Saint Joseph's first game as the nation's No. 1 team also was its first loss, a shocking 87-67 collapse against unranked Xavier in the conference quarterfinals Thursday.
The Hawks (27-1) were three victories from becoming the first team since UNLV in 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 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 and equals the seventh-biggest loss by a top-ranked team against anyone. A partisan crowd chanted, "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 combined for 11-for-35 shooting and scored 16 each. Xavier (21-10) shot 71.1 percent and held Saint Joseph's to 35.4 percent, its worst this 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."
Saint Joseph's, which took the No. 1 spot Monday after Stanford's loss to Washington, was limited to one field goal during a stretch of 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 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."
Playing less than an hour from its campus, Xavier faces George Washington in the semifinals tonight.
The Musketeers all but claimed an NCAA berth, regardless of what happens in the remainder of the conference tournament.
"Going 3-1 against the Top 25, not a lot of teams can say that," coach Thad Matta said. "I believe we are one of the top 64 teams in the country."
Xavier, ahead 74-37 with 7:56 left, has won 11 of its past 12.
"I think we're pretty good," Chalmers said. "We've come a long way since early on. Right now, we're clearly one of the hottest teams in the country."
RICHMOND 64, TEMPLE 49: Mike Skrocki scored 18, and the Spiders held the Owls to one field goal for 131/2 minutes of the second half.
Jermaine Bucknor added 17 points and Reggie Brown 11 for Richmond (20-11), which meets Dayton in tonight's second semifinal.
Conference scoring leader David Hawkins scored 20 for Temple (15-13), but he was harassed by multiple defenders and hit 6 of 17 shots.
GEORGE WASHINGTON 79, R.I. 50: Carl Elliott and T.J. Thompson each scored 14 for the Colonials (18-10), who have won seven of nine. Dawan Robinson, leading scorer for Rhode Island (19-13), was scoreless, playing only four minutes because of a severe back contusion sustained Wednesday.
DAYTON 69, DUQUESNE 56: Keith Waleskowski scored 16, including five in a late 7-0 run, for the Flyers (23-7).
Dayton's final 12 points were free throws. The Flyers hit 12-of-16 free throws in the final four minutes and finished 17-for-28 at the line. The Dukes (12-17) were 9-for-16 at the line.
