Home BaseballSt. Louis Cardinals Halfway Through Philly, Setting Records Along the Way

Halfway Through Philly, Setting Records Along the Way

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With one game down and one game to go in Philadelphia, the Billikens are sitting pretty at the top of the Atlantic 10 with a record of 21-2, and both 8-0 on the road and in conference play. The Billikens were favored by just a few points going into the game against the St. Joseph’s Hawks, but head coach Jim Crews was able to take them into a conference rival’s home gym and shut them down from start to finish. The determining factor in this game was the same as the Seattle Seahawks showed us on Sunday: Defense. I’ve always believed that defense wins championships, but this week has been one huge proof of that theory.

 

Tonight was a match-up between the best defense and one of the best offensive teams in the A10. The winner of this game was going to be who could dominate the tempo and make the game theirs. Would Saint Louis shut down the high percentage shooters Galloway and Wilson, or would they have their way with the perimeter defense and give them a hard time from the 3 point line? That question was answered very confidently when Saint Louis held the Hawks to only 1-15 from behind the line tonight in their 65-49 win (that’s only 6.7%!). Compared to their usual 39.5%, this game really attested to the “Billiken Defense” that we are all used to seeing and may have eased any worries that fans might have had after the past few games where opponents seemed to score on them with ease. Before this last stretch of games, they held opponents to just under 60 points per game, but in the last three games they let that slip ten points to 70 ppg. After tonight, their season average climbed back down from 60.45 to 59.95 and made a small move towards their former title of best defense in the nation.

 

Defensive stats aside, tonight was a milestone night for both this team and the program at SLU because after their 22nd win, and 15th in a row, we are witnessing the longest winning streak by any team that the program has ever had. This is an amazing accomplishment and to be a part of it as a fan is very exciting, especially since they have a realistic chance to build an even longer streak and build the potential to hold that record for many years to come. (But if said record were broken, say, next year, or even every year from here on out, I would definitely not complain!)

 

Tonight the team was led, once again, by Rob Loe who racked up 17 points, 4 rebounds and an assist. He was joined by Jordair Jett, with 10 points and 7 assists, and both Austin McBroom and Mike McCall with 9 points and 2 assists.It’s nice to see the scoring spread out somewhat evenly throughout the team, and the team total 15 assists

Rob Loe comes up big once again with 17 points in the win against the St. Joseph's Hawks on Wednesday.

Rob Loe comes up big once again with 17 points in the win against the St. Joseph’s Hawks on Wednesday.

speaks well to their team-first style-of-play reputation. This lopsided win against a good Hawks team hopefully built up the momentum that they will need to carry out their 16th win in a row on Saturday against the Explorers of La Salle University.

 

 

With much faith in Jim Crews’ leadership, this team should be putting this game aside and preparing themselves for the next tough match up on Saturday. Plenty of other ranked teams are facing their own challenges this week, and with any luck Saint Louis has the chance to crack the Top 10 for the first time since the 1964-’65 season. With that hope in mind, the keys to winning against a solid Explorers team this weekend are as follows:

  • Defense, defense, defense. If the Bills hold the team to under 60 points, it’s game over. Given, the team continues to score frequently and with efficiency, and the game will be theirs.
  • Three players in double digits. To continue the streak, if Rob Loe, Jordair Jett, and either Austin McBroom or Dwayne Evans can all pour in 10 or more points, it will be tough for La Salle to stop them. This team has proven to have much more depth than had been expected, and once the defense has to start double teaming, it’s time for the next guy to shine. They just never seem to run out of options when they’re hot.
  • Rob Loe from 3. Rob Loe will have a tough match up against 6’11” Steve Zack, who averages 9.5 ppg and 9.6 rebounds. Not to mention, more than 2 blocks per game. If Rob can spread the defense and continue to contribute outside, hopefully that will cause issues and also open up the paint for Dwayne Evans, who will most likely be playing against the 12.5 ppg averaging junior Jerrell Wright.
  • More defense. La Salle’s high scoring guards, Tyreek Duren and Tyrone Garland, will be facing one of the toughest back courts in the nation in Jordair Jett and Mike McCall. If they can exhibit their defensive superiority against these two, La Salle will be in for a whole lot of trouble.

 

If I were a betting man, I’d put my money on Saint Louis. Oh wait, I am! That being said, I’ll take the Billikens by 11, final score of 68-57. I’ll see you all next week when I will hopefully be talking about a Top 10 team, but until then, go Bills!

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