GDT: SLU v. VCU

[GDT Bot]

SLU Men's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 21	Saint Louis (12-8, 5-2 A-10) vs. VCU (16-4, 6-1 A-10)
Date // Time	Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025 // 7 p.m. CT
Location	St. Louis, Mo. (Chaifetz Arena)
Chaifetz Arena	Tickets | Parking | Clear Bag Policy
Radio	KMOX 1120AM | Varsity Network App (Bob Ramsey, Earl Austin Jr.)
TV	CBS Sports Network (Tom McCarthy, Chris Walker)
Stream	CBS Sports Digital
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Series History	VCU leads 17-5
Game Notes	Saint Louis

 

SETTING THE SCENE

• Saint Louis begins a two-game homestand on Tuesday when it welcomes the VCU Rams into Chaifetz Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
• Next up, the Billikens host Dayton on Friday night in a 6 p.m. tip on ESPN2. That game serves as the annual Billiken Blizzard. All SLU fans in attendance will receive a free white "The Lou" T-shirt.

FOLLOWING THE ACTION

• Tuesday's game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network. Tom McCarthy and Chris Walker have the call.
• KMOX 1120 AM 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. Ramsey is in his 39th season calling SLU games, while Austin is in year No. 34. 

SUITS & SNEAKERS

• The Billiken coaching staff will be wearing suits and sneakers on Tuesday.
• The American Cancer Society's Coaches vs. Cancer – Suits and Sneakers week is a nationwide event that unites coaches across the country to raise funds and awareness about the fight against cancer and promotes the American Cancer Society as a source of inspiration and hope for those facing cancer. While coaching games during the week, coaches war sneakers with their suits as a visible reminder of their support of the American Cancer Society.

BILLIKEN NOTABLES

• Saint Louis hosts two games this week at Chaifetz Arena – VCU on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and Dayton on Friday for the Billiken Blizzard at 6 p.m.
• Saint Louis is coming off a 67-61 loss at George Washington on Saturday. The Bills battled back after trailing by as many as 16 in the second half and had a 3-pointer to tie it late, but the shot was off the mark.
• The Billikens are 10-1 at Chaifetz Arena this season.
• VCU and SLU are meeting for the second time in two weeks. The Rams defeated SLU 78-62 at the Siegel Center Jan. 14.
• Robbie Avila leads the Billikens with 18.1 ppg. His 4.3 assists and 1.8 3-pointers made per game lead all centers in NCAA Division I.
• Gibson Jimerson is second on the Billikens in scoring with 17.2 ppg. He is the Billikens' all-time leader in points and 3-pointers made.
• Isaiah Swope averages 16.7 points and is fourth in the A-10 with 5.0 assists.
• With the scoring trio of Avila, Jimerson and Swope, the Billikens are the only program in the country with three players averaging 16.7 ppg or more.
• Kalu Anya leads the A-10 in rebounds per game (9.4).
• Saint Louis leads the A-10 in effective FG% at 56 percent. Meanwhile, the Rams are 12th in the NCAA in scoring defense. 
• Head coach Josh Schertz is in his first season at SLU. His .780 winning percentage ranks No. 6 among active coaches across all three NCAA divisions.

ABOUT THE RAMS

• Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, Va.) is one of the hottest teams in the country. The Rams enter Tuesday's game riding a six-game winning streak and are 16-4 overall and in a tie for first in the Atlantic 10 with a 6-1 record.
• VCU defeated the Billikens 78-62 two weeks ago at the Siegel Center in Richmond, Va. VCU out-rebounded the Bills 38-26, which included a 22-4 edge on the offensive glass. The Rams turned those 22 offensive boards into 19 second-chance points.
• Joe Bamisile leads three Rams in double figures with 16.8 ppg. He led VCU with 23 points against the Billikens earlier this year. 
• Max Shulga, a first-team All-Conference choice last year, averages 15.2 ppg to go along with team bests of 2.1 steals and 4.0 assists per game.
• Phillip Russell, a St. Louis native who played in eight games for the Billikens in 2020-21, averages 11.9 ppg. He drained four treys en route to 16 points in the Rams' win last Friday over St. Bonaventure.
• Luke Bamgboye leads the Rams and the A-10 in blocks per game (2.2).
• Brandon Jennings scored a career-best 10 points in the SLU game two weeks ago.
• VCU is the A-10's top defensive team, allowing just 62.5 ppg. The Rams also lead the league in turnovers forced per game (15.3) and are second in FG% defense (.393).
• Ryan Odom is in his second season at VCU. He led Utah State to the NCAA Tournament two seasons ago and also guided UMBC to the NCAA Tournament in 2018, when the 16th-seeded Retrievers famously defeated No. 1 seed Virginia in the first round. 

SERIES HISTORY

• VCU owns a 17-5 lead in the series.
• The Rams have won six in a row. The last SLU win came on March 5, 2022, a 69-65 Billiken win at Chaifetz Arena.

[Lord Elrond]

@GDT Bot returns to work after it’s one game vacation!

[TheA_Bomb]

You keep hearing about, "the lack of physicality" I think that is partially due to being tired. This isn't the game that we anticipate using the bench unless it goes really sideways. The game to use the bench in doses is every game. The game to empty the bench is when we're up double digits with 5 minutes left. 

I'm concerned this is a bad matchup at a bad time. 

But if shots are falling this team can beat anyone.

[billiken_roy]

sorry i dont subscribe to the fatigue excuse.   first off Schertz has been playing the short rotation his entire career and with a lot of success.  Second, these are young men that in tremendous condition and probably are taxed more in a 2 hour practice than a game of 40 minutes with 8 mandatory full time outs and a half time.   let alone a few minutes rest in the game with the one or two subs Schertz does employ.  

 

[Box and Won]

27 minutes ago, TheA_Bomb said:

You keep hearing about, "the lack of physicality" I think that is partially due to being tired. This isn't the game that we anticipate using the bench unless it goes really sideways. The game to use the bench in doses is every game. The game to empty the bench is when we're up double digits with 5 minutes left. 

I'm concerned this is a bad matchup at a bad time. 

But if shots are falling this team can beat anyone.

It's been a bad matchup since the 2010 CBI.

[TheA_Bomb]

1 minute ago, billiken_roy said:

sorry i dont subscribe to the fatigue excuse.   first off Schertz has been playing the short rotation his entire career and with a lot of success.  Second, these are young men that in tremendous condition and probably are taxed more in a 2 hour practice than a game of 40 minutes with 8 mandatory full time outs and a half time.   let alone a few minutes rest in the game with the one or two subs Schertz does employ.  

 

CJS is at the extreme for bench usage. Jimerson is in the top 2 for minutes played. I watched him at Fordham up close he's in a 40 minute war.  Over the course of a season it takes a toll. 

 

Even if your don't think it's a valid reason for poor shooting, developing players through game play is a valid reason to use the bench more. This season a starter maybe injured (already happened) and next season someone on the bench may need to be a key contributor. 

There's a risk reward at play. Taking out your best players risks the current game. Not playing your bench risks future games. Perhaps a constant cycle of transfers mitigates the need to develop your bench but it doesn't mitigate it for possible in season injuries.

[Old guy]

16 minutes ago, billiken_roy said:

Second, these are young men that in tremendous condition  

 

I will disagree, not everybody is in tremendous condition, Thames most certainly is not and has shown that he can play well for limited amounts of time only.

[White Pelican]

7 minutes ago, Box and Won said:

It's been a bad matchup since the 2010 CBI.

I  was disappointed when we lost the first game at their place, but was stunned when we couldn't beat them at Chaifetz either. At the time, I thought "well, at least we aren't likely to face them again soon, maybe never again." And yet, here we are.

I guess it's a rivalry but it would be a whole lot better if we could hold up our end a bit more. Quite a bit more.

[billikenfan05]

HOT TAKE: This game will be more fun to attend if we win.

[TheA_Bomb]

4 minutes ago, Old guy said:

I will disagree, not everybody is in tremendous condition, Thames most certainly is not and has shown that he can play well for limited amounts of time only.

Avila as much as we love him looks soft, dude needs to get a minor in Bro-science. Do ya even lift bro?

 

https://youtu.be/OloLS5kTrVs?si=JKW0iuih0FmhVd0n

[TheA_Bomb]

1 minute ago, billikenfan05 said:

HOT TAKE: This game will be more fun to attend if we win.

Going out on a limb 

[wgstl]

1 hour ago, billikenfan05 said:

HOT TAKE: This game will be more fun to attend if we win.

I’ll add to this. It’s also better to watch on tv if we lose. 

[Cowboy II]

1 hour ago, TheA_Bomb said:

CJS is at the extreme for bench usage. Jimerson is in the top 2 for minutes played. I watched him at Fordham up close he's in a 40 minute war.  Over the course of a season it takes a toll. 

 

Even if your don't think it's a valid reason for poor shooting, developing players through game play is a valid reason to use the bench more. This season a starter maybe injured (already happened) and next season someone on the bench may need to be a key contributor. 

There's a risk reward at play. Taking out your best players risks the current game. Not playing your bench risks future games. Perhaps a constant cycle of transfers mitigates the need to develop your bench but it doesn't mitigate it for possible in season injuries.

-CJS has said a few times his task is to win the game in front of him

-with this the other players pick splinters

-I don't know what would cause him to change his philosophy, a bad/subpar season?

[TheA_Bomb]

11 minutes ago, Cowboy II said:

-CJS has said a few times his task is to win the game in front of him

-with this the other players pick splinters

-I don't know what would cause him to change his philosophy, a bad/subpar season?

Or the realization that as you go up in leagues/competition the athletes are bigger and wear you out. 

Lost MVC Championship game

Lost NIT Championship game

Would starters with a little more juice have helped? Would he have made it to the game at all if he rested his starters more? Unknowable

[billiken_roy]

1 hour ago, Old guy said:

I will disagree, not everybody is in tremendous condition, Thames most certainly is not and has shown that he can play well for limited amounts of time only.

Well his 10+ minutes per game as a sub for Schertz that was all he was going to play anyway.

[Fraz]

It’s fun to get up for games again.  For awhile with Ford I was indifferent.
 

Let’s get a big w 

[slu72]

2 hours ago, TheA_Bomb said:

CJS is at the extreme for bench usage. Jimerson is in the top 2 for minutes played. I watched him at Fordham up close he's in a 40 minute war.  Over the course of a season it takes a toll. 

 

Even if your don't think it's a valid reason for poor shooting, developing players through game play is a valid reason to use the bench more. This season a starter maybe injured (already happened) and next season someone on the bench may need to be a key contributor. 

There's a risk reward at play. Taking out your best players risks the current game. Not playing your bench risks future games. Perhaps a constant cycle of transfers mitigates the need to develop your bench but it doesn't mitigate it for possible in season injuries.

If a shooter’s legs get tired it affects his shot. Is the season wearing Gibby down and is that why he’s gone cold in the last 3-4 games. His shot is off. They’re not rimming and falling out. They’re short, sometimes long, and not soft. 

[dlarry]

I’m with Roy and guessing Shooting slump. 
I would think 2 games per week wouldn’t  have him that physically drained.

Would sitting him 10 minutes per game twice a week really have make much of a difference? 

If he was only missing in the second half….maybe I would lean fatigue but he is missing from the opening tip. 

 

[billiken_roy]

Doc chaifetz and son in the house tonight

[billiken_roy]

44 minutes ago, slu72 said:

If a shooter’s legs get tired it affects his shot. Is the season wearing Gibby down and is that why he’s gone cold in the last 3-4 games. His shot is off. They’re not rimming and falling out. They’re short, sometimes long, and not soft. 

The whole conference knows it's a 3 man offense and swope, Avila and jimerson just  get beat to hell every game.   Especially jimerson.  I hope he is up to date on all his shots.

[Lord Elrond]

Student section loud pregame

 

[TheChosenOne]

If Jimerson, Avila, etc. aren’t in shape or are tired in late January I think that is on those guys. But, I have no clue whether that is actually the case. And if it is, maybe Schertz might consider his approach to strength and conditioning.

[TheChosenOne]

There you go, Jimerson!

[SluSignGuy]

Good start

[SluSignGuy]

Schertz in a sport coat