SETTING THE SCENE

• No. 14 Saint Louis upended No. 11 Rhode Island last night to advance to today's second-round matchup against No. 6 Duquesne. The Dukes had a first-round bye, so this is their first game of the Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Basketball Championship.
• If the Billikens win, they will advance to Thursday's quarterfinals to face No. 3-seed Dayton at 6:30 p.m. CT / 7:30 p.m. ET. 
• Today's game will be televised on USA Network. Paul Burmeister and Tim McCormick have the call, with Caroline Pineda and Kim Adams reporting.
• The game can be found on the radio dial at 1120 AM KMOX in St. Louis. Billiken Hall of Famers and longtime SLU men's basketball radio partners Bob Ramsey and Earl Austin Jr. have the call.

• Saint Louis has won two in a row and four out of its last six, including last night's 74-71 win over URI in the first round.
• The Billikens have won their opening game of the A-10 Men's Basketball Championship eight straight years, the only team in the league to do so over that stretch. Also, the Bills are the only A-10 team to go to the semifinals in each of the last four A-10 Championships.
• Both of SLU's A-10 tournament crowns have come at the Barclays Center. The Billikens won the first A-10 Championship in this building in 2013. In 2019, SLU won four games in four days to capture the A-10 title.
• Gibson Jimerson has scored in double figures in eight straight games. He has drained three or more 3-pointers in six straight. Jimerson's 26 points last night tied the school record for most points scored by a Billiken in an A-10 tourney game.
• Terrence Hargrove Jr. is averaging 17.3 ppg over the last three games. He was 6-of-9 from the field with 18 points last night.
• Bradley Ezewiro posted his third double-double of the season last night with 10 points and 11 boards vs. URI.
• Kellen Thames leads SLU in FG percentage (.593, 83-140). That's currently fifth best in a single season in school history.
• Cian Medley's 124 assists are second among freshmen in a single season in school history. He has 19 assists over the last two games.

• No. 14 seed Saint Louis won its Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Basketball Championship opener with a 74-71 triumph over No. 11 seed Rhode Island Tuesday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
• Gibson Jimerson sparked the offense early and often, connecting on two early treys to set the tone. His 26 points are tied for the most by a Billiken in A-10 Championship history (Davell Roby, 26 vs. Davidson in the quarterfinals of the 2018 A-10 Championship). Jimerson also dished out five assists and clinched the game with clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch.
• Terrence Hargrove Jr. cored 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting. He hit back-to-back treys to close the first half and helped send the Billikens into the locker room with a nine-point advantage. Bradley Ezewiro finished with a double-double of 10 points (5-of-7 shooting) and 11 rebounds. He also dished out four assists and recorded a steal.
• Cian Medley had seven points and nine assists. Kellen Thames finished with six points, while Stef van Bussel was productive on both ends of the court and finished with five points and six rebounds.

• Duquesne (20-11, 10-8 A-10) is one of the hottest teams in the league, having won four straight and six of its last seven. The Dukes earned the No. 6 seed despite starting the conference season 0-5.
• The Dukes are led by the guard tandem of Dae Dae Grant (16.7 ppg) and Jimmy Clark III (15.1 ppg). They were both named to the A-10 All-Conference second team.
• Grant enters the game leading the Atlantic 10 in free-throw percentage (95.7%) while ranking sixth in the conference in scoring, while guard Clark paces the A-10 in steals with an average of 2.39 per contest.
• David Dixon (54 blocked shots) and Fousseyni Drame (5.3 rpg) provide a presence inside for Duquesne.

• This is the 36th meeting all-time between the Billikens and Rams.
• Duquesne leads the series 18-17. SLU has won two out of the last three.
• This is the fourth time the Billikens and Dukes are meeting up in the A-10 Championship. SLU defeated the Dukes in the A-10s in 2007 (Atlantic City) and 2016 (Pittsburgh). The Dukes won at the Barclays Center in 2015.

• Duquesne was clicking on all cylinders in a 81-66 win over the Bills in Pittsburgh on Feb. 20.
• The Dukes led wire-to-wire as guards Dae Dae Grant (31 points) and Jimmy Clark III (19 points) combined for 50 points.
• Terrence Hargrove Jr. led the Billikens with 17 points, followed by Bradley Ezewiro who scored 13. Kellen Thames matched a then-career-high with 12 points, while Gibson Jimerson scored 12 points.