GAME NOTES: With their most successful non-conference slate in more than a decade in the books, the Massachusetts Minutemen now try to carry that energy over into their Atlantic 10 Conference schedule as they host the Saint Joseph's Hawks tonight at the Mullins Center. A perfect 6-0 at home thus far in 2007-08, the Minutemen appeared to be threatening the national polls with their six-game win streak, but that was before last weekend's bout at Vanderbilt. Ranked 15th in the country, the Commodores slipped by UMass in a 97-88 decision. Then again, a loss to IUPUI in early December is probably more than enough to keep voters from giving UMass a vote of confidence. As for the Hawks, they've been out of action since New Year's Eve when they captured a 69-51 win over Drexel on the road. The victory was the third in a row for the program, with this outing being the last of a lengthy five-game road trip. With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, UMass leads by a count of 27-24 after posting a 71-67 triumph last March.

Pat Calathes, recently named the A-10's Player of the Week, took control of the meeting with Drexel and came up with a double-double that consisted of 20 points and 10 rebounds. But more than that, Calathes also registered five assists, three blocked shots and a pair of steals along the way. Ahmad Nivins chipped in 13 points, Tasheed Carr finished with 12 points and seven assists, while Rob Ferguson added 11 points and eight boards as the team shot 53.2 percent from the field in order to overcome 22 turnovers. Not only have the Hawks retained the same starting lineup for each and every game this season, all five of those players have managed to average double-digit scoring as well, with Calathes at the top of the chart with his 17.4 ppg. A 41.4 percent shooter from three-point range, Calathes is also first on the glass (7.6 rpg) and has a team-best 21 blocked shots. Nivins adds 13.7 ppg and 6.9 rpg, but it is still hard to overlook his mere six assists. Perhaps Carr (12.4 ppg) takes some of the pressure off Nivins in the passing department with his team-high 77 dishes over 11 games, making him one of the best in the nation in that department.

Never ones to shy away from a wild and exciting offensive demonstration, the Minutemen were on the wrong end of the nine-point decision against Vanderbilt last weekend. Shooting 5-of-10 behind the three-point line and 9-of-22 from the floor overall, Ricky Harris ended up with a team-high 25 points, followed by Gary Forbes and Chris Lowe with 22 points apiece. The squad tried to overcome 8-of-24 shooting behind the three-point line while Vandy was hitting 56.5 percent beyond the arc. One of the most glaring stats for the Minutemen so far this season has been the difference in the defense from home to away games. On their own turf at the Mullins Center, the Minutemen have limited foes to 70.7 ppg, but everywhere else that number jumps to 82.5 ppg, which gives them little room for error. One of the highest scoring teams in the nation at 85.1 ppg, UMass is led by Forbes (20.9 ppg) and Harris (19.4 ppg), the former capturing 7.6 rpg while making more free throws (85-of-113) than any of his teammates has yet attempted.

The Minutemen are more than willing to have turnovers and poor play here and there if it means they can get out and run and push the opposition to the limit. In the case of the Hawks, it will be tough for the visitors to keep the pace if they are going to rely so much on the perimeter game.