Billikens Begin Las Vegas Classic by Hosting USC Upstate and Liberty
Dec. 15, 2008
THIS WEEK: The Saint Louis Billikens (4-4) begin the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Classic by hosting USC Upstate Wednesday, Dec. 17, and Liberty Friday, Dec. 19, at Chaifetz Arena. Both games tip at 7 p.m. The Billikens then head to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas where they will close out the tourney by playing DePaul Monday, Dec. 22, at 7 p.m. (CT) and either Creighton or Fresno State Tuesday, Dec. 23. If the Billikens beat DePaul, they will play at 9 p.m. (CT), and if they fall to DePaul, SLU tips at 6:30 p.m. (CT). ABOUT USC UPSTATE: Located in Spartanburg, S.C., the Spartans are winless on the season at 0-7 and have played only one home. Members of the Atlantic Sun Conference, the Spartans have fallen to Atlantic 10 member Duquesne as well as Boston College, Georgia and South Carolina. Senior forward Bobby Davis leads the team in scoring at 14.6 ppg and rebounding at 8.4 rpg. He shoots nearly 50 percent from the field and also leads the team with 18 assists. Freshman guard De'Marion Gordon chips in 9.7 ppg. The Spartans shoot 38.0 percent from the field, 32.5 percent from the 3-point arc and 62.1 percent from the free-throw line. Head coach Eddie Payne is 100-84 in his sixth season at USC Upstate, 360-317 in 23 years overall. This is the first meeting between the teams. ABOUT LIBERTY: The Flames (6-2) host Anderson on Monday and play at DePaul on Wednesday before coming to St. Louis. Freshman guard Seth Curry, the younger brother of Davidson All-America guard Stephen Curry and son of former NBA standout Dell Curry, pours in 21.4 ppg and has hit 26 3-pointers. Anthony Smith adds 19.0 ppg and a team-best 7.0 rpg. The Flames shoot 46.2 percent from the field, 35.6 percent from the 3-point arc and 69.5 percent from the free-throw line. Head coach Ritchie McKay is 22-18 in his second season at Liberty, 187-176 in 13 seasons overall. This is the first meeting between the teams. VIVA LAS VEGAS: In Las Vegas, the Billikens will see a familiar foe in former Conference USA member DePaul. The Blue Demons are 4-4 and play Liberty and Southern before heading to Las Vegas. Creighton is 7-2 and was the preseason pick to win the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bluejays already have wins over A-10 squads Saint Joseph's and Dayton. Fresno State is 4-5 and plays Northern Colorado and USC Upstate before heading to Orleans Arena. All games in Las Vegas will be streamed on-line at the Web site - http://b2tv.com/partner_members.asp?id=218
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 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. 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: In their only game last week, the Billikens shot a season-best 55.3 percent from the field and cruised to a 70-49 victory over Samford. Tommie Liddell III hit 8-of-14 shots, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, and finished with a season-high 20 points. Kevin Lisch added 12 points, and Willie Reed finished with 10 points. BILLIKEN BITS: In the latest A-10 statistical report, the Billikens lead the league in scoring defense at 55.2 ppg and 3-point field goal percentage defense at 25.7 percent. SLU is second in free-throw percentage at 72.8 percent and third in rebounding margin at +6.0. Individually, Kevin Lisch is 15th in scoring at 13.9 ppg, second in free-throw shooting at 90.6 percent and tied for eighth in steals at 1.7. Tommie Liddell III is 17th in scoring at 13.4 and 11th in rebounding at 6.5 rpg. Kwamain Mitchell is eighth in assists at 4.1 apg. CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Kevin Lisch is just 11 points away from moving past Marque Perry (1,358) for 10th place on the all-time SLU scoring chart. In addition, Tommie Liddell III has amassed 1,293 points and sits in 14th place all time at SLU. 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 20-19 record. He has a 22-year career mark of 442-166 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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