 Billikens Host Kent State and Boston College
Nov. 17, 2008 THIS WEEK: After inaugurating basketball at Chaifetz Arena last Friday, the Saint Louis Billikens (1-0) continue a three-game homestand this week. Kent State visits on Wednesday, Nov. 19, for a 7 p.m. game, and Boston College comes to town on Saturday, Nov. 22, for a 1 p.m. tip-off. ABOUT KENT STATE: The Golden Flashes were 28-7 overall last season, 13-3 in the Mid-American Conference and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Kent State opens its season on Monday against North Carolina Central. Senior guard Al Fisher, who was the MAC Player of the Year last season, returns after posting 13.9 ppg and 141 assists. Backcourt mate Chris Singletary is also back after scoring 10.3 ppg and ranking second in the MAC with 1.9 steals. Head coach Geno Ford is in his first season as head coach and is 51-32 in his fourth year overall. The series is 1-1 with the Flashes winning last season in Kent, Ohio, and the Billikens winning a first-round NIT game in March 1990. ABOUT BOSTON COLLEGE: The Eagles opened the 2008-09 campaign with an 80-65 victory over Central Connecticut. BC plays two more games before coming to St. Louis. Last year, BC was 14-17 overall, 4-12 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. First-team All-ACC selection Tyrese Rice, who missed the opener, is back after averaging 21.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game last year. Swingman Rakim Sanders also returns after posting 11.3 ppg and 4.6 rpg. Head coach Al Skinner is 211-137 in his 12th season in Chestnut Hill, 349-263 in 21 seasons overall. The Eagles won the first meeting between the schools last season in the Conte Forum.
BMX SHOW AT HALFTIME: Professional BMX rider Matt Wilhelm will be performing at halftime of the Boston College game. Matt's style of riding not only places an emphasis on technical elements, but also on the style and speed of his riding as well. Matt is known as the world's fastest spinner on a BMX bike, which helped him win the $25,000 grand prize on FOX TV's "30 Seconds to Fame", two national championships, several ESPN X-Games and International medals. Seeing him ride, you will understand why there is nothing that will slow Matt Wilhelm down, both on and off the bike.
ON THE AIR: Billiken basketball can be heard this season on FM 101.1 WMVN. Bob Ramsey, who has served as the "Voice of the Billikens" for the past 22 years, will again call the play-by-play action. Earl Austin Jr., sports editor of the St. Louis American, will begin his 18th year in the analyst's role. 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. FOR OPENERS: In the inaugural basketball game at Chaifetz Arena, the Billikens posted a 48-33 victory over Missouri-St. Louis. Freshman Kwamain Mitchell scored 16 points and had five assists, while Tommie Liddell III added 12 points and eight rebounds. PARSIMONIOUS DEFENSE: The 33 points surrendered to Missouri-St. Louis tied the fewest scored by a SLU opponent since the Billikens limited Savannah State to 33 on Nov. 24, 2003. The last time SLU allowed fewer points was on Dec. 19, 1960, when it held San Jose State to 26 points. CHAIFETZ ARENA: This will be 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 17-15 record. He has a 22-year career mark of 439-162 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 ranks 12th among active coaches. RETURNING VETERANS: Four letterwinnners return to the men's squad, led by the senior guard tandem of Kevin Lisch (Belleville, Ill. / Althoff) and Tommie Liddell III (East St. Louis, Ill. / Hargrave Military). Lisch led the 2007-08 team with 14.6 ppg, 63 3-pointers and 97 assists, while Liddell added 12.3 ppg and is the squad's leading returning rebounder at 4.3 rpg. Senior forward Barry Eberhardt (Inkster, Mich. / Coffeyville CC) returns after averaging 6.0 points and 3.9 boards. Sophomore guard Paul Eckerle (Washington, Mo. / St. Francis Borgia) played in all 31 games and sank 22 3-pointers en route to 3.8 ppg as a freshman. FRESH FACES: The Billikens brought in the largest freshman class in school history with eight talented newcomers. The class was ranked in the top 40 nationally by recruiting service Scout.com, and Rivals.com considered SLU's class the second best in the A-10. 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. LAST YEAR: In their first year under head coach Rick Majerus, the Billikens posted a 16-15 overall mark, 7-9 in the Atlantic 10. Kevin Lisch earned third-team All-Conference and All-Defensive team honors. 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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