NYBilliken

McNeese State with Sincere Parker is playing Clemson in a few minutes on TruTV. 12 vs. 5 seed

Great win! Duquesne is better than their record, but Swope had the answer.

Assuming Avila hopes to play at the next level or in Europe, would he benefit more from starring at SLU or moving up a level next year? (assuming the money is about the same for both options). He has had to adjust this year from MVC to higher level of competition in A-10, so next year would be another adjustment if he transfers. He could succeed either way, but continuing to develop his game as a star at SLU seems more of a sure bet.

That winning shot by LaSalle was not as fluky as the Grand Canyon shot against us, but it was lucky - I don't think he called it off the glass. But LaSalle played well - despite their bus breaking down on the way to Olean.

Good game, great win - not just for Swope and Avila, but also for Anya (15 rebounds and 9 points) and Johnson who had his best game of the season. Billikens had 20 assists, St Joes had 5.

I've heard enough of this endless interview of Lunardi.

I liked the graphic, aside from the sourcing debate - thanks to those who created it. It shows the A-10 almost holding its own vs. power conferences. Whereas some other "high mid major" conferences did not. Besides the major vs. mid-major dynamic, the balance will vary by outlook for playing at a specific school in any year. For this year, so far Billikens are +2 in transfers from/to power conferences. Jimerson staying home affected this balance, as he had been likely to transfer to power conference team.

Stef Van Bussel (SVB) is backup freshman center from the Netherlands. He was used sparingly for most of the 2023-24 season, still recovering after major leg surgery earlier in 2023. Increased playing time in February and March, and moved up from third to second string. He showed improvement in adjusting to US D1 basketball, defending and passing and scoring at the hoop. In his best game he played 26 minutes at Rhode Island and helped get that win. Evidently not a long distance shooter, but showed he can be effective in other ways on the perimeter. High-effort player and still developing. Will either stay at SLU or transfer to another high-mid major.

Maybe better question would have been to ask about the A-10 and how it differs from MVC, how he might adapt.

"And thanks to all the billikens.com posters who guided all of our efforts."

I watched second half of the Memphis win at Milwaukee. I hadn't watched Goodwin play in a while but had seen his 3-pt % was fading, plus he only plays some of the games as Grizzlies need to slowly use up his maximum game allowance as (technically) a prorated two-way contract player. But last night it was clear how valuable he was. In the second half, he came onto the floor about midway through the third quarter and played the rest of the game, which was close throughout. He played well as point guard and scored opportunistically, and Memphis announcers raved about his rebounding, said he is one of the best defending and rebounding guards in the league. While J. Jackson was MVP of the game, Goodwin was clearly also key to the win.

Ambitious coaches (and their agents) who want to reach the top of college basketball are looking for the best path to that top level, destination, hall of fame job: top dollars, top players, ranked almost every year, ncaa tourney and wins almost every year, high-quality organization/school, and good place to live. For Schertz, right now, Saint Louis looks like a good next step. He could elevate Saint Louis to Gonzaga status, or he succeed here and move on in a few years to power conference job that is not a shambles or perennial loser. He can bring top players from his system at ISU to Saint Louis, win here, and then he could take his future all-conference players from Saint Louis to the next level.

Good crowd at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute

So far Billikens outplaying RI handily - it would be 28-12 if Ez had hit those 4 foul shots.

Would hypothetical possibility of Billiken victory knock Dayton out of their at-large spot? (signed) Juan Bid.