Saint Louis (6-3) goes for its fourth win in a row Wednesday when Eastern Illinois (3-8) of the Ohio Valley Conference visits Chaifetz Arena. Tip time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Wednesday’s game will be televised on FOX Sports Midwest, with Pat Parris and Billiken great Scott Highmark on the call. Billiken Hall of Famer Joe Wiley will report from the sidelines. The radio broadcast will air on 101 ESPN (101.1 FM and 101sports.com). As always, Billiken Hall of Famer Bob Ramsey will provide the play-by-play, while St. Louis American Sports Editor Earl Austin Jr. handles the analysis.
Prior to the SLU/Eastern Illinois tilt, the Billiken women’s squad will host Memphis at Chaifetz Arena at 4 p.m. One ticket is good for both games. General admission tickets for the Memphis game are available for $10 for adults, $5 for youth.
• The Billikens have won three in a row and enter Wednesday night’s tilt 6-3 overall.
• SLU is in the midst of nine straight home games and is 3-0 on the homestand thus far. The Bills do not leave Chaifetz Arena again until Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013, when they take on Temple in Philadelphia, the Bills’ second Atlantic 10 Conference tilt of the season.
• Saint Louis leads the Atlantic 10 Conference in scoring defense, yielding 59.4 ppg.
• Junior forward Dwayne Evans is second in the A-10 in field-goal percentage (.630, 38-of-63) and leads the Billikens in scoring (12.8 ppg) and rebounding (6.8 rpg).
• Junior guard Mike McCall Jr. leads the A-10 in 3-point field-goal percentage (.536, 15-of-28). He scores 10.9 ppg and has averaged 35.9 minutes per game.
• Senior forward Cody Ellis comes off the bench and is second on the squad in scoring (11.8 ppg) and rebounding (4.6 rpg).
• Junior guard Jordair Jett averages 9.8 ppg and leads all A-10 guards with a .530 (35-of-66) shooting clip from the field. In the last four games, Jett is averaging 14.8 ppg and is shooting 63.9 percent (23-of-36) from the floor.
• Senior forward Cory Remekun is third in the A-10 with 2.4 blocks per game.
• The Billikens are coming off a 73-51 victory against UT Martin, played in the middle of finals week Saturday, Dec. 15. Jordair Jett led the way with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor and 5-of-6 from the line. He also posted game highs of four assists and three steals.
• SLU shoots 44.9 percent (200-445) from the floor, 36.7 percent (55-150) from 3-point range and 74.7 percent (136-182) from the line.
• Next up for the Billikens is a Saturday, Dec. 22, matchup against Loyola Marymount (5-4 entering Wednesday’s game vs. Ole Miss). The SLU/LMU game tips at 2:30 p.m. at Chaifetz Arena and will be televised on FOX Sports Midwest.
• Eastern Illinois University enters Wednesday’s game 3-8 overall.
• The Panthers are looking to snap a four-game losing skid. EIU had won three of four earlier in the year, winning back-to-back games against Texas Pan-American and IPFW at the ICE Man Classic in Ypsilanti, Mich., then knocking off Houston Baptist at home.
• EIU is coming off a 67-59 home loss to Toledo. Freshman guard Alex Austin led the way with 21 points, while sophomore forward Josh Piper scored 17 points and was 5-of-8 from 3-point range. It was the ninth straight game that Piper hit at least one trey.
• Sophomore forward Josh Piper leads the team in scoring with 12.1 ppg and is seventh in the OVC in 3-point field-goal percentage (.458). Junior forward Sherman Blanford scores 9.3 ppg, while freshman guard Alex Austin chips in 8.5 ppg.
• Eastern Illinois held Western Illinois to 57 points Dec. 5, marking the fifth time this year that EIU has held an opponent to fewer than 60 points. The Panthers allow just 61.5 ppg, which ranks third in the OVC.
• Head coach Jay Spoonhour is in his first season at EIU. He is the son of the late legendary coach Charlie Spoonhour. Jay served as an assistant coach at SLU from 1996-99. He completed the 2004 season at UNLV as interim head coach and helped the Rebels to the conference tournament final and an NIT bid. Most recently, Spoonhour was head coach at Moberly Area Community College, where he coached for three seasons.
Saint Louis leads the all-time series 5-1. In the last meeting in 2009, the Billikens posted a 60-42 victory at Chaifetz Arena. The Panthers topped the Billikens 75-68 in Charleston on Jan. 9, 1988.
