WHAT'S ON TAP?

• Saint Louis welcomes the Richmond Spiders to Chaifetz Arena on Saturday afternoon. Game time is set for 3 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network, and the popular Royal Banks of Missouri Great Baby Race will take place at halftime.
• Next up for the Billikens is a two-game road trip to Duquesne (Jan. 20) and St. Bonaventure (Jan. 23). SLU then returns home for its next two games at Chaifetz Arena, hosting George Washington (Jan. 27) and Dayton (Jan. 30) to close out the month of January. 

FOLLOWING THE ACTION

• Saturday's game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network. Chris Lewis and Chris Walker are on the call. 
• 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 is in his 40th season as the radio voice of SLU hoops, and Austin who is in year No. 35. The duo were recently honored with the Burnes-Broeg at the Missouri Athletic Club's Jack Buck Awards.

NEWS & NOTES

• Saint Louis has won 10 straight and is on the cusp of the AP Top 25 as the first team RV. SLU is 22nd in the NCAA NET rankings.
• SLU's 10-game winning streak is its longest in a season since it won a school-record 19 straight during the 2013–14 campaign.
• The Billikens have won 15 games in a row at Chaifetz Arena dating back to last year, the longest streak in arena history.
• This is the fourth time in program history a Billiken team has won 16 of its first 17 games. The 1993-94 team started 19-1, and the 1947-48 and 1948-49 teams started 16-1.
• The Billikens lead the nation in scoring margin at +25.2. SLU is 9th in the nation in scoring offense with 91.9 ppg.
• The Bills ranks second in the NCAA in FG% defense (.357). Their 3FG% defense (.268) is third nationally. 
• SLU is one of the top rebounding teams in the NCAA, ranking fifth in rebounds per game (43.4) and sixth in rebound margin (+12.2). The Bills lead the NCAA in defensive rpg (31.8).
• Saint Louis is one of two programs nationally (Baylor being the other) with six players averaging double figures.
• Robbie Avila leads the Billikens in scoring with 12.7 ppg. He leads all centers in NCAA Division I with 3.9 assists/game. 
• Dion Brown (11.6 ppg) averages a team-best 6.0 rpg. 
• Trey Green (10.9 ppg) leads the league in 3FG% (.448) and is fourth in the A-10 with 2.69 3s per game. 
• Quentin Jones (10.8 ppg) will be recognized before starting lineups on Saturday after registering his 1,000th career point against Fordham.
• Kellen Thames is the Billikens' second leading scorer in A-10 play with an average of 12.8 ppg.
• Robbie Avila has been named to preseason Watch Lists for the Naismith Trophy, Oscar Robertson Trophy, Wooden Award and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award. 
• Billiken head coach Josh Schertz is in his 18th season as a collegiate head coach. His .778 winning percentage ranks No. 7 among active coaches in the NCAA.

ABOUT RICHMOND

• The Richmond Spiders enter Saturday's game 13-5 overall and 3-2 in Atlantic 10 Conference play. The Spiders have won three of their last four, including a 74-53 home win against La Salle their last time out.
• Richmond has won both of its road games in A-10 play thus far, winning at Fordham and St. Bonaventure earlier this season. 
• Four players score in double figures for the Spiders, including AJ Lopez who scores a team-high 12.6 ppg. Jaden Daughtry averages 10.8 ppg, primarily off the bench, while Will Johnston has drilled a team-high 33 treys as part of his 10.3 ppg. The fourth Spider in double digits is Aiden Argabright (10.3 ppg), who also leads the team in steals. 
• Richmond plays a lot of players, with 11 Spiders seeing regular action and 10 players averaging 15.0 minutes or more per game. UR is tops in the A-10 and seventh nationally with 37.83 bench points per game.
• The Spiders are second in the A-10 to the Bills in assist/turnover ratio (1.53), 3PT% (.381), 3PT% defense (.249) and defensive rebounds per game (31.8).
• Head coach Chris Mooney is 371-295 in 21 seasons at Richmond. His career Division I head coaching record is 389-307.

SERIES HISTORY

• Saint Louis leads the all-time series 14-11. Last season, the Billikens defeated the Spiders 63-59 at the Robins Center thanks in part to a late 10-0 surge. Robbie Avila led the Billikens with 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 8-of-10 shooting from the charity stripe. He drained two clutch free throws late to seal it.
• The Spiders have won three of the last four against the Bills. Included in that stretch was a win in the last game at Chaifetz Arena – 80-64 on Feb. 28, 2024