Dec. 11, 2012

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A quick look around Atlantic 10 men's basketball for Tuesday, Dec. 11.

ON TAP FOR TUESDAY (12/11)

WEST VIRGINIA Mountaineers (4-3)
at DUQUESNE  Dukes (5-4)
7:00 pm | CONSOL Energy Center | CBS Sports Network
Series: West Virginia leads 50-36
A-10 vs. Big 12: 0-1
Gamenote: Last season marked the first time in 38 years that the Dukes and Mountaineers did not meet. This is the 87th matchup between the two in a series that dates back to 1915.

George Washington Colonials (4-5)
at RUTGERS Scarlet Knights (5-2)
7:00 pm | RAC | SNY
Series: Rutgers leads 22-18
A-10 vs. Big East: 5-6
Gamenote:  Former A-10 rivals, GW and Rutgers met every year from 1976-95. The teams' last met in the 1995 Championship quarterfinals, with RU claiming an upset win at the Palestra.

SAINT JOSEPH's Hawks (5-2)
at VILLANOVA Wildcats (5-4)
7:00 pm | The Pavilion | ESPNU
Philadelphia Big 5 Game
Series: Villanova leads 44-25
A-10 vs. Big East: 5-6
Gamenote:  SJU will try to complete the A-10/Big 5 sweep of Villanova (La Salle, Temple both beat the Wildcats). The Hawks have lost three straight at The Pavilion with the last win in 2004.

ON THE TUBE

Tuesday, December 11
West Virginia at Duquesne (CONSOL Energy Center) | 7:00 pm | CBS Sports Network
George Washington at Rutgers | 7:00 pm | SNY
Saint Joseph's at Villanova | 7:00 pm | ESPNU

Friday, December 14
Charlotte at Miami (Fla.) | 7:00 pm | FOX Sports South

Saturday, December 15
Butler vs. Indiana (Bankers Life Fieldhouse) | 2:00 pm | CBS
Fordham vs. Princeton (Barclays Center) | 2:00 pm | YES Network
Southern Methodist at Rhode Island | 2:00 pm | Ocean State Networks
Alabama at VCU | 4:00 pm | CBS Sports Network
Florida Atlantic at Dayton | 7:00 pm | WHIO

A-10 SCOOP

>>The Atlantic 10 currently has 11 teams in the top 100 of the RPI, which is more than any other league. The A-10 is rated as the sixth-best conference (ahead of the Big 12 and SEC) as of Monday's rankings.

>>Charlotte added to its best start in school history with Saturday's win over Western Michigan. The 49ers are 9-0 after beating the Wildcats and the nine-game winning streak is tied for the sixth longest in school history.

>>Dayton won at Alabama, (81-76), Temple beat Villanova (76-61) and La Salle beat Penn State (82-57) last Wednesday, giving the A-10 three more wins over "big six" programs, bringing the season total to 13. Last year, the A-10 picked up 28 victories versus big six schools, including three postseason victories. The Atlantic 10 has a winning record versus the SEC (4-3).

>>Continuing on the big wins theme, the Atlantic 10 has taken down three ranked opponents so far this season. Saint Joseph's began the fun with an overtime win over No. 20 Notre Dame. Butler stole the early week show with a win over No. 9 North Carolina Tuesday and VCU had the headline on Thanksgiving by defeating No. 19 Memphis. Dayton also won Wednesday at an Alabama team that has been receiving votes in both polls.

>>There have been 39 games decided by five or fewer points this year in the Atlantic 10. A-10 schools have a record of 23-16 in those games, but that winning percentage increases dramatically in games decided by single point. A-10 schools are 5-1 in those one-point affairs.

SUNDAY'S (12/9) RESULT

XAVIER 62, KENT STATE 57 | HIGHLIGHTS

CINCINNATI (AP) - Semaj Christon had 18 points and Brad Redford came off the bench and made four consecutive 3-pointers to propel Xavier to a 62-57 win over Kent State on Sunday.

The Musketeers scored just 18 points in the first half and trailed 20-18 at the break. Redford scored 12 points and Christon scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half to allow Xavier (7-2) to avoid its second consecutive home loss.

Kent State (5-6) was led by Melvin Tabb's 20 points and 14 rebounds, both game-highs, but lost for the second straight time.

Xavier put the game out of reach with a 12-0 second-half run. Dee Davis scored 10 points for the Musketeers. Travis Taylor led Xavier with nine rebounds.

The Musketeers played without their leading scorer, Justin Martin, who suffered a mild concussion late in Thursday's loss to Vanderbilt.