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This is probably a good place to discuss some computer methodology.....how the computer thinks...the numbers behind the numbers. I don't usually go into the details because ...well because most people are just interested in the spread.. "I don't care what's in the pie or how it was made...just cut me a slice". We are far enough into this thread where only the true basketball fans are reading so I will go into the minutiae a bit more. This game is a good one to go into a little deeper because it is a little simpler than most. While the total number of variables remain the same as all other games there are a few that standout and carry a little more weight because of the way Mercer plays. The fact that they use only 6 players plus the fact that 2 of them score most of the points makes them a little different than most teams. The top scorers will be Haase and either Alvarez or Glisson. ...Note here Glisson has not played the last 2 games though he is not listed as injured. The computer figures that Haase and one of the other 2 will be the top scorers. The model calculates that Haase and one of the other 2 will score 37 pts against us and will account for 50% of Mercer's pts. That means the model is figuring that Mercer will score 74 against The Bills and the Bills will put up 86 pts. If we can hold their 2 leading scorers to 30 or less , it could turn into a blowout. (20+ pts) On the other side of the coin if their top 2 score 43+ combined, it will be an even game. Again if Glisson doesn't play or has limited minutes it will be a blow to a team with limited depth. We need to try and contain Haase. He can shoot from anywhere on the floor. Glisson is a 3 pt shooter. If we defend against him , he will pass on some shots and keep his numbers down. Alvarez is also a 3 pt shooter BUT not a 3pt maker. He will switch to 2s. Bottom line ...this should be a team we can wear down....another reason to play tight defense. Hold the top 2 to under 30 combined and the game is ours.

Also of note: one of Mercer's subs is Jalen Johnson! No, not former SLU player Jalen Johnson. He's at Texas A&M now (after stops at Louisiana and Mississippi State), but is out for the year after tearing his ACL. No, not this Jalen Johnson either. He struggled through half a season at Duke last year, but quit (maybe because of injuries, maybe because Duke wasn't very good), got drafted into the NBA and now plays for the Hawks (currently of Atlanta, formerly of St. Louis). No, not this Jalen Johnson either. He started his career at Murray State before transferring to UIC. Also not this Jalen Johnson either. He is in his 3rd season at Alabama A&M and seems to be the only Jalen Johnson who has been able to stick in one place. Yes, last season you potentially could have fielded an entire DI starting lineup of Jalen Johnsons if you recruited properly. They go 6'1", 6'6", 6'6", 6'7", and 6'9" too, so you wouldn't even necessarily have anyone playing too much out of position. "Jalen, set a pick for Jalen to free him up for a pass from Jalen while Jalen pops to the 3 point line & Jalen crashes the boards...er...Johnson, set a pick for Johns...ugh never mind." Amazingly these 5 Jalen Johnsons who all had overlapping careers to some extent appear to be the ONLY Jalen Johnsons in the college basketball reference database which seems to have complete team rosters (at least for SLU) going back into the 1980s and has random players going at least as far back as Easy Ed. Mercer's Jalen Johnson started his career at Tennessee and played 3 forgettable season there (stats wise) before going to Wake Forest for 1 and finally ending up at Mercer for his COVID year. He was super highly touted top 25 recruit out of high school, but hasn't lived up to that at all. Although he was a year behind SLU's Jalen Johnson, I can recall when trying struggling to find info on SLU's Jalen Johnson because that you had to wade through a ton of stuff on this more highly regarded Jalen Johnson first.

Fish Fry on a Saturday? It's not even Lent.

like the fish tacos

George Washington type last possession there from Clemson.

What a dumb play set up given Clemson came out of a time out.

english has been recruiting a lot of shooters

That is a crappie situation to be in

in Mrs. CBFan's defense not a lot of our games are on at 4pm

What time do you want us over? Should we bring beer?

Wow. What a change is his midrange game. A board and a bucket right between 2 players both at least 4-5 inches taller than him and then a 3 from downtown that looked as effortless and smooth as we've ever seen him shoot. Kudos to JGood for putting in the work. He looks really good

Mercer will make threes. What team doesn't against us?

Kim English’s recruits are going to fit right in at SPUMAC when Mizzou hires him away from Mason:

Guy Phillips' dream roster.

Didn't post during the game. Glad I didn't. Much better to post today after some perspective. This game was expected when one team is ranked #11 in the country, soon to be higher, and the other lost 58% of its scoring from last year. Everyone needs to get a grip. The effort we have gotten thus far in the season, including losing by 20 to a top team in the country, will put us somewhere in the top 4 in the A-10. Here are some reality checks: Hargrove - I have always been a Hargrove proponent. He put up points, but was still only 9-23. I hope he gained confidence from this game, but don't think this means he is on some meteoric rise. Still, I'm glad he performed well. The Bigs - Posters destroyed these guys during the game. Why? Linssen had 11 points in 16 minutes. Okoro had 7 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks in 22 minutes. Against a top team, that's not too bad. Jimerson - Again, nobody passes to him when he's wide open on the 3 point line. Rewatch this game if you have the time and tell me how many times he got the ball in a position to score. Some of that is one him, although it certainly looked like he was hustling to get open. A lot of it is on guys not having vision to see who's standing on the 3 point line when they drive inside. Thatch - Also got bashed on the thread. Look, the guy is who he is. He had a strange injury that severely thwarted his development. He will give us good minutes as we move forward. This will not be his typical game. His athleticism will show more against less athletic opponents. Memphis was not a less athletic opponent. Nesbitt - Someone said he looked like a freshman out there. That's because he is a freshman. I know that's what the commenter meant, but just wanted to say it again. Nesbitt will have success in some games and struggle in others. From what I have seen from this staff, he will be better at the end of this season than he is now. Ford - Seriously? Many posters were ragging on Ford for what happened. Again, this was expected. What I saw out there was a team that didn't give up against a superiorly talented and more athletic opponent. That's good coaching. He changed defenses. He subbed in guys to try to keep everyone fresh. Memphis kept its starters in until the very end, and we played with them most of the game. The lead was 18 to 20ish range for most of the game. I think he got a good effort out of his guys.

March 1st reopening is what they are telling people. I am hopeful, but will believe it when I see it.

This account is run by SLU’s redevelopment corp so if they are posting it, something real is happening.

I 2nd that the college cup was the coldest I've ever been. I did snag one of the banners before I left that day. Just remembered I had, sitting in a box in my basement.

This may sound silly, but getting a Target is huge. It shows a major corporation already familiar with the region has faith long term in the midtown area. It is the type of move that will draw in more investment to the area as some national corporations that were hesitant to invest will follow Target's lead.

196 apartments plus a Target store(!) near Grand and Chouteau. From the same developer who renovated the Steelcote building nearby. https://www.stltoday.com/business/local/target-to-anchor-60-million-midtown-st-louis-apartment-development/article_9d7ff8b7-d33e-536f-bcb4-43bcbb9ea6a8.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1

Gonzaga has been able to maintain its high level following it being Cinderella in the NCAA Tourney - and has kept winning and winning and winning. Keeping its coach and reinvestment of monies earned has been critical but being able to dominate its conference and get a bid every year by qualifying for the Tourney each year has been just as big. Xavier made the NCAA Tourney each year mostly by winning the MCC and then the A-10. Butler dominated the Horizon and got its opportunity each year as well. I recall several years when Butler was simply not a good team... but somehow they won their Conference Tournament and kept the NCAA Tourney streak going. And no one goes back and re-examines how/why a team made the Tourney -- just that they went... so many times ... so many times in a row... George Mason and Davidson had their runs... and recently Chicago Loyola has had theirs. Xavier is no longer winning their conference/conference Tourney each year, but have been good enough to get "at large" bids. Butler is trying as well, has name recognition, continues to receive the prior NCAA Tourney paychecks, has re-invested its monies wisely, has mostly hired good new coaches... but Davidson and George Mason are shells of their past. Chicago Loyola will likely be the same. Nonetheless, I prefer mediocre team/program in the Midwest (and Chicago in particular) than another mediocre team/program on the East Coast. Welcome aboard Loyola!

No. For anyone that won’t be able to make today’s game in person, it will be on Big Ten Plus, free, without subscription. (There was discussion this week as to which carrier would stream the game.) None of the NCAA games via Big Ten Plus, (Men or Women) will require a subscription throughout the tourneys. And, there have been several. There are some unusual situations as well. Wisconsin v UC Irvine is at George Mason, while Georgetown is hosting Santa Clara on campus. Georgetown usually has their games streamed vis FloSports. They were able to work it out to get those games on ESPN+ Separately, there has been a lot of negative feedback from coaches with the NCAA, about the NCAA pairings and earlier round travel limits. Many teams want to play different teams from different parts of the country in the post season.