RESULTS| STATS| HISTORY | MESSAGE BOARD | SAINT JOSEPH'S INSIDER

Will lose when ... They don't force enough turnovers or make enough 3s to compensate for the lack of an inside attack. Famous Last Words If this team can shake off the Xavier debacle, it can play in a regional championship game. If not, the dream season could end in the second round. Complete team report Before filling in your bracket, check out Insider's Tournament Guide. Insider Tour | Sign up now

TO THIS POINT    
How They Got Here: At-Large Bid
Saint Joseph's, after easily disposing of Liberty in the first round, earned its Sweet 16 spot the hard way -- holding off Bob Knight's Texas Tech Red Raiders in a classic second round game. The Hawks had to win their battle with Tech two or three different times, first with a 24-2 first-half run, then in building a 60-53 second half lead, and finally with back-to-back 3-pointers from Pat Carroll and Jameer Nelson after Tech had tied the game at 60 with less than three minutes remaining.

Afterward, Saint Joseph's players and coaches admitted the obvious: That they had felt the pressure of advancing to the Sweet 16 in order to validate their perfect regular season, as well as to answer the legion of critics who had questioned the team's No. 1 seed. The Hawks may fly even higher in their regional semifinal matchup with Wake Forest. Like Saint Joseph's, the Demon Deacons are guard-oriented and like to play at a fast pace. Unlike the Hawks, however, Wake is not an especially good defensive team. The Deacs, in fact, are the only team left in the tournament with a negative Defensive Quotient.

Who knows what we'd be saying about the Hawks if they hadn't been throttled by Xavier in the A-10 quarterfinals. St. Joe's carried the burden of answering nagging questions about its inside game, rebounding and team psyche ... instead of possible perfection. A simple fact remains: The Hawks are the same team that won 27 straight games. And St. Joe's isn't going to change how it goes about winning because of one loss -- no matter how wide the margin.

PLAYER TO WATCH      
Jameer Nelson | G | Senior
ESPN.com Player of the Year Jameer Nelson does it all for the Hawks, leading the team in scoring, assists and steals. Nelson excels at penetrating the lane at which point he is equally adept at finishing or finding the open man. He's also a solid shooter with three-point range, a good rebounder and clutch player.