Saint Louis welcomes USC Upstate to Chaifetz Arena Friday, Nov. 9, for the season opener. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
ABOUT THE BILLIKENS
Saint Louis returns four starters from last year’s squad that went 26-8 overall and 12-4 in the A-10. SLU was picked to finish second in the A-10 preseason poll, receiving 10 first-place votes to Saint Joseph’s 11 first-place votes.
Saint Louis, as a No. 9 seed, advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament last season, its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2000. The Billikens knocked off No. 8 seed Memphis in the second round and took No. 1 seed Michigan State to the wire before falling in the third round.
The Billikens’ 26 victories last year were the second most all time, one shy of the program record set in 1988-89.
Senior forward Cody Ellis was one of three Billikens to score in double figures last year with 10.1 ppg. He was the Billikens’ top threat from 3-point range, hitting 38.1 percent (69-181) from deep. Junior forward Dwayne Evans led the Billikens in rebounding for a second straight year in 2011-12. He finished seventh in the A-10 with 7.3 rebounds per game, which included 8.4 rpg during the conference season to rank sixth.
Senior guard Kwamain Mitchell was tabbed a preseason first-team All-Conference selection at the Atlantic 10 Conference Media Day this season. However, Mitchell suffered an injury the first week of practice that will force him to miss the first part of the season.
ABOUT USC Upstate
USC Upstate, located in Spartanburg, S.C., finished 21-13 overall and 13-5 in the Atlantic Sun Conference a year ago. The Spartans advanced to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
Junior forward Torrey Craig, the reigning A-Sun Player of the Year, scored 16.4 ppg and averaged 7.7 rpg last year. He picked up honorable mention All-America honors from the Associated Press and was an NABC All-District honoree.
Sophomore guard Ty Greene scored 11.4 ppg last season and was tabbed the Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year. Sophomore point guard Mario Blessing was voted by fans as the A-Sun’s Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. In 2010-11, he appeared in all 34 games as a freshman.
Head coach Eddie Payne is in his 11th season at USC Upstate with a 141-154 record. He is 401-392 in 27 years overall as a collegiate head coach. Last season, Payne received the Hugh Durham Award as the nation’s top mid-major coach.
INTERIM HEAD COACH JIM CREWS
On Aug. 24, 2012, it was announced that SLU head coach Rick Majerus would take a leave of absence due to a health issue. Jim Crews was named interim head coach for the 2012-13 season. Crews, an assistant under Majerus last season, has 24 years of experience as head coach at Army (seven seasons) and Evansville (17 seasons). He played and coached at Indiana under Bob Knight, winning national championships as a player (1976) and assistant coach (1981).
EXHIBITION RECAP
The Billikens had four players score in double figures, led by guard Mike McCall Jr.’s 14 points, and rolled to a 79-47 victory against Rockhurst last Saturday in the Billikens’ lone exhibition tilt. SLU shot 64.6 percent (31-of-48) from the field while limiting Rockhurst to 29.3 percent (17-of-58).
AT THE POLLS
The Billikens are receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25 poll. SLU is the first team receiving votes in the USA Today poll and is tied with Texas in the AP poll as the third team receiving votes. Last season, the Billikens were ranked as high as No. 23 in the AP poll and No. 25 in the USA Today poll, their first appearance in the polls since the 1993-94 campaign.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Two staples of the SLU system the last five years are defense and controlling tempo. The Billikens have regularly finished among the top 30 in the country in scoring defense during this span. They had their best defensive season last year, allowing just 57.6 ppg to rank eighth in the nation.
BILLIKENS IN THE A-10
Saint Louis is in its eighth season in the 16-team Atlantic 10 Conference. New additions Butler and VCU begin play this season. Next year, Charlotte and Temple depart to return the conference to a 14-team league. Many media outlets are predicting big things for the A-10 this year. A link with stories about the A-10 can be found here.
WORLD TRAVELERS
A trio of Billikens played overseas last summer. Junior forward Jake Barnett went on a goodwill tour through East Asia. Senior forward Cody Ellis attended training camp with the Australia national team and proceeded to appear in exhibition games with the Aussie national team set-up. Junior forward Rob Loe competed with New Zealand in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Venezuela.
NEWCOMERS
The Billikens welcome three newcomers to the 2012-13 roster – freshman guard Keith Carter (Chicago, Ill./Proviso East), freshman forward Jared Drew (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) and sophomore guard Austin McBroom. McBroom is a transfer from Central Michigan and must sit out the 2012-13 season per NCAA regulations.
MITCHELL, JETT HONORED BY A-10
Senior point guard Kwamain Mitchell was named first-team preseason All-Conference by A-10 coaches and media. Last season, he was named third-team All-Conference after finishing second on the squad with 12.4 ppg. He led the Billikens in assists (126) and steals (44). Junior guard Jordair Jett, an All-Defensive team selection last season, earned the same honor in preseason voting of A-10 coaches and media.
BILLIKENS AT CHAIFETZ ARENA
This marks the fifth season of play in the 10,600-seat Chaifetz Arena on the SLU campus. The Bills are 56-15 at Chaifetz in four seasons, including a 15-1 mark a year ago.
UP NEXT
Saint Louis hosts Santa Clara Wednesday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. at Chaifetz Arena. The game will be televised on FOX Sports Midwest.
