Billikens Close Regular Season at Duquesne
March 3, 2008
THIS WEEK: The Saint Louis men's basketball team (16-13, 7-8 Atlantic 10) closes out the regular season at Duquesne on Saturday, March 8. Game time at the A.J. Palumbo Center is 3 p.m. (CT). The contest can be seen in the St. Louis area on CW11/KPLR. LAST WEEK: Tommie Liddell III scored a game-high 21 points, and Kevin Lisch added 17 as the Billikens posted a 64-55 victory at Saint Joseph's on Thursday in front of a national television audience on ESPN2. Luke Meyer hauled down a game-best 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive end, and Liddell held SJU's leading scorer, Pat Calathes, to just 3-of-16 shooting. St. Bonaventure spoiled SLU's Senior Day on Saturday as the Bonnies hit 10-of-15 from 3-point range and posted a 70-50 decision in the final Billiken home game at Scottrade Center. ABOUT DUQUESNE: The Dukes (16-11, 6-8 A-10) have dropped their last four outings and play at Temple before the Billikens come to town. Shawn James leads Duquesne in scoring at 13.2 ppg and rebounding at 7.1 rpg. In the most recent NCAA report, he ranked fourth nationally with 4.08 bpg, and he leads the A-10 in shooting percentage at 55.1 percent. Kojo Mensah adds 12.5 ppg, while Kieron Achara averages 10.5 ppg. The Dukes are second in the league at 82.3 ppg while giving up 73.8 ppg. Duquesne shoots 45.4 percent from the field, is last in the A-10 at 30.5 percent from 3-point range and hits 73.8 percent from the free-throw line. The Dukes lead the A-10 in assists, blocked shots and steals. Head coach Ron Everhart is 26-30 in his second season at Duquesne, 200-202 in 14 years overall. THE DUQUESNE SERIES: The Dukes lead the series 4-2. The Billikens won the last meeting 78-77 in the opening round of the 2007 A-10 Tournament. The Billikens also won the last time the teams met in Pittsburgh, posting a 70-57 win on Feb. 15, 2006.
HEAD COACH Rick Majerus: Rick Majerus was introduced as the 24th coach of the Billiken men's basketball program on April 30, 2007. He has a 21-year career mark of 438-160 and has never had a losing season. Majerus has taken 11 teams to the NCAA Tournament and four to the NIT. Entering the 2007-08 season, his .742 career winning percentage ranks seventh among active Division I coaches. ON THE AIRWAVES: Billiken basketball can be heard on 590 AM The Fan and 100.7 FM. Bob Ramsey returns for his 22nd season as the voice of the Billikens. Earl Austin, Jr. is in his 17th season as a member of the broadcast team. Coach Rick Majerus hosts a radio show on 590 AM The Fan on Monday nights from 7-8 p.m. The final show of the season airs on March 3. TV TIME: The SLU department of athletics announced that 13 Billiken men's games will be available to fans in the St. Louis television market this season. The Billikens are scheduled for six appearances on national television, including three games on CSTV and three on the ESPN family of networks. Locally, CW11/KPLR will air six games, three of which are being produced by CSTV Regional, in the metro St. Louis area. The final game scheduled for broadcast is the contest at Duquesne, which can be seen in St. Louis on CW11/KPLR. A-10 TOURNAMENT: The Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament will run March 12-15 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. The top four seeds will receive first-round byes. The championship game is slated for 5 p.m. (CT) on Sunday, March 15, and will be televised on ESPN. CHAIFETZ ARENA: The new Chaifetz (SHAY-fetz) Arena will have a dedication ceremony on April 10, 2008. The arena will have a seating capacity of 10,600 and is being built on the SLU campus along Laclede Avenue west of Compton Avenue. It will function as a true multi-purpose campus events center, hosting a myriad of SLU events, including men's and women's basketball, volleyball, commencement, cultural events, conferences and conventions. The arena will house the department of athletics offices as well as a practice facility for the basketball and volleyball teams. COMING FULL CIRCLE: The Billikens began the 2007-08 regular season in Pittsburgh, and they close out the season in the Steel City. SLU played a season-opening tournament at the University of Pittsburgh and now plays the final conference game down the road at Duquesne. SPEED LIMIT 60: The Billikens lead the Atlantic 10 Conference in scoring defense and in the most recent NCAA report ranked 20th nationally. SLU is allowing only 60.7 ppg. In 12 of their 16 wins, the Billikens have held their opponents to fewer than 60 points. In addition, SLU has held five opponents to fewer than 50 points this season - North Carolina A&T, Long Beach State, Loyola (Chicago) and George Washington (twice). SHARE AND TAKE CARE: Over his last nine games, Kevin Lisch has handed out 41 assists while committing only 14 turnovers. LOW TURNOVERS: The Billikens rank 19th in the country in fewest turnovers at 12.0 per game. SLU has had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in six straight games. BROWNIES: Senior guard Danny Brown (Houston, Texas / Alief Elsik) finished the St. Bonaventure game with nine points, two rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot ... hit all six free throws and had a soaring dunk en route to 11 points at Saint Joseph's. SHOCK THE MONKEY: Senior center Bryce Husak (Mt. Vernon, Iowa / Mt. Vernon) chipped in two points and two rebounds against St. Bonaventure ... had six points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots at Saint Joseph's. JUMPING JACKS: Junior guard Peyton Jacks (Dallas, Texas / Jesuit Prep) appeared in the St. Bonaventure game and took a trey. THE TACKLE: Sophomore guard Mike Jones (St. Louis, Mo. / Trinity Catholic) did not play last week. GRASSY KNOLL: Sophomore forward Adam Knollmeyer (Linn, Mo. / Linn) scored on a layup at the halftime buzzer against St. Bonaventure ... played well at Saint Joseph's with two points and two offensive rebounds. THREE STICKS: Junior guard Tommie Liddell III (East St. Louis, Ill. / Hargrave Military Acad.) had eight points, two assists and two steals against St. Bonaventure ... registered career highs with 10 free throws on 12 attempts and had a game-high 21 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists at Saint Joseph's ... also supplied outstanding defense against SJU leading scorer Pat Calathes, forcing him to miss 13-of-16 shots and holding him to just six points and two rebounds. SWISH LISCH: Junior guard Kevin Lisch (Belleville, Ill. / Althoff) leads the team in scoring at 14.6 ppg, assists with 93 and steals with 35 ... tallied 19 points, five rebounds and four assists in the St. Bonaventure game ... contributed 17 points, including a crucial late 3-pointer, to go along with five rebounds at Saint Joseph's. COOL HAND LUKE: Senior forward Luke Meyer (Washington, Mo. / St. Francis Borgia) notched six points and a game-high eight rebounds in the St. Bonaventure contest ... enjoyed a tremendous all-around outing at Saint Joseph's with seven points, 11 rebounds (five offensive) and four assists. NO SLOW POKE: Senior guard Dwayne Polk (St. Louis, Mo. / Vashon) hit one free throw and had one assist and one blocked shot in the St. Bonaventure game ... was in foul trouble at Saint Joseph's but added two assists to the effort. EBB AND FLOW: Junior forward Barry Eberhardt (Inkster, Mich. / Coffeyville C.C.) had two rebounds and a blocked shot in the game against St. Bonaventure. WHAT THE ECK?: Freshman guard Paul Eckerle (Washington, Mo. / St. Francis Borgia) hit a 3-pointer in the St. Bonaventure game and added one rebound. GOOD A.M.: Freshman forward Anthony Mitchell (East St. Louis, Ill. / East St. Louis) did not play last week. BUILT FORD TOUGH: Freshman forward Marcus Relphorde (Homewood, Ill. / American Christian [Pa.]) saw action in the game against St. Bonaventure. |
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