SETTING THE SCENE

• Saint Louis closes out its non-conference road schedule on Sunday afternoon, taking on the Grand Canyon Lopes in Phoenix at 2 p.m. MT / 3 p.m. CT.
• Following a short Christmas break, the team will reconvene on Dec. 26 to prepare for the non-conference finale Saturday, Dec. 28, against William Woods at Chaifetz Arena.
• Then, the Atlantic 10 Conference slate begins as SLU opens league play with three games in nine days, beginning with a matchup at Fordham in New York City on New Year's Eve.

FOLLOWING THE ACTION

• Sunday's game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and carried locally in the Phoenix market on Fox10 Xtra. Barry Buetel (play-by-play), Dan Bickley (analyst) and Kate Longworth (reporter) will call the action.
• KMOX 1120 AM is 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. Ramsey is in his 39th season calling SLU games, while Austin is in year No. 34. 

BILLIKEN NOTABLES

• The Billikens look to snap their first two-game losing skid of the season on Sunday at Grand Canyon. SLU is also in search of its first road victory of the season.
• SLU is coming off a 74-71 loss to Wofford on Wednesday. The Bills let a seven-point halftime lead slip away as the Terriers shot a sizzling 63 percent in the second half. The Billikens were also hampered by 57.1 percent (20-35) shooting at the FT line.
• Gibson Jimerson recently became the Billikens' all-time leading scorer. He is one of nine active NCAA Division I players with 2,000+ career points. His 346 career triples leads all active players in Division I. Jimerson is fifth in the country in minutes played per game (36.54).
• Robbie Avila has been coming into form after missing time early in the season with a sprained ankle. His 18.0 ppg is tied for the team lead, and he has scored in double figures in each of his eight appearances. His 4.5 assists per game leads all centers in NCAA Division I this season.
• Isaiah Swope is tied with Avila for the team lead with 18.0 ppg. His 2.72 career 3s made per game ranks ninth among all active NCAA Division I players. Swope is one of five players in Division I averaging at least 18.0 points and 5.0 assists. 
• Kalu Anya ranks eighth in the NCAA in rebounds per game (10.5). He has led the Bills in rebounding every game this season.
• Saint Louis leads A-10 in 3s made per game (10.1).
• Head coach Josh Schertz is in his first season at SLU. His .782 winning percentage ranks No. 9 among active coaches across all three NCAA divisions.

ABOUT THE LOPES

• Grand Canyon University (Phoenix, Ariz.) enters Sunday's game with a 7-4 overall record.
• The Lopes and Billikens have a common opponent in Chicago State. Both secured 23-point wins over the Cougars on their home floor.
• Five Lopes score in double figures, led by JaKobe Coles' 14.6 ppg. Tyon Grant-Foster, last year's WAC Player of the Year, scores 13.3 ppg and averages 2.4 steals.
• Ray Harrison joins the Billikens' Gibson Jimerson as one of nine active players in NCAA Division I with 2,000 or more career points. For the season, Harrison averages 11.7 ppg.
• Lok Wur is coming off a career-high 20 points against Chicago State, and he has scored in double figures in four consecutive games.
• The Lopes rank ninth in the NCAA with 10.4 steals per game.
• Last season, Grand Canyon went 30-5, won the WAC, and was a 12-seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Lopes knocked off fifth-seeded Saint Mary's in the opening round.
• GCU, which is playing this season in the WAC, accepted an invite to the Mountain West Conference. It will join no later than July 1, 2026, but possibly as early as this year if permitted under the conference's bylaws.
• Bryce Drew is in his fifth season at Grand Canyon. Drew was the head coach at his alma mater, Valparaiso, during a home-and-home between the Billikens and Beacons in 2012 and 2013. SLU won both of those games.

SERIES HISTORY

• This is the first game between the two teams. Grand Canyon will pay a visit to Chaifetz Arena next year.
• The Billikens last played in Phoenix on Dec. 8, 2019, against Tulane in the Jerry Colangelo Classic at the Footprint Center. SLU drilled a single-game record 17 treys in that game. Gibson Jimerson was a freshman on that team and led the way with 22 points, thanks in part to six 3s.