Non-Conference Breakdown: St. Joseph's

With the Harvard men’s basketball team’s season opener less than a month away, The Back Page is breaking down the Crimson’s non-conference opponents. Each week, we will take a look at two new foes. On Thursday we profiled Manhattan. Next up is St. Joseph's.

In a rematch of last year’s closely contested contest, Harvard will travel to Philadelphia on Nov. 20 to take on a talented Saint Joseph’s team picked to finish first in the Atlantic 10.

When the teams last met on Dec. 31, 2011, the Crimson stormed back from a 14-point deficit to claim a 74-69 victory over the Hawks. Although St. Joe’s held the lead for most of the game, Harvard took control for good with two minutes remaining to preserve its No. 23 national ranking.

While Harvard’s top four scorers from last year’s contest are no longer with the team, St. Joe’s returns every player who took the floor against the Crimson. Indeed, all of the Hawks' major contributors from a season ago are back.

Guards Carl Jones and Langston Galloway, who contributed 22 and 15 points, respectively, against the Crimson, are again expected to lead St. Joe’s offensively.

Now a junior, Galloway will look to improve upon a standout sophomore season in which he was was named to the 2011-12 Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team and the Hawks’ MVP for the second straight season.

C.J. Aiken and Ronald Roberts, both of whom averaged 10.9 points per game last season, are also returning scoring threats.

The Hawks, who finished 20-14 last season, lost to St. Bonaventure in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals and were ousted by Northern Iowa in the first round of the NIT.

But with the team’s core returning, the Hawks could very well go deeper in postseason play this coming winter.