 Billikens Begin A-10 Play at No. 22 Xavier
Jan. 5, 2009
THIS WEEK: After closing out non-conference play on a three-game winning streak, the Saint Louis Billikens (9-5) begin Atlantic 10 Conference play Thu., Jan. 8, at No. 22 Xavier. Tip-off is 7 p.m. (CT) / 8 p.m. (ET). The contest will be televised by CBS College Sports. ABOUT XAVIER: The two-time defending A-10 champion Musketeers are 11-2 and coming off an 84-70 victory at Virginia. Derrick Brown leads XU with 13.7 ppg and adds 5.2 rpg. B.J. Raymond adds 12.3 ppg, while Jason Love leads the team with 6.2 rpg. The Musketeers shoot 45.0 percent from the field, 36.6 percent from the 3-point arc and 66.9 percent from the free-throw line. Head coach Sean Miller is 104-41 in his fifth season at Xavier. The Musketeers lead the all-time series 23-12 and won a memorable contest last season 70-68 in St. Louis. Kevin Lisch poured in 14 points in the last two minutes as the Billikens rallied to forge a tie, but XU's Brown tipped in a shot with 0.1 second left to boost the Musketeers to the win. LOOKING AHEAD: The Billikens return home for two straight A-10 home games. On Wed., Jan. 14, Massachusetts will be the first league opponent to visit Chaifetz Arena. Game time is 7 p.m. George Washington comes to town Sat., Jan. 17, for an 8 p.m. tilt. The 2009 Billiken Hall of Fame inductees will be introduced at halftime of the contest. ON THE AIR: Billiken basketball can be heard this season on 101.1 FM WXOS. Bob Ramsey, who has served as the "Voice of the Billikens" for the past 22 years, will again provide the play-by-play. Earl Austin Jr., sports editor of the St. Louis American, is in his 18th year in the analyst's role. Head coach Rick Majerus' radio show will begin Monday, Jan. 12. The show, which is hosted by Ramsey, runs from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on 101.1 FM. TICKET INFO: Season and individual tickets can be purchased online at www.slubillikens.com or www.metrotix.com, by phone at (314) 534-1111 or toll free at (800) 293-5949, and at the Chaifetz Arena Ticket Office.
BILLIKEN ALL-ACCESS: All Billiken regular-season home games this season are video streamed live through Billiken All-Access at www.slubillikens.com. Subscriptions are available for $79.95 annually or $9.95 a month. GameTracker is again available free of charge in 2008-09. NEW GAME TIMES: Game times which were TBA have now been finalized. The Jan. 17 game versus George Washington will be an 8 p.m. tip. Feb. 4 versus Duquesne will start at 6 p.m., and the game against Charlotte on Feb. 11 has been moved to 8 p.m. to accommodate television. The Feb. 21 game versus Dayton will start at 7 p.m. LAST WEEK: Against UMBC, Tommie Liddell III tallied 19 points with four rebounds and six assists to lead the Billikens to an 81-60 win. Willie Reed hit all seven of his shots from the field and finished with a season-high 18 points as SLU reached a season high in points. The Billikens rallied from an 18-point deficit to post a 60-52 win over North Carolina A&T. Liddell led the Billikens with 17 points, and Brian Conklin tied his career high with nine rebounds, including five on the offensive end. BILLIKEN BITS: In the latest A-10 statistical report, the Billikens lead the conference in in scoring defense at 55.6 ppg and 3-point field goal percentage defense at 22.5 percent. SLU is fourth in free-throw percentage at 71.0 percent. Individually, Tommie Liddell III is 11th in scoring at 14.1 and ninth in rebounding at 6.5 rpg. Kevin Lisch is tied for 14th in scoring at 13.8 ppg, second in free-throw shooting at 85.0 percent, eighth in 3-point field goals made per game at 2.23 and tied for eighth in steals at 1.7. Kwamain Mitchell is seventh in assists at 3.93 apg, and Brian Conklin is seven in offensive rebounds per game at 2.57. CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Kevin Lisch sits in eighth place on the all-time SLU scoring chart with 1,431 points. Ahead of Lisch in seventh place is Dick Boushka with 1,440 points. Lisch has tied Virgel Cobbin for third place on the 3-point field goals list with 217. In addition, Tommie Liddell III has amassed 1,384 points and has moved into the career top 10. RALLY CAP: The 18-point rally against North Carolina A&T was the largest deficit the Billikens have overcome since climbing out of a 20-point hole against Houston on March 5, 2004. PERFECT SHOOTING: Willie Reed's 7-of-7 shooting from the field against UMBC is the best perfect performance since Erwin Claggett set the school record by hitting all 10 shots he took against UMKC on Dec. 7, 1994. CHAIFETZ ARENA: This is the inaugural season for the Billikens in Chaifetz (SHAY-fetz) Arena. The $81 million arena has a seating capacity of 10,600 and is located on the SLU campus along Laclede Avenue west of Compton Avenue. Chaifetz Arena functions as a true multipurpose 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 houses the department of athletics offices as well as Chaifetz Pavilion, a practice facility for the basketball teams and the home facility for the volleyball team. The building is named for Dr. Richard A. Chaifetz, who donated a $12 million naming gift to the University. Dr. Chaifetz is a 1975 SLU grad and is chairman and CEO of ComPsych Corporation. HEAD COACH Rick Majerus: Rick Majerus is in his second season as head coach of the Billikens with a 25-20 record. He has a 22-year career mark of 447-167 and has never had a losing season. Majerus has taken 11 teams to the NCAA Tournament and four to the NIT. At the start of the 2008-09 season, his .730 career winning percentage ranked 12th among active coaches. PRESEASON AWARDS: The Atlantic 10 Conference announced that Saint Louis University senior guards Kevin Lisch and Tommie Liddell III were named to the league's preseason men's basketball All-Conference teams. In a poll of the league's coaches, Lisch was named to the first team and the All-Defensive squad, while Liddell was selected to the second team. ACADEMIC AWARDS: Kevin Lisch, a potential Academic All-American, was named to the A-10 Academic All-Conference team in 2007-08. He also will look to become the third straight Billiken to be selected to the NACDA I-AAA Scholar-Athlete team after Luke Meyer was honored following the past two seasons. |
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