Billikens Face Dayton in A-10 Tournament Opener
March 10, 2008
THIS WEEK: The Saint Louis men's basketball team (16-14, 7-9 Atlantic 10) earned the No. 9 seed for the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament and will take on No. 8 seed Dayton on Wednesday, March 12. Tip-off at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., is 11 a.m. (CT). If the Billikens are victorious, they will face top-seeded Xavier on Thursday, March 13, in an 11 a.m. (CT) game. FOLLOWING THE TOURNAMENT ACTION: All Billiken games at the A-10 Tournament will be broadcast on KFNS radio 590 The Fan and 100.7 FM. All SLU games are available via the internet through Billiken All-Access from www.slubillikens.com. If the Billikens advance to the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 13, and the semifinals on Friday, March 14, CW11/KPLR will televise the games in the St. Louis area. The championship game airs on ESPN on Saturday, March 15. LAST WEEK: Duquesne center Kieron Achara hit all 12 of his free-throw attempts and finished with a game-high 24 points as the Dukes handed the Billikens an 85-58 defeat in the regular season finale for both teams. Kevin Lisch led the Billikens with 20 points, while Danny Brown chipped in 12. ABOUT DAYTON: The Flyers (20-9, 8-8 A-10) closed the season by winning three straight contests, including two on the road. Brian Roberts scores 19.0 ppg, has drained 87 3-pointers and has a team-high 107 assists. Marcus Johnson adds 9.4 ppg and 5.4 rpg. The Flyers are averaging 69.1 ppg while giving up 64.4 ppg. UD shoots 47.4 percent from the field, 38.0 percent from 3-point range and 64.6 percent from the line. Head coach Brian Gregory is 95-58 in his fifth year at Dayton. THE DAYTON SERIES: The Flyers hold a 21-18 advantage all-time and have won three straight. In the last meeting in Dayton on Jan. 30, the Flyers shot 53.3 percent from the field, while holding the Billikens to just 36.8 percent in a 63-36 win. On Jan. 12 in St. Louis, Brian Roberts poured in 30 points as the Flyers downed the Billikens 68-57 in overtime at Scottrade Center.
ABOUT XAVIER: The Musketeers (26-5, 14-2 A-10) claimed the A-10 regular-season title and were ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press poll, 11th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll last week. Xavier has a balanced attack with Josh Duncan leading five players in double figures at 11.6 ppg. Drew Lavender has handed out 131 assists this season to go along with 10.8 ppg, while Derrick Brown averages 10.9 ppg and tops XU with 6.5 rpg. Xavier averages 76.1 ppg while giving up 62.2 ppg. The Musketeers shoot 48.2 percent from the field, 39.8 percent from 3-point range and 75.2 percent from the line. Head coach Sean Miller is 89-37 in his fourth year at Xavier. THE XAVIER SERIES: The Musketeers lead the all-time series 23-12 and edged the Billikens at the buzzer on Feb. 7 in St. Louis. Kevin Lisch led a furious late comeback by the Billikens with three 3-pointers in the final minute, and he forced a tie with a layup and free throw with 11.6 seconds left in the game. Xavier worked for the last shot, and Derrick Brown tipped in an errant shot with 0.1 seconds left in a 70-68 XU win. Lisch finished with 25 points on six 3-pointers. 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 438-161 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. 600: The first game of the A-10 Tournament against Dayton will be Rick Majerus' 600th game as a head coach. 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. TOURNAMENT TIME: The Billikens are in search of their first postseason conference tournament title since winning four games in four days to claim the 2000 Conference USA Tournament in Memphis. MAJERUS MAGIC: Rick Majerus has guided four teams to conference tournament titles. He won his first as a head coach when he guided Ball State to the 1989 Mid-American Conference tourney title. Majerus led Utah to the 1995 Western Athletic Conference tournament title and again in 1997 and 1999. SPEED LIMIT 60: The Billikens lead the Atlantic 10 Conference in scoring defense and in the most recent NCAA report ranked 18th nationally. SLU is allowing only 61.5 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). LOW TURNOVERS: The Billikens rank 15th in the country in fewest turnovers at 12.2 per game. SHARE AND TAKE CARE: Over his last 10 games, Kevin Lisch has handed out 44 assists while committing only 18 turnovers (2.44 assist-to-turnover ratio). 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 located 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. BROWNIES: Senior guard Danny Brown (Houston, Texas / Alief Elsik) hit two 3-pointers en route to 12 points and three rebounds at Duquesne. SHOCK THE MONKEY: Senior center Bryce Husak (Mt. Vernon, Iowa / Mt. Vernon) got into early foul trouble at Duquesne and finished with two points in eight minutes of action. JUMPING JACKS: Junior guard Peyton Jacks (Dallas, Texas / Jesuit Prep) did not play last week. 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) finished with three points and four rebounds, including three on the offensive end, at Duquesne. THREE STICKS: Junior guard Tommie Liddell III (East St. Louis, Ill. / Hargrave Military Acad.) ended the Duquesne game with six points and five rebounds. SWISH LISCH: Junior guard Kevin Lisch (Belleville, Ill. / Althoff) leads the team in scoring at 14.7 ppg, assists with 96 and steals with 37 ... finished with 20 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in the Duquesne game. COOL HAND LUKE: Senior forward Luke Meyer (Washington, Mo. / St. Francis Borgia) scored eight points to go along with a team-high tying six rebounds and had a blocked shot in the Duquesne game. NO SLOW POKE: Senior guard Dwayne Polk (St. Louis, Mo. / Vashon) was forced to the bench with early foul trouble at Duquesne and finished with three points and one rebound. EBB AND FLOW: Junior forward Barry Eberhardt (Inkster, Mich. / Coffeyville C.C.) scored four points and tied for the team lead with six rebounds at Duquesne. WHAT THE ECK?: Freshman guard Paul Eckerle (Washington, Mo. / St. Francis Borgia) had two assists, one steal and one offensive rebound in the Duquesne game. GOOD A.M.: Freshman forward Anthony Mitchell (East St. Louis, Ill. / East St. Louis) played in the Duquesne game. BUILT FORD TOUGH: Freshman forward Marcus Relphorde (Homewood, Ill. / American Christian [Pa.]) played against Duquesne. |
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