during the 2003–2004 season, the saint joseph's hawks went perfect 27–0 during the regular season. the hawks were led by a backcourt of jameer nelson and delonte west, both of whom would end up as starters in the nba. the hawks ended the regular season with a no. 1 ranking nationally and a no. 1 ranking in the ncaa tournament. after losing to xavier university in the atlantic 10 tournament quarterfinal, st. joe's made it to the elite eight in the ncaa tournament. they would finally lose to oklahoma state in the last seven seconds of the game to end their remarkable run. nelson was named national player of the year while coach phil martelli was named coach of the year.