St. Thomas, VI -- (Sports Network) - The seventh-ranked Purdue Boilermakers will attempt to avoid an upset tonight as they take on the Saint Joseph's Hawks in the semifinals of the Paradise Jam.

Saint Joseph's needed overtime to beat Drexel in the opener, and barely squeaked by Holy Cross in the second game of the season. For those reasons, the Hawks figured to struggled against Boston College on Friday night at this event, but they managed to knock off the Eagles by an 84-80 final. Heading into this season, the Hawks weren't considered by many to be one of the top teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, but head coach Phil Martelli always finds a way to put his team in place to contend for the league title.

Purdue opened the season with an 89-64 romp over Cal State Northridge back on November 13th. The Boilermakers played just their second game of the campaign last night as part of this tournament, and they held off South Dakota State by a 74-63 final. Coach Matt Painter's Purdue team is not short on talent or experience, two reasons that the Boilermakers are threats not only to win the Big Ten, but also to reach the Final Four.

Saint Joseph's and Purdue haven't met since 1971, when the Hawks won an 85-74 decision.

Four players are averaging double figures in scoring for Saint Joseph's through the first four games of this season. Carl Jones is tops with 15.7 ppg, especially impressive because the freshman check in at just 6-0 and 147 pounds. Darrin Govens provides 15.3 ppg, and Garrett Williamson adds 12.0 ppg. The final member of the foursome is Idris Hilliard with his 12.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg. Saint Joseph's is averaging 76.7 ppg while limiting opponents to 71.3 ppg on 37 percent shooting from the floor. Against Boston College, Williamson came through with 18 big points, while Govens and Jones added 16 points apiece. The Hawks were outrebounded and outscored from the foul line. Plus, they committed six more turnovers than BC. Fortunately, they were able to hold the Eagles to 35.6 percent shooting from the floor.

The trio of E'Twaun Moore, Robbie Hummel and JaJuan Johnson gives Purdue a good chance to win regardless of the opposition. Against South Dakota State, Moore scored 22 points and dished out five assists. Hummel finished with 14 points, and Johnson posted 13 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks despite a poor shooting effort. Strong defense is key to the win, as Purdue forced 18 turnovers and limited the opposition to 35.4 percent shooting from the floor. In the season-opening win over Cal State Northridge, Hummel paced four double- digit scorers with 17 points. The Boilermakers forced 25 turnovers in that game and held their foes to 38.8 percent shooting from the field. Obvious, defense is key to their success, and the players have bought into Painter's philosophy.