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Kellen Thames

MBB PREVIEW: Billikens Open Season Monday Against SEMO

SLU Men's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game No. 1 Saint Louis (0-0) vs. Southeast Missouri (0-0)
Date // Time Monday, Nov. 3, 2025 // 7 p.m.
Location St. Louis, Mo. (Chaifetz Arena)
Chaifetz Arena Tickets | Parking | Clear Bag Policy
Radio 104.1 FM / 1120 AM KMOX | Varsity Network App (Bob Ramsey, Earl Austin Jr.)
TV FanDuel Sports Network Extra (Tom Ackerman, Scott Highmark, Tamar Sher)
Stream ESPN+
Live Stats StatBroadcast
Series History Saint Louis leads 12-4
Game Notes Saint Louis | SEMO

WHAT'S ON TAP?

  • Saint Louis opens the highly anticipated 2025-26 season Monday night, hosting Southeast Missouri at Chaifetz Arena in a 7 p.m. tipoff. 
  • It's the beginning of five-game homestand to start the season for the Billikens. SLU has Chicago State (Thursday, Nov. 6), Lindenwood (Monday, Nov. 10), Grand Canyon (Saturday, Nov. 15) and Purdue Fort Wayne (Friday, Nov. 21) all at home the first three weeks of the season.

FOLLOWING THE ACTION

  • Monday's game will the televised on FanDuel Sports Network Extra and simulcast on ESPN+. Tom Ackerman, Billiken Hall of Famer Scott Highmark, and Tamar Sher will call the action.
  • 104.1 FM / 1120 AM KMOX 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. Billiken Basketball sends a special salute to Rammer, who begins his 40th season as the radio voice of SLU hoops. Austin enters year No. 35.

NEWS & NOTES

  • This is the 111th season of Billiken Basketball. SLU has a 1,556-1,303 all-time record.
  • The Billikens are in their 18th season playing inside the state-of-the-art Chaifetz Arena. SLU is 218-79 all-time on its home court.
  • SLU is 14-2 in season openers at Chaifetz Arena. Last year marked the first time since Chaifetz Arena was built that the Billikens opened the season on the road (vs. Santa Clara at the Pentagon in South Dakota).
  • Senior center Robbie Avila is a preseason first-team All-Conference selection. Last year, he was named second-team All-Conference after averaging 17.3 points and 6.9 rebounds. He led all centers in Division I in 3s made per game and assists per game. 
  • The Billikens' roster consists of seven returners and 10 newcomers. Six of those newcomers are transfers, and the Bills welcome in four true freshmen.
  • The Billikens feature three 1,000-point scorers – Robbie Avila (1,542), Paul Otieno (1,020) and Dion Brown (1,010).
  • Saint Louis went 19-15 overall and 11-7 in league play last season. The Billikens were the No. 5 seed in the A-10 Championship and fell in the quarterfinals. SLU was an at-large pick for the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).
  • Billiken head coach Josh Schertz enters his 18th season as a collegiate head coach. He is 422-124 in his career. His .773 winning percentage ranks in the top 10 among active coaches in the NCAA.
  • Up next, Saint Louis hosts Chicago State Thursday at 7 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the women's team (MTSU at 4 p.m.).

ABOUT THE REDHAWKS

  • SEMO returns nine players from last year's Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship team. 
  • The Redhawks were picked second in the OVC preseason poll behind league-favorite Little Rock.
  • SEMO went 21-12 overall and 15-5 in OVC play last year. After winning the league's regular-season crown, the Redhawks advanced to the OVC Championship game where they fell to SIUE.
  • Forward Brendan Terry earned second-team All-OVC honors in his first year at SEMO in 2024-25. He ranked third on the team in scoring with 11.2 points per game and second with 4.5 rebounds per contest.
  • In addition to Terry, guards Braxton Stacker and BJ Ward were selected among the Ohio Valley Conference's Players to Watch this preseason. Stacker rated fourth on the team in scoring with 8.9 points and third in rebounding with 3.1 boards a game last season.  Ward was fifth with 8.4 ppg and was second on the team with 51 3-pointers.
  • Brad Korn is in his sixth year as Southeast Missouri's head coach. Korn has led SEMO to two conference titles (2022-23 OVC Tournament; 2024-25 OVC Regular-Season) in three years. The reigning OVC Coach of the Year, Korn is 74-85 overall. He ranks third all-time in wins among head coaches in SEMO's NCAA Division I era behind Gary Garner (126 wins, 1997-2006) and Dickey Nutt (80 wins, 2009-15).

SERIES HISTORY

  • The Billikens lead the all-time series 12-4 in a series dating back to 1914-15, the first season of Billiken Basketball. In fact, SEMO was SLU's first collegiate opponent. The Bills defeated "Missouri State Normal School –Third District" on Jan. 16, 1915, at Muegge's Gymnasium, which was located where SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital currently sits.
  • SLU owns a 5-1 series lead since SEMO went Division I in 1991-92.
  • The Billikens won the previous meeting, 75-65, in the season opener in 2018-19. Javon Bess and Tramaine Isabell Jr. scored 18 points apiece to pace the Bills.  
  • The Billikens also won the season openers in 2013-14, posting an 87-64 victory, and 2009-10, winning 59-41. 
  • SEMO's lone Division I victory in the series came on Dec. 29, 2004, a 65-49 win at Enterprise Center.

WHAT'S NEXT?

  • The Billikens host Chicago State at Chaifetz Arena on Thursday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. The matchup is part of a doubleheader with the women's team, who hosts Middle Tennessee State at 4 p.m.
  • Chicago State opens its season Monday night at DePaul.
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