• Saint Louis heads to Pittsburgh to take on the Duquesne Dukes on Tuesday night. Game time at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse is set for 6 p.m. (CT).
• The Billikens then trek to western New York to face the St. Bonaventure Bonnies on Friday, Jan. 23, in an early Friday tipoff at 5:30 p.m. (CT). SLU closes out the month of January with two home games at Chafietz Arena, hosting George Washington (Jan. 27) and Dayton for the Billiken Blizzard Jan. 30. 

FOLLOWING THE ACTION

• Tuesday's game will air on FanDuel Sports Network in addition to being streamed on ESPN+. Tim Benz and Ellis Cannon 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 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 is No. 24 in the AP Top 25 this week, the first time since 2020-21 that the Billikens have been ranked. SLU is No. 23 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
• SLU's 11-game winning streak is tied for the seventh-longest active streak in the NCAA. It's the best streak in a season for the Bills since the 2013-14 squad won a school-record 19 straight. SLU is 5-0 in A-10 play for the first time since 2018-19.
• This is the second time in program history a Billiken team has won 17 of its first 18 games. The 1993-94 team started 19-1.
• The Billikens lead the nation in scoring margin at +25.2. SLU is 9th in the nation in scoring offense with 91.7 ppg.
• Defensively, the Bills lead the NCAA in FG% defense (.356) and are fourth in 3FG% defense (.270). 
• SLU is one of the top rebounding teams in the NCAA, ranking fourth in rebounds per game (43.5) and sixth in rebound margin (+12.3). The Billikens lead the NCAA in defensive rpg (31.9).
• Saint Louis has a balanced scoring attack. The Billikens are the only team in the NCAA with six players averaging double figures.
• Kellen Thames (10.6 ppg) has led SLU in scoring in three of the last four games. He is the reigning A-10 Player of the Week.
• Robbie Avila leads the Billikens in scoring with 12.8 ppg. He leads all centers in NCAA Division I with 3.8 assists/game. 
• Dion Brown (11.5 ppg) averages a team-best 6.1 rpg. 
• Amari McCottry is third on the Billikens in both scoring (10.9 ppg) and rebounding (5.6 rpg).
• Trey Green (10.8 ppg) leads the league and is 16th in the NCAA in 3FG% (.442). He is fourth in the A-10 with 2.71 3s per game. 
• Quentin Jones scores 10.4 ppg and is second to Avila in assists with 2.9/game.
• 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 DUQUESNE

• The Duquesne Dukes enter Tuesday's game 10-8 overall and 2-3 in Atlantic 10 Conference play. Duquesne snapped a three-game losing skid it last time out, knocking off Fordham in the Bronx 74-63.
• In the A-10 rankings, Duquesne is second to the Billikens in FG% (.490), eFG% (.568), fastbreak points/game (16.0) and assists/game (17.3).  
• Tarence Guinyard leads the Dukes with 16.2 ppg. He is second in the league in assists per game with 5.4.
• Jimmie Williams averages 15.3 ppg and is tops on the team with 29 steals. John Hugley IV has returned to the lineup after missing six games and averages 13.7 ppg for the year.
• Jakub Necas leads Duquesne in rebounding with 5.7 rpg while also chipping in 8.4 ppg.
• Head coach Dru Joyce III is in his second season as head coach at Duquesne. He was an associate head coach on Keith Dambrot's staff when the Dukes won the A-10 Tournament in 2023-24.

SERIES HISTORY

• This is the 38th meeting all-time between the Billikens and Dukes. Duquesne holds a 19-18 lead in the series.
• Last season, the Bills won in an overtime thriller on Senior Night, 90-88.
• While this is Josh Schertz' first time playing at Duquesne as the Billiken head coach, he did take his Indiana State team to UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in 2022-23. The Sycamores jumped out to a 20-4 early lead before falling 92-86. Robbie Avila, then an Indiana State freshman, scored eight points for the Sycamores.