Saint Louis may be going into the NCAA Tournament with a tough task as a No. 9 seed, which on paper at least is always a tough matchup with a No. 8 seed, and with the No. 1 waiting in the second game.
But the Billikens aren't complaining after making the 68-team field for the first time in 12 years.
Just getting there is the big thing.
"You look at the board and you think Illinois' not on there, UCLA's not on there, Wake Forest isn't on there, Arizona isn't on there," coach Rick Majerus said, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "And the Billikens are on there -- with a nine seed and having come off a fantastic year to date.
"Now the whole thing is to go on and try to win the next game, But I'm very proud of these guys and happy for their success. They truly are a team."
The Billikens, who fell to 25-7 on the season with their loss to Xavier in the semifinals of Atlantic 10 Conference tournament after finishing second in the A-10 in the regular season, will take on Memphis in a West Region matchup on March 16 in Columbus, Ohio.
Memphis is 26-8 after stretching its winning streak to seven games by beating Marshall in the Conference USA tournament final.
The winner of the matchup of Mississippi River towns likely will get Michigan State in its next game.
As the region's top seed, the Spartans will play 16th-seeded LIU-Brooklyn in their first game. No. 16 seed has ever been beaten a No. 1 seed since the tourney was expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
Saint Louis' last appearance in the NCAA Tournament was in 2000, when the Billikens lost a first-round game to Utah. And the Utes' coach at the time? It was current Billikens' coach Rick Majerus. A rematch in the NCAA tourney isn't possible with Utah not in the field this time around.
Saint Louis has made only six previous NCAA appearances but coach Rick Majerus was there 10 times in his 15 years at Utah and once in his two years at Ball State. His 1998 Utes finished second to Kentucky in the tourney after reaching a regional final the year before.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "We want to make a run at it. I can't wait to play." -- Junior F Cody Ellis, in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, on getting into the NCAA Tournament.
SCOUTING REPORT: Defense is the name of the game for Saint Louis, which led the A-10 in scoring defense by giving up only 59.8 points in 16 conference games. Offensively, the Billikens have a balanced attack led by senior Brian Conklin at just under 14 a game. Junior G Kwamain Mitchell is the No. 2 scorer and No. 1 ball distributor. The Billikens shoot the ball well from both inside and outside the arc, and they are over 71 percent from the free-throw line. F Cody Ellis and Mitchell are the main protagonists when it comes to 3-point shooting, but three others G Mike McCall, F Rob Loe, and G Kyle Cassity have over 30 treys apiece.
FUTURES WATCH: F Dwayne Evans looks to be the main candidate to step up inside with Brian Conklin exhausting his eligibility. Evans is the team's leading rebounder and shoots better than 46 percent from the field. He had two double-doubles in Saint Louis' last four regular season games.
REGULAR SEASON REVIEW: The Billikens wasted little time establishing themselves as a team to watch in the A-10. With Kwamain Mitchell returning after a one-year university-imposed suspension, they had the leader they lacked last season. The Billikens lost only two games in the first two months, to Loyola Marymount and New Mexico, both on the road, and a 10-2 start in conference play established them as the No. 2 team in the A-10 behind Temple. A surprising loss at Rhode Island late in the year cost them a chance for a piece of the regular-season crown.
Senior F Brian Conklin apparently is over the effects of the ankle injury he sustained in early February. His 14 points in Saint Louis' loss to Xavier was his sixth consecutive game in double-figures.
Sophomore F Dwayne Evans just missed recording double-doubles in both of Saint Louis' A-10 tourney games. He had nine points and nine rebounds in the opening win over La Salle and 11 points and eight boards in the loss to Xavier.
Junior G Kwamain Mitchell struggled from the field in the two A-10 tourney games, going a combined 8-of-26 from the field overall and 4-of-16 from 3-point range.
