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Rise of the Billikens

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Hey basketball fans, my name is Austin. I was recently chosen to help cover Saint Louis University basketball for the site and I can not tell you how excited I am to do so. To introduce myself, I have been a Billiken fan for all 18 years of my life. I am a proud season ticket holder and have even traveled with them to the NCAA tournament the past two years. After checking out the website for the first time, I was upset to find out that the most recent article was from the end of last season after the Round of 32 in San Jose. This year has easily been the best year for Billiken basketball in the last decade, yet despite their new-found success, most so called “basketball fans” are still oblivious to their story outside of the highlights on ESPN and their #13 header on the scoreboard. I hope to help change that.

To start out the year, the Billikens opened up a five-game winning streak in November. Later in the month, they had a tough stretch having to play both Wisconsin and Wichita State in just a week’s time, where they lost two close games; by 6 and 5 points, respectively. While it was tough being a Billiken fan to see two losses in one week, dropping us to a record of 6-2, it was a little comforting to later see both of those teams ranked in the top 10 of the AP Top 25. Flashing forward to this point in the season, we still only have those two losses to frown upon. We are currently  20-2 overall and 7-0 both on the road and in the Atlantic 10 Conference, and we are currently riding the momentum of a 14 game winning streak. To add to the list of achievements, our 20-2 start is also the best start to a season in the program’s history!

Rob Loe scores 23 points to secure the overtime victory in a nail-biter against George Mason on Saturday.

Rob Loe scores 23 points to secure the overtime victory in a nail-biter against George Mason on Saturday.

Keeping in mind, none of this has been easy. Five of the Billikens last seven games have been won by 8 or fewer points, including one overtime game this past Sunday against George Mason. The team has been led by its five seniors (Dwayne Evans, Jordair Jett, Mike McCall, Rob Loe and Jake Barnett) while getting steady contributions by role players Austin McBroom, Grandy Glaze, and Mike Crawford. The team prides itself on defense, and in doing so has secured a spot as one of the best defenses in the nation, allowing less than 60 points per game! With an RPI of 21 and a rank of #13 in the nation, the Billikens look ahead to their second most difficult week yet, when they take a road trip to Philadelphia to play the Saint Joseph’s Hawks and the La Salle Explorers in just a four-day span. After climbing 6 spots in the rankings Monday, the Billikens have a real chance to break the Top 10 if they can sweep Philadelphia and return home with an undefeated Conference and road record; this would make all of us Billiken fans very, very happy, seeing as we would be witnessing the best team that the program has had since 1965.

Unfortunately, a sweep in Philadelphia may be more difficult than it sounds and taking it one game at a time, Saint Joseph’s will be a tough game if we continue to allow teams to score the way we have been lately. For weeks, the Billikens were the best defense in the nation, per opponent’s ppg, yet as of late we have dropped to 8th. If we continue this downward spiral I will be very surprised to maintain our winning streak as we are getting into the toughest stretch of our schedule and are going up against some very talented, under-rated teams. However, if we return to our former defensive style of play and continue to play with efficiency on the offensive end, we will be the team to beat and have a realistic chance of finishing conference play at 29-2.

That being said, I hope the fan base can really stay motivated behind this team and start getting more involved at games and with the media, because they really do not understand how big of a role they play. This is a huge season for Saint Louis University, and we have proved ourselves as an elite team in the nation, but now it’s time to finish the season like one and make a run in the tournament. This is a great time to be a Billiken fan and I am hoping that we can find a few more of those as this season rolls on. This week is a big chance to prove ourselves and I am anxious to see us do so. On that note, we will have to wait until Saturday to see where we stand, and I hope to be writing you all next week about this team standing at 22-2. Go Bills!

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