prebilliken

"I love watching Mizzou lose. I would love to play them on annual basis and would love to watch them lose to SLU." - This was my take when we last had the opportunity to talk trash about Mizzou and this is my take now. Playing the game is the right thing to do for college basketball in Missouri, I know Mizzou is trash, I like that Mizzou is trash, their fans are obnoxious and I don't care. I honestly don't care if Mizzou was the worst team in all of D1 basketball every year, I still want to play them and I want to beat them year in and year out. I don't care if SLU wins a John Wooden-era UCLA amount of National Championships, I still want to play Mizzou every year. Their fans and their athletic department have been hiding behind 100% cowardice for two decades now and I want to play so they have to eat their own words on the hardwood. Its criminal that those 2011-2013 Mizzou and SLU squads didn't meet on the court, it would have been a war, now, we'd kill them, and frankly, I'd love every minute of it.

I love reading Tiger Board, the variance between incredible denial and incredible despair is incredibly entertaining.

LETS GO BABY! LETS GOOOOOO!

Can someone get me hard proof?

How viable are the rumors that he wants to come to SLU?

I am assuming its possible, I don't obviously know that as a fact. But concerning the playing area. All of those seats in the first ten rows or so can be pushed back, think about how the floor looks for graduation rather than for a basketball game.

Would you mind taking a screenshot of the post and posting it here? First - I've wanted Hockey at SLU for as long as I can remember. It would be amazing in the Chaifetz. It would continue to differentiate us as an athletic program away from Mizzou and Illinois, and there is a massive homegrown talent base here. I really don't see any reasons (other than I don't get to look at SLU's books) that we don't have hockey and/or lacrosse. Second - No football, ever, at SLU. I couldn't feel more strongly about it.

The Rational Side of My Brain is Saying: This is more than a perfectly reasonable response. You always have to be forward thinking and understanding your options. Evolve or die, just because you have a great thing going does that mean that you aren't prepping for the next step? The Billiken Side of My Brain is Saying: HASAHN. YOU NEED TO SAY FOREVER. NEVER LEAVE. WHY WOULD YOU EVEN THINK OF LEAVING. WHY AREN'T YOU THINKING ABOUT MAKING A FINAL FOUR RUN NEXT YEAR??? I'm sure the truth is somewhere in the middle there.

Yes. I finally cut my cable (AT&T) because they increased the regional channels price again. You can link ESPN +/ Hulu + / Disney + and essentially bay under $70 a month.

The importance of this game could not be bigger. We have to win out to feel safe about the four spot. Winning out would also mean that we have a shot at the 2 seed if everything were to go right. March Madness is upon us.

If you haven't heard of the Arch-Baron cup then you haven't been paying attention. My Grandpa went to SLU on the GI Bill and I grew up listening to stories of cup lore and legend as a little lad sitting on his knee. I spent three nights in a Dayton prison naked and shivering after attempting to steal The Cup from Dayton's athletic offices on a fraternity dare and I'd do it again.

Well, there are irrational adults on this board who believe that if you don't chastise an 18 year old for hypothetically not making the same college decision as his father then you're not a "true" Billiken fan, even if you regularly watch/attend games, graduated/go to the University, donate to the University, are involved in the University's alumni association, etc. etc... It's tough to get along swimmingly with people of that nature.

I hate to say this because it is a Dayton rag, but Blackburn Review is really well done and puts out good content. I also believe that they are behind the absolutely hilarious website dedicated to promoting the "history" of the Arch-Baron cup. As for the logos by SBU unfurled. They are absolutely fire. I love the "revamped vintage" look of the Billiken. I would hire the guy to do one for every version of the Billiken and reproduce those logos on merchandise.

I never talk down about individual student athletes on any team but I reserve the right to talk trash about other fan bases and their coaches. Especially one that has been thumbing their collective nose at "little brother" for so many years; regardless of the fact that a series with SLU is overwhelmingly supported by neutral observers in college basketball and that it would be a mutually beneficial series to both schools both financially and culturally. Mizzou fans are a special breed: Because their primary rival for so many years is one of the blue bloods of college basketball, they believe they are in that tier of program as well. They have won zero National Championships and have zero Final Four appearances. They are 21-19 against SLU all time and 2-1 against us in the last three games in '99, '00, and '01. That is hardly dominance. I don't know where I would rank Mizzou in terms of prestige against all programs, but they are as far away from being a blue blood as SLU is historically, and likely farther away from being one in the future. They deserve all the comeuppance they can possibly get. I love watching Mizzou lose. I would love to play them on annual basis and would love to watch them lose to SLU.

What the hell is this?

I'm sorry, do elaborate, no links, just safe for work details.

Our student section has been tremendous so far, no reason to think it doesn't get better. There has been a noticeable difference in the "fun" factor during the regime change from the "Blue Crew" to the SLUnatics. The students seem way more into it. I think the hype will grow as the season does. I would like attendance of over 9,000 total in the 'Fetz on Sunday.

I think Hargrove is going to log considerable minutes and be a valuable contributor this year. He is athletic and crazy talented, people in the know, including Ford, beam about who is as a person as well. The season is long and hard, he is getting into the system, his number is going to be called and we are going to need him and I can't wait to watch him play.

That's the Luck of the Billiken if I've ever seen it.

Poorly worded on my part, should have just said, "Dedicated practice facility," meaning, our team doesn't have to practice where it plays, it has a two court facility under the same roof as the actual arena where multiple drills can be run at the same time, but you're correct, sharing it with volleyball is pretty minor indeed. It also means that scheduling practice time between the men's and women's program is far easier. I've said this a thousand times and I'll say it a thousand times more, when it comes to just the structure itself (not atmosphere, history, lore, etc.) Chaifetz is one of the top facilities in all of college basketball, it is beyond reproach. I've been in many of the arenas of comparable size, specifically the Cintas Center, and Chaifetz single bowl, four screen setup is just plain better. Plus, when at capacity, it gets loud in that building! Furthermore, SLU has been improving it! The new lounge, the locker rooms, new scoreboards, SLU knows they have a game changing card and they are treating it correctly, rarely, if ever do I praise the SLU AD, but real has to recognize real. Chaifetz was ahead of its time as well, so many programs are moving to a "bigger is not necessarily better" mentality in terms of basketball. My graduate alma mater Texas is moving out of the TERRIBLE Frank Erwin Center and building a 10,000 seat arena, UCLA reduced the seats to improve fan experience at the cavernous Pauley Pavilion. I enjoy every moment in that building, it's just so well done.

Agreed on all counts - except when I stated that "We have nothing to apologize for" when competing with major programs, I specifically meant basketball only. Much has been said about the need to improve many facilities across Billiken athletics. You also hit it on the head with your second paragraph, even a school like SLU, which is quite wealthy for its student population in terms of budget and endowment, simply cannot match the revenue brought in by major college football, it is what it is. Still, you have to consider context, if SLU is intending to compare itself to Big East programs (not trying to start another expansion thread, that simply is the goal of the program) you have to be happy with the progress. Our facilities would be top if not tied for top across the Big East. They already are the class of the A10. A revamped Dayton Arena and VCU's practice complex have tightened the field but SLU would still be considered more impressive in totality. How many basketball only schools can say they have all three: A state of the art ON CAMPUS arena, a dedicated basketball practice complex, and state of the art locker rooms comparable with high major programs? Xavier, maybe, I have no idea what their locker rooms are like.

Ford ain't just blowing smoke here. Our facilities are incredible and punch well, WELL above our prestige historically as a program and, noting all the whining and moaning this board (myself included) does about the Athletic Department and our Board's focus on athletics, truly speaks to our University's focus on improving our basketball program. Until recently, our basketball facilities were WAY nicer than my hometown's University, the University of Arkansas, a school that has some fantastic athletic facilities across all sports. I think they just finished a dedicated basketball facility, so they are likely on par with us now. When it comes to wanting to play with the big boys, we have nothing to apologize, literally nothing, when it comes to the state of our facilities.

Something that got understandably lost because of how well the Bills played to open the season - the new Unis looked CLEAN on TV. I loved the home white template and I especially loved seeing "Billikens" on the front of the jerseys. I thought the blue popped and the darker arch on the back really looks good as well. Minor thing to get excited about, but they translated really well in game. I look forward to seeing the rest soon.

bEsT tEaM iN mIsSoUri

Question 1: Yes, if we are a back to back tourney team. Otherwise, no, I am conscious of where the Bills stand in the College Basketball zeitgeist, so better question, who would be fired up to see us? Question 2: My statement neither grammatically implies adding another, or not, as when we schedule Arkansas they may well be the only SEC team on the schedule. I am aware we are playing Auburn.