburn Tigers -- an ultimate contrast of styles -- could test that resolve in a new way.
While Saint Joseph's (23-6, 12-4 Atlantic 10) has excelled as a result of its perimeter play -- boasting, arguably, the best backcourt in America in Jameer Nelson and Delonte West -- the Tigers (20-11, 8-8 SEC) are a bruising inside team, starting no player under 6-foot-4.
Two different styles indeed.
If the Hawks -- a slight favorite in their first NCAA tournament contest since 2001 -- are to knock off the rough-and-tumble Tigers, they will need to hold their own on the interior.
Senior Marquis Daniels is the star of the show. The 6-foot-6 forward has led the way for the Tigers all season long, averaging over 18 points and six rebounds a game, while shooting an efficient 51 percent from the floor.
Daniels, now a seasoned veteran, is a proven threat both inside and from the perimeter.
He's joined in the frontcourt by sophomore Marco Killingsworth, who leads the Tigers in rebounding while adding 13.6 points per game. In the pivot is Kyle Davis, a 6-foot-10 junior who, earlier this season, surpassed Mamadou N'diaye's career record for blocked shots
The Tigers got off to a fast start, racing to a 15-2 mark. They took their first four contests in the perennially-strong Southeastern Conference.
Since their Jan. 18 victory over Alabama, however, the Tigers have fallen on hard times. They went 5-9 down the stretch, limping to an 8-8 finish in their division.
They fell to Kentucky, 78-58, in last Friday's SEC semifinal.
The Hawks, like the Tigers, shot out to a fast start. They won their Atlantic 10 Eastern division, and went undefeated in the Big 5 City Series for the first time since 1983.
Following a highly disappointing 2002 season that saw the Hawks plummet rapidly from their No. 10 preseason ranking en route to an NIT bid, the program graduated over 5,000 points and 2,200 rebounds. But the Hawks flourished, largely because of the emergence of sophomores West and Pat Carroll as dangerous offensive weapons.
St. Joe's has been off since Friday night, when they fell to Dayton, 76-73, in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 tournament. The Hawks fought back from a 19-point deficit in the second half to tie the score, only to fall short in the end.
All-America candidate Nelson led the way for the Crimson and Gray with 39 points, the most by a Saint Joseph's player since 1983. He shot 11-for-19 from the floor and 14-for-16 from the line.
"They are a team that has scored a lot of points on the perimeter," Ellis said.
"They are a very deep perimeter team."
Sophomore guard Pat Carroll led the nation in three-point shooting percentage for most of the season, before Penn's Jeff Schiffner (49.7-percent) assumed the lead.
The Hawks will tip off Friday at 12:25 p.m., at the Ice Palace Arena in Tampa, Fla.
