Saint Louis vs. Butler
Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018 | 4 p.m. | St. Louis, Mo. (Chaifetz Arena)
TV: FOX Sports Midwest (Dan McLaughlin, Scott Highmark)
Radio: 101 ESPN (Bob Ramsey, Earl Austin Jr.)
Online Coverage: FOX Sports App stream | ESPN+ (blacked out in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa) | Live Stats | @SaintLouisMBB on Twitter
++ SLU Game Notes ++
SETTING THE SCENE
— Saint Louis hosts the Butler Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at Chaifetz Arena. Game time is set for 4 p.m.
— The game will be televised on FOX Sports Midwest. Dan McLaughlin and Scott Highmark are on the call.
— The game will be streamed live nationwide on the FOX Sports App. It will also be streamed on ESPN+ outside of the FSMW footprint. The game will blacked out in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa for ESPN+ users. It will be streamed for international viewers through Atlantic10.com.
— The radio broadcast will air on 101 ESPN (101.1 FM and 101Sports.com). As always, Billiken Hall of Famer Bob Ramsey provides the play-by-play, while St. Louis American Sports Editor and new inductee into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, Earl Austin Jr., handles the analysis.
— Saturday’s game is the annual Billiken Blizzard. Fans are encouraged to wear white. White rally towels, courtesy of FOX Sports Midwest, will be located on every seat in Chaifetz Arena.
— The ever-popular Red Panda Acrobat will be the halftime entertainment.
ABOUT THE BILLIKENS
— Saint Louis is 5-1 on the season and 4-0 in games played at Chaifetz Arena.
— The Billikens are coming off a 73-61 home win over Central Arkansas. Four Billikens scored in double figures led by senior guard Javon Bess’ 19 points. Sophomore guard Jordan Goodwin chipped in 18 points, while freshman forward Carte’Are Gordon scored 10 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
— Bess leads the Billikens in scoring with 14 ppg. He is SLU’s top 3-point shooter in makes (11) and percentage (39 percent), and his 85.3 percent shooting from the stripe (29-34) leads SLU as well.
— Senior guard Tramaine Isabell Jr. is second on the team in scoring (13.2 ppg) and assists (16).
— Goodwin shoots 45 percent from the floor and averages 11 ppg. He has dished out a team-high 22 assists.
— Gordon has hit 60 percent of his shots from the field and contributes 8.2 ppg. Senior forward D.J. Foreman scores 8.0 ppg.
— Sophomore forward Hasahn French leads the team in rebounding (7.4 rpg) and blocked shots (12).
— Saint Louis is second in the A-10 in defense, yielding 63.5 ppg.
— The Billikens were picked to win the Atlantic 10 Conference via a vote by A-10 coaches and media. The Bills claimed 15 of the 26 first-place votes to finish ahead of Saint Joseph’s (second) and Davidson (third).
— Up next, the Billikens travel to Southern Illinois to face the Salukis on Wednesday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m. in Carbondale, Illinois.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
— Butler enters Saturday’s game 5-1. The Bulldogs’ lone loss was a 69-64 defeat against Dayton at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. Butler’s best win was a 61-54 victory over Florida (KenPom No. 22) in the Bahamas.
— Junior guard Kamar Baldwin leads Butler with 19.7 ppg. He has also posted team highs of 6.0 rpg and 33 assists.
— Senior guard Paul Jorgensen averages 18.5 ppg and has knocked down a team-high 16 3-pointers.
— The Bulldogs were picked fifth in the Big East Conference preseason poll. They registered one first-place vote. Baldwin was a unanimous All-Big East first-team selection.
— Last year, Butler went 21-14 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
— Head coach LaVall Jordan is in his second season as head coach at his alma mater. He spent the 2016-17 season as the head coach at Milwaukee.
SERIES HISTORY
— Saint Louis owns a 19-12 series lead over the Bulldogs.
— Last year, Butler defeated the Bills 75-45 at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
— SLU and Butler met three times in the 2012-13 season, the lone year Butler was a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
— That year, SLU won both games during the regular season, including a win at Chaifetz Arena when Butler was ranked No. 9. The Billikens also knocked off the Bulldogs in the A-10 semifinals in Brooklyn, N.Y.
— The teams played regularly in the 1980s and early 1990s as members of the MCC.
