SLU Men's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game No. 20	Saint Louis (8-11, 1-5 A-10) vs. Massachusetts (11-7, 1-4 A-10)
Date // Time	Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024 // 7 p.m. (CST)
Location	St. Louis, Mo. (Chaifetz Arena)
Chaifetz Arena	Tickets | Parking | Clear Bag Policy
Arena Giveaway	24 oz. co-branded coozie courtesy of stltaxlawyer.com (first 3,000 fans)
TV	Bally Sports Midwest (Alexa Datt, Scott Highmark)
Stream	ESPN+
Radio	KMOX 1120 AM (Bob Ramsey, Earl Austin Jr.)
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Series History	SLU leads 17-8
Game Notes	Saint Louis | UMass

 SETTING THE SCENE

• Saint Louis (8-11, 1-5 A-10) continues its two-game homestand when it hosts the UMass Minutemen (12-7, 3-4 A-10) on Saturday night. Game time is 7 p.m.
• Saturday's game will be televised on Bally Sports Midwest and streamed live on ESPN+ and the Bally Sports App.
• KMOX 1120 AM 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.

ALUMNI ANNOUNCED AT HALFTIME

• The annual Billiken Basketball Alumni Reunion is taking place this weekend.
• All SLU men's basketball alumni in attendance will be introduced on the court at halftime of Saturday's game.

ARENA GIVEAWAY

• The first 3,000 fans will receive a 24 oz. co-branded coozie courtesy of stltaxlawyer.com.

ABOUT THE BILLIKENS

• Saint Louis (8-11, 1-5 A-10) looks to halt a three-game skid on Saturday night when it hosts UMass at Chaifetz Arena.
• Bradley Ezewiro is averaging 14.0 ppg (second on Billikens) and a team-leading 7.1 rpg. He is coming off a career-high 20 points against Davidson. Ezewiro has led the Billikens in rebounding in seven straight games.
• Kellen Thames is in the best three-game stretch of his career. He is averaging 8.0 ppg on 11-of-18 shooting in the last three. For the year, Thames leads SLU in FG percentage (.652, 45-of-89).
• Gibson Jimerson leads the Billikens and is 10th in the A-10 in scoring with 15.3 ppg. He is sixth in the league with 45 3-pointers. 
• Michael Meadows Jr. and Cian Medley man the point guard spot for SLU. Medley leads the Bills in total assists (61).
• Sincere Parker has scored in double figures in each of the last two games and is back playing 20+ minutes after missing 11 games due to an injury. He averages 13.6 ppg (third on squad) in eight games this year for the Billikens.
• Terrence Hargrove Jr. has scored in double figures in each of the last three games and is fourth on the Bills with 12.9 ppg.
• SLU has already had seven different starting lineup combinations this season, the most in the Travis Ford era.
• The Billikens are 164-139 in A-10 regular-season games. Travis Ford needs one more A-10 win for 100 in his career.

LAST TIME OUT         

• Bradley Ezewiro scored a career-high 20 points, but a big second half lifted Davidson to an 84-61 victory over Saint Louis Wednesday night at Chaifetz Arena.
• The Billikens slipped to 8-11 overall and 1-5 in the Atlantic 10 Conference, while Davidson improved to 12-7, 2-4.
• Ezewiro was 6-of-10 from the field and 8-of-10 from the foul line, setting career highs for free throws made and attempted. He tied Terrence Hargrove Jr. and Sincere Parker for team rebounding honors with six.
• Hargrove tossed in 14 points and Parker had 10. Cian Medley collected four assists.
• The Billikens took a three-point lead into halftime (31-28), but were outscored 56-30 in the second half as Davidson pulled away for the win.

ABOUT THE MINUTEMEN

• The University of Massachusetts Minutemen (Amherst, Mass.) are 12-7 overall and 3-4 in A-10 play. They have had two tough A-10 losses recently, falling in the final seconds in games at Loyola Chicago (Jan. 17) and Saint Joseph's (Jan. 23).
• UMass came into conference play with a 9-3 record, marking the first time UMass has won nine or more non-conference games in back-to-back seasons since the 2013-14 campaign.
• The Minutemen lead the A-10 in several team categories, including fastbreak points per game (13.9), offensive rebounds per game (13.8) and turnover margin (3.4). They are second in the A-10 in scoring offense (81.2 ppg).
• Saint Francis transfer and last year's NEC Freshman of the Year Josh Cohen leads the Minutemen with 17.3 ppg. He shoots 56.2 percent from the field while also averaging 7.2 rebounds.
• Matt Cross averages 15.7 points and a team-high 8.4 rebounds.
• Rahsool Diggins also scores in double figures for the Minutemen, posting 12.6 ppg including a team-leading 41 3-pointers.
• Frank Martin is in his second season at UMass with a 27-23 record. In 17 seasons overall, he is 314-222. Martin served as head coach at Kansas State from 2007-12 and South Carolina from 2012-22. He guided the Gamecocks to the 2017 NCAA Final Four.

SERIES HISTORY        

• This is the 26th meeting all-time between the two teams. The Billikens lead the series 17-8.
• Last year, the Minutemen won 90-81 in a shootout in Amherst. UMass led by 11 at halftime. Sincere Parker got hot and helped bring the Billikens back to within one of the lead in the second half but SLU got no closer.
• UMass' lone win at Chaifetz Arena came on Jan. 31, 2015, a 60-56 Minutemen victory.
• SLU and UMass met in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament at the Georgia Dome. The Bills won 51-46 behind a team-high 18 points by Larry Hughes.