SLU Men's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 17	Saint Louis (10-6, 3-0 A-10) at VCU (12-4, 2-1 A-10)
Date // Time	Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025 // 6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET
Location	Richmond, Va. (Siegel Center)
Radio	KMOX 1120AM | Varsity Network App (Bob Ramsey, Earl Austin Jr.)
TV	FanDuel Sports Network Extra | MASN
Stream	ESPN+
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Series History	VCU leads 16-5
Game Notes	Saint Louis

SETTING THE SCENE

• Saint Louis begins a two-game swing in Richmond, Virginia, on Tuesday night when it takes on the VCU Rams at the Siegel Center. Tip time is slated for 6 p.m. (CT).
• The Billikens will remain in RVA as they will face the Richmond Spiders on Saturday afternoon at the Robins Center. That game tips at 1:30 p.m. (CT) on USA Network.

FOLLOWING THE ACTION

• Tuesday's game will be televised and produced by MASN. The game will be simulcast on Fanduel Sports Network Extra as well. Additionally, it will be streamed on ESPN+.
• 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 are the lone undefeated team in conference play.
• SLU is 3-0 in the A-10 for the third time in 20 years in the league. SLU head coach Josh Schertz is the first Billiken head coach in school history to start 3-0 in league play in his debut season.
• Saint Louis is in search of its first win at the Siegel Center, having gone winless in its previous nine trips.
• SLU is led in scoring by the trio of Gibson Jimerson (18.8 ppg), Isaiah Swope (18.1 ppg) and Robbie Avila (17.8 ppg). The Billikens are the only program in the country with three players averaging 17.8 or more points per game.
• Gibson Jimerson leads the A-10 in scoring and is 12th in the NCAA with 3.44 3-pointers made per game. 
• Robbie Avila has scored in double figures in each of his 13 appearances. His 4.7 assists per game and 2.0 3-pointers made per game lead all centers in NCAA Division I this season.
• Isaiah Swope scores 18.1 ppg (fourth in the A-10) and leads the Billikens with 5.3 assists (third in the A-10). He is one of four players in NCAA Division I averaging those numbers.
• Kalu Anya leads the A-10 in rebounds per game (9.7).
• Saint Louis leads the A-10 in FG% (.486), eFG% (.574) and 3s made per game (10.1). The Bills are second in the league in assists per game (16.2).
• Meanwhile, VCU ranks second in the conference in both FG% defense (.392) and scoring defense (62.5), while leading the league in turnovers forced per game (14.9).
• Head coach Josh Schertz's .782 winning percentage ranks No. 7 among active coaches across all three NCAA divisions.

ABOUT THE RAMS

• Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, Va.) enters Tuesday's game 12-4 overall and 2-1 in league play. The Rams are coming off wins against Loyola Chicago and Fordham. Their A-10 loss was in the conference opener at St. Bonaventure. 
• The Rams are 8-0 this season at the Siegel Center and have won 14 of their last 15 on their home floor dating back to last year.
• Joe Bamisile leads four Rams in double figures with 16.2 ppg. Max Shulga, a first-team All-Conference choice last year, averages 15.7 ppg to go along with team-bests of 1.9 steals and 3.8 assists per game.
• Phillip Russell, a St. Louis native who played in eight games for the Billikens in 2000-21, averages 12.2 ppg. He scored 26 points at St. Bonaventure and 25 points at Loyola Chicago.
• Luke Bamgboye leads the Rams and the A-10 in blocks per game (2.25).
• Ryan Odom is in his second season at VCU. He led Utah State to the NCAA Tournament two seasons ago and also guided UMBC to the NCAA Tournament in 2018, when the 16th-seeded Retrievers famously defeated No. 1 seed Virginia in the first round.

SERIES HISTORY

• VCU owns a 16-5 lead in the series, which includes a 9-0 record in favor of the Rams at the Siegel Center.
• The Rams have won five in a row. The last SLU win came on March 5, 2022, a 69-65 Billiken win at Chaifetz Arena.
• The teams first met in the 2010 CBI championship round, a best-of-three series. VCU, led then by Shaka Smart, defeated Rick Majerus' Billikens in the first two games to win the CBI title.