WHAT'S ON TAP?

• Saint Louis is in Philadelphia to take on the La Salle Explorers on Saturday afternoon. Game time at John E. Glaser Arena is set for 3 p.m. (CT).

FOLLOWING THE ACTION

• Saturday's game will be televised nationally on USA Network. Steve Schlanger and Dr. John Giannini are on the call. Rhode Island and Davidson play on the network before the SLU-La Salle game. If it goes long, the broadcast will begin on the USA Network App, and then will be joined in progress on the USA Network cable channel once the game concludes.
• 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 is the only team in the country with six players averaging double figures in scoring. Eight different Billikens have led the team in scoring in a game so far this season.
• The Billikens are ninth in the nation in scoring offense with 93.4 ppg. Their +26.3 scoring margin is third nationally. SLU is ninth in the NCAA in assists per game (19.1).
• Opponents shoot just 35.7 percent against them, second in the NCAA. SLU's 3FG% defense (.276) is seventh nationally. 
• SLU is one of the top rebounding teams in the NCAA, ranking third in the nation in rebounds per game (44.5) and fifth in rebound margin (+13.6). The Bills have not been out-rebounded in a game this season.
• The Billikens are off to their best start since 1993-94. That team got to 19-1 before suffering its second loss of the year. The 1947-48 and 1948-49 Billiken squads were 16-1 before their second losses of the season.
• Robbie Avila is tied for the SLU scoring lead with 12.6 ppg. He leads all centers in NCAA Division I with 3.8 assists/game. 
• Dion Brown also scores 12.6 ppg and leads SLU with 6.4 rpg. 
• Trey Green (11.4 ppg) leads the league in 3FG% (.447) and is second in the A-10 with 2.8 3s per game. 
• Quentin Jones (10.6 ppg) enters the La Salle game needing 16 points for 1,000 in his career.
• Amari McCottry (10.6 ppg) hit the go-ahead 3-pointer late in the VCU game that sparked the game-deciding 10-0 Billiken run.
• Kellen Thames (10.0 ppg) is coming off a career-high 18 points at VCU.
• 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 .777 winning percentage ranks No. 7 among active coaches in the NCAA.

ABOUT LA SALLE

• The La Salle Explorers enter Saturday's game 5-11 overall and 1-2 in Atlantic 10 Conference play. 
• La Salle is coming off an impressive 79-72 win at Rhode Island on Wednesday night. The Explorers shot a season-best 61% (25-of-41) from the field and a season-best 53.8% (7-of-13) from 3-point range.
• Jaeden Marshall leads La Salle with 12.1 ppg. He is among the A-10's top free-throw shooters as well (.52-58, .897). Jerome Brewer Jr. turns in 10.5 ppg.
• Rob Dockery is averaging a team-high 18.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in A-10 play while shooting 61.5 percent from the field. He has scored 20 or more points in each of the last two games.
• Truth Harris is coming off a career-high 19 points off the bench in the win at Rhode Island.
• The Explorers are active on the offensive glass, ranking fourth in the A-10 in offensive rebounds. Justin Archer and Josiah Harris are third in the A-10 in offensive rebounds per game (2.33).
• Head coach Darris Nichols was named head coach at La Salle in the off-season. He spent the previous four seasons at Radford. SLU's first four games in A-10 play are against first-year coaches at their institutions (Saint Joseph's, VCU, La Salle, Fordham). 

SERIES HISTORY

• Saint Louis leads the all-time series against the Explorers 25-10. The series dates back to the 1950s. SLU has a 19-7 record against the Explorers in A-10 regular-season games.
• Last season, the Billikens defeated the Explorers 64-52 at Chaifetz Arena. Robbie Avila led four Saint Louis players in double figures with a game-high 21 points.
• Saint Louis has won seven straight in the series and 12 of the last 13 matchups.
• This is SLU's first game in the newly renovated John E. Glaser Arena.