SETTING THE SCENE

• Saint Louis takes on the Vermont Catamounts in a semifinal matchup at the Myrtle Beach Invitational on Friday at the HTC Center in Conway, S.C. Game time is 11 a.m. (CT).
• If the Billikens win, they will advance to the championship game Sunday at 4:30 p.m. (CT) versus the winner of Liberty/Wichita State. If SLU falls, it will face the loser of that Liberty/Wichita State matchup on Sunday at 7 p.m. (CT). Liberty and Wichita State play Friday night at 8 p.m. (CT). Note that Saturday is an off day at the Myrtle Beach Invitational.
• All games of the Myrtle Beach Invitational will be carried on the ESPN family of networks. SLU's game against Vermont will air live on ESPN2, with Robert Lee and Randolph Childress calling the action.
• KMOX 1120 AM again serves as the Home for Billiken Basketball on the radio. Billiken Hall of Famers and longtime SLU men's basketball radio partners Bob Ramsey and Earl Austin Jr. will the call the action for all SLU games, both at home and on the road.

• Saint Louis advanced to the semifinals of the Myrtle Beach Invitational with a 79-69 victory over Wyoming on Thursday.
• Sincere Parker registered a career-high 22 points and a team-best eight rebounds against the Cowboys, but left the game in the second half due to injury and did not return. Several Billikens stepped up in Parker's absence, notably Tim Dalger (17 points) and Kellen Thames (nine points on 4-of-4 shooting).
• Freshman guard Cian Medley scored seven points against Wyoming and posted four steals and three assists. He did not commit a turnover in 17 minutes of action.
• Wyoming shot lights out its first two games, but the SLU defense held the Cowboys to 35.2% shooting and just three 3-pointers.
• The Billikens are 4-0 for the third time during the Travis Ford era at SLU. A win Friday would make the Bills 5-0 for the second time in Ford's tenure. The 2020-21 squad started the season 6-0.
• Gibson Jimerson, who has led SLU in scoring in each of the last two seasons, is two points away from surpassing Luther Burden (1982-85) for 16th on SLU's all-time scoring list.

• The University of Vermont Catamounts are 3-0 on the season.
• Vermont advanced to Friday's semifinal thanks to a thrilling 74-63, come-from-behind victory over College of Charleston. Vermont trailed by nine with five minutes to go, but outscored Charleston 24-6 down the stretch to post the win.
• Defense has been the name of the game for the Catamounts early on. They entered the Myrtle Beach Invitational ranking third in the NCAA in scoring defense. On Thursday, Vermont held Charleston to just 3-of-25 shooting from 3-point range. For the year, teams are hitting just 18.5 percent of its 3s against the stingy Vermont defense.
• T.J. Long, who scored 15 points against Charleston including three big 3-pointers, leads Vermont in scoring with 15 points. Matt Veretto (13.3 ppg) led Vermont with 18 points in the win over Charleston.
• Vermont has captured the America East Championship each of the last two seasons and four of the last five. The Catamounts' four NCAA Tournament appearances are No. 3 among mid-majors since 2016-17.

• This will be the third meeting between the Billikens and Catamounts. SLU won the previous two matchups, both of which occurred in the 2010s at Chaifetz Arena.
• SLU's 62-43 win against Vermont on Dec. 7, 2011, was win No. 499 in Rick Majerus' Hall of Fame coaching career. Also, Kwamain Mitchell recorded his 1,000th career point in that game.

• The Billikens have won nine in-season tournaments in their history, the last being the 2021 Cancun Challenge when SLU defeated Illinois State and Stephen F. Austin at the Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico.
• SLU's previous MTE title before the 2021 Cancun Challenge came in 2011 at the 76 Classic in Anaheim, California. The Billikens beat Boston College, Villanova and Oklahoma in that tournament, and as a result, SLU entered the top 25 the next week.
• SLU's nine MTE titles are as follows – 1948 Sugar Bowl, 1949 Cotton Bowl, 1951 Sugar Bowl, 1960 Kentucky Invitational, 1971 Saint Louis Holiday Invitational, 1972 St. Louis Holiday Invitational, 1986 Hawaii Pacific Tournament, 2011 76 Classic and the 2021 Cancun Challenge.