Saint Louis (20-5, 8-3 A-10) vs. Richmond (13-13, 4-7 A-10)

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 • 7 p.m. (CT) • Chaifetz Arena (10,600)

TV: KPLR 11 (Rich Gould, Joe Wiley)

Radio: 101 ESPN (Bob Ramsey, Earl Austin Jr.)

Watch | Live Stats | Listen (101 ESPN)

NOTABLES

• Saint Louis returns to Chaifetz Arena for a Wednesday night matchup against Richmond. Tip time is slated for 7 p.m. The game will be televised on KPLR 11 in St. Louis with Rich Gould and Joe Wiley on the call.
• SLU enters Saturday's game 20-5 overall and 8-3 in the Atlantic 10 Conference, good for second in the league behind Temple. The Billikens have won four in a row and seven of their last eight.
• Richmond, which won the Atlantic 10 Conference last season and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16, enters Wednesday's game 13-13 overall and 4-7 in the league. The Spiders are coming off a 69-67 defeat at home against George Washington.
• The Billikens are receiving votes in the AP and ESPN/USA Today coaches' polls. SLU checks in at No. 35 (five votes) in the AP poll and No. 38 (four votes) in the coaches' poll.
• SLU is coming off a seven-day trip to Philadelphia that saw the Billikens pick up victories against Saint Joseph's (72-60) and La Salle (59-51).
• Senior forward Brian Conklin leads the team in scoring with 14.6 ppg. He scored 10 points against La Salle, the ninth straight game in which he has scored in double figures.
• Junior point guard Kwamain Mitchell is second on the team with 11.8 ppg and leads the squad in assists (96) and steals (39).
• Junior forward Cody Ellis is third on the Billikens with 10.5 ppg. He has drilled a team-best 54 3-pointers, which is fifth in the A-10 (2.3 per game).
• Sophomore forward Dwayne Evans leads the team with 7.1 rpg, which includes a 8.7 rebounding average in A-10 games. He has five double-doubles on the season and has led the team in rebounding in each of the last five games.
• The Billikens lead the league and rank eighth in the country in scoring defense, yielding an average of 56.8 ppg.
• Rick Majerus recorded his 500th win Dec. 10 with a 73-62 victory against Illinois-Springfield at Chaifetz Arena. In 25 career seasons, his record stands at 511-213. His five-year mark at SLU is 89-66.

GETTING DEFENSIVE

• SLU leads the A-10 and ranks eighth nationally in scoring defense as opponents have scored just 56.8 points against the Billikens this season.
• The Billikens have held their opponents 50 points or less on eight occasions so far this season. In addition, teams have scored less than 40 three times.
• SLU forced La Salle into 20 turnovers Feb. 11, which SLU turned in to 20 points.
• The Billikens held Dayton, who had led the league in conference games in scoring, to a season-low 50 points Feb. 4. The Flyers shot just 24.6 percent from the floor.
• SLU held Duquesne, one of the league's most potent offenses, to a season-low 41 points Jan. 21.
• The Billikens turned 22 Charlotte turnovers into 21 points in the one-point road victory Jan. 14. The 22 turnovers are the most by a Billiken opponent since Tennessee State in the season opener.
• Saint Louis held Alabama State to just 35 points Dec. 17, a season low scoring mark allowed by the Bills.
• The Billikens held Southern Illinois to 20.5 percent shooting Nov. 15 and tied a school record by limiting the Salukis to just eight field goals.
• The Billikens own the top three spots in the A-10 for lowest points allowed in a game. SLU yielded 35 against Alabama State, 37 against Tennessee State and 39 against Texas Southern.

ON THE OFFENSIVE

• The Billikens are fourth in the Atlantic 10 in field-goal percentage, knocking down 46.3 percent of their shots from the floor. SLU is also fourth in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (36.8 percent) and ranks first in scoring margin (+12.8).
• The Billikens have shot 50 percent or better from the field eight times already this season. They accomplished that feat only six times all of last year.
• SLU scored 86 points against St. Bonaventure Feb. 1, the second-most points scored by the Billikens in an A-10 game. They scored 88 versus Fordham in 2009.
• SLU's 83 points against Oklahoma in the 76 Classic title game was the previous season high. The Billikens shot a season-best 60.4 percent against the Sooners.
• The Billikens drained 14 3-pointers against Villanova, a 76 Classic record. That total was one off the school record of 15, which was accomplished twice.

ELLIS ON FIRE AGAINST SAINT JOSEPH'S

Junior forward Cody Ellis couldn't miss from 3-point range against St. Joe's, knocking down all five of his attempts from long range in the second half to help the Billikens pull away for the 12-point victory. He ended up with 20 points, which tied his career best.

CONKLIN HAVING CAREER YEAR

Senior forward Brian Conklin leads the team in scoring at 14.6 ppg. His 366 points scored is already a career high, surpassing the 271 he scored a year ago. He surpassed the 1,000-point barrier against St. Bonaventure, becoming the 26th Billiken to enter the distinguished club. Conklin, who has already graduated with an undergraduate degree and is enrolled in SLU's MBA program, is a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection and a candidate for Academic All-America.

MITCHELL SECOND IN SCORING

Junior guard Kwamain Mitchell is second on the team with 11.8 ppg and leads the squad in assists (96) and steals (39). He is first in the A-10 with a 2.1 assist/turnover ratio. Mitchell is fifth on SLU's all-time list with 148 3-pointers and 16th with 1,195 points.

ELLIS A THREAT FROM DEEP

Junior forward Cody Ellis, who has come off the bench in all but one game this season, is third on the team with 10.5 ppg and has drilled team-best 54 triples. He has also drawn rave reviews for his defensive play this season and leads the team in charges taken. 

EVANS LEADS TEAM IN REBOUNDING, DOUBLE-DOUBLES

Sophomore forward Dwayne Evans leads the Billikens with 7.1 rpg, which includes 8.7 rpg in A-10 games to rank fourth in the A-10. Evans recorded 16 points and 13 rebounds against La Salle for his fifth double-double of the season. He has led the Billikens in rebounds in five straight games. An A-10 All-Rookie team pick a season ago, Evans is the Billikens' active leader in double-doubles with 10.

TWO BILLIKENS JOIN 1,000-POINT CLUB

Junior point guard Kwamain Mitchell and senior forward Brian Conklin became 25th and 26th members of the 1,000-point club this season. Mitchell recorded his 1,000th career point on a 3-pointer with 11:40 remaining Dec. 7 against Vermont. Conklin's came on a layup four minutes into the Billikens' game against St. Bonaventure Feb. 1. Mitchell is SLU's active leader in points scored with 1,195, which is 16th on SLU's all-time scoring list. Conklin is 23rd on the all-time scoring chart with 1,054 points.

HOME COOKING

The Billikens are 12-1 at Chaifetz Arena this season. In four years at Chaifetz Arena, SLU has a 53-15 record, which includes a 20-9 mark in league games.

LAST TIME OUT

• Saint Louis received a double-double from Dwayne Evans and posted a 59-51 victory against La Salle last Saturday at Tom Gola Arena.
• Evans recorded team highs of 16 points and 13 rebounds in what was his fifth double-double of the season, the 10th of his career.
• Kwamain Mitchell scored 12 points and registered four steals. Mike McCall Jr. (11 points) and Brian Conklin (10 points) also scored in double-figures for the Billikens.
• The Billikens forced 20 La Salle turnovers, which they turned into 20 points, and overcame a season-high-tying 17 turnovers to post the victory.

IN THE RANKINGS

• The Billikens are receiving votes in the AP and ESPN/USA Today coaches' polls. SLU checks in at No. 35 (five votes) in the AP poll and No. 38 (four votes) in the coaches' poll.
• The Billikens cracked the top 25 the week of Nov. 26 (after winning the 76 Classic) when they appeared at No. 23 in the AP poll and No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll. The week prior (after beating Washington), SLU was receiving votes in both polls.
• The Billikens' last appearance in the AP poll came during the 1993-94 season when they regularly appeared in the polls and was ranked as high as 16th.

ABOUT THE SPIDERS

• Richmond enters Wednesday's game 13-13 overall and 4-7 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
• The Spiders have dropped four of their last five, including a 69-67 heartbreaker against George Washington last Saturday. Richmond's lone win in that stretch was a 78-76 victory against La Salle Feb. 8.
• Freshman guard Kendall Anthony leads four Spiders in double figures with 13.6 ppg. Junior guard Darien Brothers pumps in 13.5 ppg, while sophomore guard Cedrick Lindsay scores 11.8 ppg. Sophomore forward Derrick Williams records 11.2 ppg.
• Senior center Darrius Garrett has a team-high 6.9 rpg and is second in the A-10 with 92 blocks.
• The Spiders are the best free-throw shooting team in the league, hitting 76.6 percent of their chances from the charity stripe.
• Head coach Chris Mooney is in his seventh season at Richmond. Last year, he led the Spiders to the A-10 championship and the NCAA Sweet 16.

SAINT LOUIS VS. RICHMOND • THE SERIES

The series is tied 4-4, but Richmond has won two straight. Last season, the Spiders posted a 64-52 victory in Richmond despite a career-high 21 points by Dwayne Evans. In the last meeting at Chaifetz Arena during the 2009-10 season, the Billikens prevailed 63-58. SLU leads 2-1 in games played in St. Louis.

SLU HOSTS NCAA REGIONAL

Saint Louis University will serve as the host institution for a 2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Regional, to be played at the Edward Jones Dome March 23 and March 25. It is the 15th occasion that the city of St. Louis has held either a men's or women's NCAA basketball tournament, including five Final Fours.