(Courtesy Saint Louis Athletics)
SETTING THE SCENE
No. 16/17 Saint Louis (25-5, 12-3 Atlantic 10) travels to Amherst, Mass., to take on Massachusetts in the final game of the regular season. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m. (CT).
FOLLOWING THE ACTION
Sunday’s game will be televised on CBS Sports Network, with Brad Johansen and Steve Wolf on the call. The game also airs on 101 ESPN in St. Louis. 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.
NOTABLES
• The Billikens have clinched the No. 1 seed at next week’s Atlantic 10 Conference Championship in Brooklyn and at least a share of the A-10 regular-season title. With a win against UMass on Sunday, the Billikens would capture the A-10 regular-season crown outright for the second year in a row.
• Saint Louis enters Sunday’s game against UMass with a 25-5 overall record and a 12-3 mark in A-10 play. The Billikens will be looking to snap a three-game skid.
• Five Billikens average 8.1 ppg or more. Senior forward Dwayne Evans (14.0 ppg), senior guard Jordair Jett (13.7 ppg) and senior forward Rob Loe (10.1 ppg) score in double figures. Senior guard Mike McCall Jr. contributes 9.5 ppg, and sophomore guard Austin McBroom averages 8.1 ppg.
• Senior guard Jordair Jett, a four-time A-10 Player of the Week, is tied for fourth in the A-10 in scoring in league play with 17.0 ppg. Jett is third in the league with 4.5 assists per game.
• SLU head coach Jim Crews, who has posted a 53-12 record in two years at Saint Louis, is one of 10 finalists for the USBWA Henry Iba National Coach of the Year award.
• The Billikens are one of a few schools in a country who start five seniors. The senior class, comprised of Jake Barnett, Dwayne Evans, Jordair Jett, Rob Loe and Mike McCall Jr. are the winningest class in school history with 91 victories.
• Senior forward Dwayne Evans has moved into the top 10 on the SLU career scoring chart with 1,443 points. Additionally, he is fourth all-time at Saint Louis with 916 rebounds. Senior guard Jordair Jett has 400 career assists, which is tied for fourth all time.
• The Billikens lead the A-10 and are 15th nationally in scoring defense, yielding 60.9 ppg. Saint Louis is first in the country in 3-point field goal percentage defense, as teams have posted a 27.6 percent mark from long range against the Bills this season. Through games of Thursday, March 6, SLU is sixth in KenPom.com’s adjusted defensive efficiency.
• Saint Louis University is on spring break next week, so the Billikens will stay on the East Coast and travel straight to New York City for the Atlantic 10 Championship.
LAST TIME OUT
• Dwayne Evans scored a game-high 18 points, but Saint Louis dropped its third straight in a 72-67 loss to Dayton Wednesday night at Chaifetz Arena.
• The No. 16-ranked Billikens still claimed a share of the Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season championship and the top seed at next week’s A-10 tournament with a Saint Joseph’s loss at George Washington Wednesday evening.
• On Senior Night, the Billikens’ five seniors — who make up the winningest class in program history — were the team’s top five scorers. Mike McCall Jr. scored 10 points and Jordair Jett added nine. Jett also had a game-high four assists.
• Rob Loe recorded nine points while Jake Barnett canned two 3-pointers en route to seven points.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
• The scenario is simple for the Billikens: A win, and they are the A-10 regular-season champions outright for the second year in a row. SLU has already locked up the No. 1 seed in next week’s A-10 Championship and at least a share of the regular-season title.
• It is much more convoluted for Massachusetts, which can finish anywhere from second to sixth in the conference race depending on outcomes. However, a win would ensure the Minutemen a top-four seed and a first-round bye in next week’s A-10 Championships.
SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE
• Sunday’s game will feature the league’s top defense against the conference’s most potent offense.
• The Billikens top the league in scoring defense, yielding 60.9 ppg, while UMass leads the league in scoring, averaging 76.9 ppg.
• The Billikens lead the league in field-goal percentage defense (.395), while UMass is second in field-goal percentage (.467).
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
• Dwayne Evans is moving up SLU’s career rebounding list. He is fourth in school history with 916 career boards.
• In the latest NCAA men’s basketball statistical report, Evans ranked 10th in the nation among NCAA Division I players in career rebounds.
ALL-TIME STEALS
• Another category to watch is the Billikens’ all-time steals list. Jordair Jett and Mike McCall Jr. have been battling all season for a better spot in the top 10.
• Currently, Jett is fourth with 169 steals, while McCall Jr. is fifth with 159 steals.
JETT ENTERS ASSISTS RECORD BOOK
• Jordair Jett, who is averaging nearly 5.0 apg this season, broke into the top 10 in career assists. His 400 career assists are tied for fourth with LaTodd Johnson. Jett needs 20 more assists to reach Kwamain Mitchell for third.
• Jett’s 142 assists are tied for seventh all-time in a single season at SLU. If he can get 11 more assists this year, Jett will jump all the way to third in the SLU single-season record book.
BLOCK PARTY
• Rob Loe is blocking shots at the best pace of his career, and he is eighth all-time with 85 career blocks.
• Loe needs two more blocks to enter the top 10 on SLU’s single-season list. Willie Reed had 40 blocks in the 2008-09 season.
SCOUTING UMASS
• UMass enters Sunday’s game 23-6 overall and 10-5 in the league.
• The Minutemen are led in scoring by Chaz Williams’ 15.7 ppg. Williams also leads the A-10 with 7.1 assists per game.
• Cady Lalanne scores 12.0 ppg and brings down a team-best 8.2 rpg. Sampson Carter also scores in double figures for the Minutemen, posting 10.8 ppg.
• UMass leads the conference in scoring, averaging 76.9 ppg. It is 10th in scoring defense, yielding 70.8 ppg.
SERIES HISTORY
• Saint Louis leads the all-time series 8-4.
• UMass holds a 3-1 series advantage in games played in Amherst.
• The teams have not played since the opening game of the A-10 season last year.
