Saint Joseph’s loses its first game of the season.
By The Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio – From perfect to pummeled.

Saint Joseph’s first game as the nation’s No. 1 team also was its first loss of the season, a shocking 87-67 collapse against unranked Xavier in the Atlantic-10 quarterfinals Thursday.

The Hawks came in with a 27-0 record, three victories from becoming the first team since 1991 to enter the NCAA tournament undefeated. But they trailed Xavier by as many as 37 points, and the upset raises questions about how serious a contender the tiny Philadelphia school will be for the national championship.

The rout also tarnishes a magical run by a team that was one of the biggest surprises in sports this year, and it could cost Saint Joseph’s a top seeding in the NCAAs.

“I’m assuming that the televisions wherever that committee is meeting didn’t work,” Hawks coach Phil Martelli said.

“This was our 20th game away from our own fieldhouse. We’re 19-1 in those games. They (the committee) will understand that. The committee will do us right because of our body of work. Not 40 minutes.”

It’s the worst loss ever by a No. 1 team against an unranked team. A partisan crowd began rubbing it in midway through the second half, chanting “Sloppy Joe’s!”

Romain Sato led Xavier with 24 points and 11 rebounds, Lionel Chalmers scored 23, and Anthony Myles had 19.

Saint Joseph’s backcourt stars Jameer Nelson and Delonte West were held to a combined 11-for-35 shooting, and scored 16 points each. Xavier (21-10) made 71.1 percent of its shots, while holding Saint Joseph’s to 35.4 percent – its worst showing all season.

“Any loss is devastating, especially when you work so hard,” Nelson said. “We take pride in our defense and we let ourselves down with our defense today.”

At one point, Saint Joseph’s was limited to one field goal over more than 10 minutes. And the Hawks’ biggest weakness, their inside game, was exposed by the Musketeers, who outrebounded Saint Joseph’s 43-18.

“They’re a great team. They didn’t go 27-0 for no reason. They made history,” Chalmers said. “They’re one of the great teams in the country. They deserve a No. 1 seed.”

Chalmers added that he thought the Musketeers actually might have done the Hawks a favor.

“It might be better for them to lose early on,” he said. “It might help them in the tournament.”

No. 2 Stanford 68, Washington St. 47

LOS ANGELES – Stanford returned to its winning ways against a team that nearly beat the Cardinal last week.

Josh Childress scored 17 points and the second-ranked Cardinal led all the way in defeating Washington State 68-47 Thursday in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament.

Stanford had lost its opening game both times since the Pac-10 revived the tournament in 2002.

Before Washington ended Stanford’s 26-game winning streak last Saturday, the Cougars put a scare into the Cardinal, who needed seven points in the final 25 seconds for the victory.

No. 6 Pittsburgh 74, Virginia Tech 61

NEW YORK – Pittsburgh is in tournament mode.

The sixth-ranked Panthers opened defense of their Big East tournament title with a 74-61 victory over Virginia Tech on Thursday in the quarterfinals. The win was the 10th in their last 12 conference tournament games, a run that includes three straight championship game appearances and their first title last season.

“We just prepare for every team,” Pittsburgh guard Julius Page said. “I mean, any team can lose on any night, and we know we can get knocked off if we come out sluggish.”

The top-seeded Panthers (28-3) were never really in danger against the eighth-seeded Hokies (15-14), holding them off from the free throw line over the final 91/2 minutes.

No. 9 Connecticut 66, Notre Dame 58

NEW YORK – Connecticut handled not having its best player pretty well.

With Emeka Okafor on the bench in street clothes, the ninth-ranked Huskies got big efforts from three players to beat Notre Dame 66-58 Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament.

“We knew we had to pick up the slack and we got the job done,” said Ben Gordon, who had 29 points. “We all knew we had talent. We just proved it to other people. The guys stepped up and made key contributions.”

Freshmen Josh Boone and Charlie Villanueva had strong games on the boards for the second-seeded Huskies (25-6), who advanced to the semifinals for the ninth straight year. They will play the winner of the Villanova-Providence game.

“You know, it’s a real big thing,” Boone said. “The last time we played Notre Dame the kid had 22 rebounds and 16 points. We really saw me and Charlie needed to step up tonight, and I think we did a good job of that.”

Okafor, a 6-foot-10 junior, did not play because of back spasms related to a small stress fracture of the fifth lumbar vertebrae.

The Big East player of the year will be re-evaluated Friday, with Dr. Jeff Anderson, the school’s director of sports medicine, saying Okafor could be available for the semifinals depending on the pain. “It’s very conceivable,” Anderson said.

No. 13 Cincinnati 64, Louisville 62

CINCINNATI – Armein Kirkland’s short bank shot with 16.9 seconds left gave No. 13 Cincinnati a 64-62 victory over Louisville on Thursday in the Conference USA quarterfinals.

Taquan Dean’s rushed 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark, providing a second consecutive dramatic finish this season for the longtime rivals.

Cincinnati (22-6) lost by 27 points at Louisville in January, ending its season-opening winning streak at 13. The Bearcats needed overtime to beat the Cardinals in the rematch on their home court.

Playing in a downtown arena near campus, the Bearcats overcame Francisco Garcia’s career-high 28 points and one of the nation’s stingiest defenses.

BC 57, No. 19 Syracuse 54

NEW YORK – Jared Dudley made four free throws in the last 93 seconds and Boston College overcame an 11-point deficit to beat Syracuse 57-54 on Thursday in the Big East quarterfinals.

Craig Smith added two late free throws after missing a pair to help the Eagles (23-8) beat the defending national champion Orangemen (21-7).

The Eagles will face No. 6 Pittsburgh in Friday night’s semifinals. The Panthers, the top seed in the tournament, beat Virginia Tech 74-61 in Thursday’s first game.

Syracuse, ranked 19th and seeded No. 4 after beating Pitt, West Virginia and Connecticut in the final week of the season, led from the start, extending it to as many as 11 points on the long-range shooting of Gerry McNamara, who hit four 3-pointers.