WHAT'S ON TAP?

• Saint Louis plays its first of four Friday games in Atlantic 10 play, taking on St. Bonaventure in a 4:30 p.m. CT tipoff at the Reilly Center in St. Bonaventure, N.Y.
• The matchup against the Bonnies concludes a two-game road swing. SLU plays its next two at Chaifetz Arena, hosting George Washington on Tuesday, Jan. 27, and Dayton for the Billiken Blizzard on Friday, Jan. 30.

FOLLOWING THE ACTION

• Friday's game airs on ESPN2 as part of the A-10/ESPN Friday Night Showcase, with Mike Corey and Dr. John Giannini calling 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 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 Award at the Missouri Athletic Club's Jack Buck Awards.

WATCH PARTY AT BUFFALO WILD WINGS

• Join us at Buffalo Wild Wings in Kirkwood when the Billikens play at St. Bonaventure on Friday, January 23 at 4:30 p.m. CT. Be sure to wear your Billiken gear for $10 off any purchase at Buffalo Wild Wings!

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's 12-game winning streak is tied for the sixth-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 6-0 for the second time in school history (2013-14).
• This is the second time in program history a Billiken team has won 18 of its first 19 games. A win Friday would match the 1993-94 squad for the best record through 20 games (19-1).
• The Billikens lead the nation in scoring margin at +24.1. SLU is 9th in the nation in scoring offense with 91.2 ppg.
• Defensively, the Bills lead the NCAA in FG% defense (.355) and are fourth in 3FG% defense (.269). 
• SLU is one of the top rebounding teams in the NCAA, ranking fifth in rebounds per game (43.2) and fifth in rebound margin (+11.5). The Billikens lead the NCAA in defensive rpg (31.8).
• Saint Louis has a balanced scoring attack. The Billikens are the only team in the NCAA with six players averaging double figures.
• Kellen Thames is the reigning A-10 Player of the Week. He is the Bills' second-leading scorer in A-10 play (12.8 ppg).
• Robbie Avila leads the Billikens in scoring with 12.8 ppg. He leads all centers in NCAA Division I with 3.9 assists/game. 
• Dion Brown (11.6 ppg) averages a team-best 6.1 rpg.
• Trey Green (10.9 ppg) leads the league and is 13th in the NCAA in 3FG% (.450). He is second in the A-10 with 2.78 3s per game. 
• Amari McCottry (10.8 ppg) is tied for second on the team with 5.7 rpg. 
• Quentin Jones (10.0 ppg) is second to Avila in assists.
• 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 .779 winning percentage ranks No. 8 among active coaches in the NCAA.

ABOUT ST. BONAVENTURE

• The St. Bonaventure Bonnies (12-7, 1-5 A-10) are coming off their first conference victory, an 84-70 home triumph against Loyola Chicago on Tuesday.
• Frank Mitchell leads the Bonnies in scoring (17.3 ppg / second in A-10) and rebounding (10.4 rpg / first in A-10). He is one of eight players in the NCAA with at least 11 double-doubles on the season. Mitchell leads the NCAA in offensive rebounding (4.68/game) and is seventh nationally in total rebounds with 198.
• Darryl Simmons II tallies 15.6 ppg and is fifth in the A-10 in 3-pointers per game (2.63). He ranks second in the league only to SLU's Trey Green in 3FG% (.413).
• Cayden Charles also scores in double figures (12.8 ppg) and leads the Bonnies in steals. Dasonte Bowen leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.37) and is third on the conference chart with 4.8 assists per game.
• The Bonnies are the top free-throw shooting team in the A-10, hitting .767 from the stripe.
• Head coach Mark Schmidt is in his 19th season at St. Bonaventure and his 25th overall as a collegiate head coach. He is 336-245 at SBU and 418-335 overall.

SERIES HISTORY

• This is the 34th meeting all-time between the Billikens and Bonnies. The Billikens have won four in a row against the Bonnies and lead 17-16 in a series that dates to 1952-53.
• Last season, the Bills won 73-68 over the Bonnies at Chaifetz Arena. Robbie Avila netted 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Bills.
• The Billikens have won twice at the Reilly Center, where SLU is 2-8. The last matchup here resulted in a 73-65 Billiken win in the regular-season finale during the 2023-24 season.