Saturday, February 4, 2012 • 4 p.m. (CT) • Chaifetz Arena (10,600)

TV: Fox Sports Midwest Plus | Fox Sports Ohio

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

Watch | Live Stats | Listen (101 ESPN) | Listen (KSLU)

WEAR BLUE

Saturday's game is the annual Billiken Blue Out, where all fans are encouraged to where blue. Billiken Blue rally towels, courtesy of Edward Jones, will be distributed at the entrances.

TV INFORMATION

The game will be televised on Fox Sports Midwest Plus. Click here for channel information.

NOTABLES

• Saint Louis welcomes Dayton to Chaifetz Arena Saturday for a 4 p.m. tipoff. The game is designated as the Billiken Blue Out, and all fans are encouraged to wear blue.
• SLU enters Saturday's game 17-5 overall, 5-3 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. It has won four of its last five, including an 86-62 rout over St. Bonaventure on Wednesday.
• Dayton enters contest 14-8 overall and 4-4 in the league. The Flyers opened the conference slate with a 4-1 record but have dropped three in a row.
• This is the second meeting of the year between the Billikens and Flyers. Dayton prevailed 79-72 in overtime Jan. 4 at UD Arena.
• Senior forward Brian Conklin leads the team in scoring with 14.9 ppg. He entered SLU's 1,000-point club with 19 points against St. Bonaventure.
• Junior guard Kwamain Mitchell is second on the team with 11.8 ppg and leads the squad in assists (84) and steals (33).
• Junior forward Cody Ellis is third on the Billikens with 10.5 ppg. He has drilled a team-best 46 3-pointers, which is sixth in the A-10 (2.1 per game).
• Sophomore forward Dwayne Evans leads the team and ranks 10th in the Atlantic 10 with 6.6 rpg. He averages 8.0 rpg in A-10 games only, which is tied for fourth in the league.
• The Billikens rank eighth in the country in scoring defense, yielding an average of 57.2 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 508-213. His five-year mark at SLU is 86-66.

GETTING DEFENSIVE

• SLU leads the A-10 and ranks eighth nationally in scoring defense as opponents have scored just 57.2 points against the Billikens this season.
• The Billikens have held their opponents to less than 50 points on seven occasions so far this season. In addition, teams have scored less than 40 three times.
• 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 46.6 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 (+13.0).
• 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.

CONKLIN HAVING CAREER YEAR

Senior forward Brian Conklin leads the team in scoring at 14.9 ppg. His 327 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 earned an undergraduate degree in business from SLU, is enrolled in the University's MBA program and is an Academic All-American candidate.

MITCHELL SECOND IN SCORING

Junior point guard Kwamain Mitchell is second on the Billikens in scoring with 11.8 ppg and leads the squad in assists (84) and steals (33). He leads the Atlantic 10 and ranks in the top 50 nationally with a 2.3 assist/turnover ratio. Earlier this year, he became the 25th Billiken to surpass the 1,000 point mark, and he is the active SLU leader with 1,159 points. He is fifth all-time at SLU with 143 career 3-pointers made.

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 46 triples. He has 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 6.6 rpg, which includes 8.0 rpg in A-10 games. He notched his fourth double-double of the season against St. Bonaventure, scoring 10 points and pulling down 11 boards. An All-Rookie team pick a season ago, Evans is the Billikens' active leader in double-doubles with nine.

LINEUP SHAKEUP

The Billikens have switched their starting lineup the last two games, as Cody Ellis replaced and injured Brian Conklin versus UMass and Mike McCall Jr. replaced Kyle Cassity against St. Bonaventure. The Billikens had gone 20 games with the same starting five, quite a change from last season when the Billikens used 14 different starting lineups.

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 1,159, which is 18th on SLU's all-time scoring list. Senior forward Brian Conklin is 26th on the all-time scoring chart with 1,015 points.

HOME COOKING

The Billikens are 11-1 at Chaifetz Arena this season. In four years at Chaifetz Arena, SLU has a 52-15 record, which includes a 19-9 mark in league games.

LAST TIME OUT

• Saint Louis scored a season-high 86 points and rolled to an 86-62 against then-league leader St. Bonaventure Wednesday night at Chaifetz Arena.
• Five Billikens scored in double figures, led by Kwamain Mitchell's 22 points, which came on 9-of-13 shooting from the field. Brian Conklin scored 19, Mike McCall Jr. pumped in 15 and Jordair Jett recorded 13.
• Dwayne Evans registered his fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
• The Billikens had their best shooting night from the charity stripe, posting a season high in percentage (.839) while also registering season highs in makes (26) and attempts (31).

IN THE RANKINGS

• 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 FLYERS

• The Flyers enter Saturday's game 14-8 overall and 4-4 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
• Dayton has lost three in a row. The last time UD lost four straight conference games was during the 2005-06 campaign when the Flyer opened A-10 play 0-4.
• Junior guard Kevin Dillard leads the Flyers in scoring (13.0 ppg), assists per game (6.2) and steals (36). He has scored in double figures in five straight games and in all but one A-10 contest this year.
• Junior forward Matt Kavanaugh ranks third in the A-10 in offensive rebounding (3.0 rpg) and sixth in field goal percentage (.583).
• In Atlantic 10 games only, the Flyers have the highest scoring offense, averaging 77.8 ppg, but possess the second-worst scoring defense, allowing 77.9 ppg.
• Head coach Archie Miller, the brother of Arizona head coach Sean Miller, is in his first season at Dayton.

SAINT LOUIS VS. DAYTON • THE SERIES

Dayton leads the all-time series 25-22. SLU and UD have played 14 times in A-10 play, with six of those games going into overtime, including a pair of two double-OT games. Earlier this season at UD Arena, the Flyers triumphed 79-72 in overtime. Brian Conklin led the Billikens with 14 points, while Cody Ellis sank an off-balance trey as time expired to send the game into overtime.

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.