Billikens Close Out Non-conference Play This Week
Dec. 29, 2008
THIS WEEK: The Saint Louis Billikens (7-5) close out non-conference play with two home games this week at Chaifetz Arena. SLU hosts UMBC Tuesday, Dec. 30, for an 8 p.m. game. The contest is part of a doubleheader with the SLU women playing No. 5 Oklahoma at 5:30 p.m. The Billikens begin 2009 with a 7 p.m. game against North Carolina A&T Friday, Jan. 2. ABOUT UMBC: The Retrievers, who won the America East Conference last year and played in the NCAA Tournament, are 6-5 and coming off an impressive 66-64 win at Nebraska in their last outing. One of UMBC's losses was at Atlantic 10 member George Washington. UMBC is led by 6-foot-4 forward Darryl Proctor, who scores 17.5 ppg and adds 9.1 rpg. Jay Greene contributes 13.2 ppg. The Retrievers average 66.6 ppg and shoot 46.0 percent from the field, 37.3 percent from 3-point range and 71.3 percent from the line. Head coach Randy Monroe is 63-71 in his fifth year at UMBC. This will be the first meeting between the schools. ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA A&T: The Bulldogs are 5-7 and have dropped four straight games, all on the road. Ed Jones leads four NCAT players in double figures at 12.0 ppg. Nicholas Wilson and Tavarus Alston average 11.2 ppg, while Thomas Coleman tops the team with 6.2 rpg. The Bulldogs average 67.8 ppg and 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 Jerry Eaves is 50-112 in his sixth season at NCAT. The Billikens lead the series 2-1, including a 54-43 win in coach Rick Majerus's SLU debut on Nov. 9, 2007. 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. 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 FM 101.1.
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 Las Vegas, the Billikens fell to DePaul 65-61. Kevin Lisch led SLU with 19 points, and Kwamain Mitchell tied his career high with 16 points. Lisch hit four free throws in the waning seconds as the Billikens held on to down Fresno State 56-52. Tommie Liddell III led the way with 19 points and six rebounds, while Lisch added 15 points. BILLIKEN BITS: In the latest A-10 statistical report, the Billikens lead the conference in 3-point field goal percentage defense at 23.1 percent and are second in the league in scoring defense at 55.6 ppg. SLU is third in free-throw percentage at 71.8 percent and fourth in rebounding margin at +4.9. Individually, Kevin Lisch is tied for 10th in scoring at 14.6 ppg, tied for third in free-throw shooting at 85.7 percent, fifth in 3-point field goal percentage at 41.5 percent and tied for eighth in steals at 1.7. Tommie Liddell III is 17th in scoring at 13.5 and eighth in rebounding at 7.0 rpg. Kwamain Mitchell is seventh in assists at 4.0 apg. A-10 HONORS: Tommie Liddell III was named the A-10 Player of the Week for the period ending Dec. 21. The senior guard registered double-doubles in outings against USC Upstate and Liberty. CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Kevin Lisch moved past Hall of Famer Ed Macauley for eighth place on the all-time SLU scoring chart with 1,412 points. Ahead of Lisch in seventh place is Dick Boushka with 1,440 points. In addition, Tommie Liddell III has amassed 1,348 points and sits in 13th place all time at SLU. Just ahead of Liddell are Luther Burden (1,349) and Marque Perry (1,358). 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 23-20 record. He has a 22-year career mark of 445-167 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. |
|
