GDT: SLU v. Southeast Missouri State

[GDT Bot]

SLU Men's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game No. 1	Saint Louis (0-0) vs. Southeast Missouri (0-0)
Date // Time	Monday, Nov. 3, 2025 // 7 p.m.
Location	St. Louis, Mo. (Chaifetz Arena)
Chaifetz Arena	Tickets | Parking | Clear Bag Policy
Radio	104.1 FM / 1120 AM KMOX | Varsity Network App (Bob Ramsey, Earl Austin Jr.)
TV	FanDuel Sports Network Extra (Tom Ackerman, Scott Highmark, Tamar Sher)
Stream	ESPN+
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Series History	Saint Louis leads 12-4
Game Notes	Saint Louis | SEMO

WHAT'S ON TAP?

• Saint Louis opens the highly anticipated 2025-26 season Monday night, hosting Southeast Missouri at Chaifetz Arena in a 7 p.m. tipoff. 
• It's the beginning of five-game homestand to start the season for the Billikens. SLU has Chicago State (Thursday, Nov. 6), Lindenwood (Monday, Nov. 10), Grand Canyon (Saturday, Nov. 15) and Purdue Fort Wayne (Friday, Nov. 21) all at home the first three weeks of the season.

FOLLOWING THE ACTION

• Monday's game will the televised on FanDuel Sports Network Extra and simulcast on ESPN+. Tom Ackerman, Billiken Hall of Famer Scott Highmark, and Tamar Sher will call the action.
• 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 begins his 40th season as the radio voice of SLU hoops. Austin enters year No. 35.

NEWS & NOTES

• This is the 111th season of Billiken Basketball. SLU has a 1,556-1,303 all-time record.
• The Billikens are in their 18th season playing inside the state-of-the-art Chaifetz Arena. SLU is 218-79 all-time on its home court.
• SLU is 14-2 in season openers at Chaifetz Arena. Last year marked the first time since Chaifetz Arena was built that the Billikens opened the season on the road (vs. Santa Clara at the Pentagon in South Dakota).
• Senior center Robbie Avila is a preseason first-team All-Conference selection. Last year, he was named second-team All-Conference after averaging 17.3 points and 6.9 rebounds. He led all centers in Division I in 3s made per game and assists per game. 
• The Billikens' roster consists of seven returners and 10 newcomers. Six of those newcomers are transfers, and the Bills welcome in four true freshmen.
• The Billikens feature three 1,000-point scorers – Robbie Avila (1,542), Paul Otieno (1,020) and Dion Brown (1,010).
• Saint Louis went 19-15 overall and 11-7 in league play last season. The Billikens were the No. 5 seed in the A-10 Championship and fell in the quarterfinals. SLU was an at-large pick for the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).
• Billiken head coach Josh Schertz enters his 18th season as a collegiate head coach. He is 422-124 in his career. His .773 winning percentage ranks in the top 10 among active coaches in the NCAA.
• Up next, Saint Louis hosts Chicago State Thursday at 7 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the women's team (MTSU at 4 p.m.).

ABOUT THE REDHAWKS

• SEMO returns nine players from last year's Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship team. 
• The Redhawks were picked second in the OVC preseason poll behind league-favorite Little Rock.
• SEMO went 21-12 overall and 15-5 in OVC play last year. After winning the league's regular-season crown, the Redhawks advanced to the OVC Championship game where they fell to SIUE.
• Forward Brendan Terry earned second-team All-OVC honors in his first year at SEMO in 2024-25. He ranked third on the team in scoring with 11.2 points per game and second with 4.5 rebounds per contest.
• In addition to Terry, guards Braxton Stacker and BJ Ward were selected among the Ohio Valley Conference's Players to Watch this preseason. Stacker rated fourth on the team in scoring with 8.9 points and third in rebounding with 3.1 boards a game last season.  Ward was fifth with 8.4 ppg and was second on the team with 51 3-pointers.
• Brad Korn is in his sixth year as Southeast Missouri's head coach. Korn has led SEMO to two conference titles (2022-23 OVC Tournament; 2024-25 OVC Regular-Season) in three years. The reigning OVC Coach of the Year, Korn is 74-85 overall. He ranks third all-time in wins among head coaches in SEMO's NCAA Division I era behind Gary Garner (126 wins, 1997-2006) and Dickey Nutt (80 wins, 2009-15).

SERIES HISTORY

• The Billikens lead the all-time series 12-4 in a series dating back to 1914-15, the first season of Billiken Basketball. In fact, SEMO was SLU's first collegiate opponent. The Bills defeated "Missouri State Normal School –Third District" on Jan. 16, 1915, at Muegge's Gymnasium, which was located where SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital currently sits.
• SLU owns a 5-1 series lead since SEMO went Division I in 1991-92.
• The Billikens won the previous meeting, 75-65, in the season opener in 2018-19. Javon Bess and Tramaine Isabell Jr. scored 18 points apiece to pace the Bills.  
• The Billikens also won the season openers in 2013-14, posting an 87-64 victory, and 2009-10, winning 59-41. 
• SEMO's lone Division I victory in the series came on Dec. 29, 2004, a 65-49 win at Enterprise Center.

WHAT'S NEXT?

• The Billikens host Chicago State at Chaifetz Arena on Thursday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. The matchup is part of a doubleheader with the women's team, who hosts Middle Tennessee State at 4 p.m.
• Chicago State opens its season Monday night at DePaul.

[Lord Elrond]

Our little friend, @GDT Bot is back from his long vacation.  Not sure where he goes to party during the off season. 

[slu72]

RSPN+ is showing start time of 8:30est. 7:30 STL time. 

[gobillsgo]

Feels like Christmas Morning!

[BrettJollyComedyHour]

48 minutes ago, slu72 said:

RSPN+ is showing start time of 8:30est. 7:30 STL time. 

?? It's 7 pm according to the official channels.

[CenHudDude]

Here’s a possible barometer of the Billikens strength relative to the A-10.  We beat Bradley in an exhibition game in Peoria by what, 25?  The Braves open the season this morning on the road at St. Bonaventure.  Bradley is a 1.5 point favorite.  I believe the Bonnies are picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the A-10.  I’m psyched.

[TheA_Bomb]

Season is back baby! Will this finally be the one we've waited so long for?  I'm trying to keep my calendar clear in March, just in case.

[IsaacR]

Watched some film on SEMO last night, they look scary. For a low level mid-major they have the length and athleticism to compete with us. They defend well and can shoot it. I found their scrimmage against Arkansas state last Saturday and they killed them in every aspect of the game. David Idada was a difference maker for them. We are going to have our hands full. Pound the under on points

[billikenfan05]

8 minutes ago, IsaacR said:

Watched some film on SEMO last night, they look scary. For a low level mid-major they have the length and athleticism to compete with us. They defend well and can shoot it. I found their scrimmage against Arkansas state last Saturday and they killed them in every aspect of the game. David Idada was a difference maker for them. We are going to have our hands full. Pound the under on points

Nice to meet you Mrs. Korn. You're using words like "we" and "us" but you created your account days ago and have really only glazed SEMO. Interesting.

[IsaacR]

8 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

Nice to meet you Mrs. Korn. You're using words like "we" and "us" but you created your account days ago and have really only glazed SEMO. Interesting.

From cape but went to SLU. I keep up with both teams. SEMO isn’t a pushover, I actually think they are really really good. We are going to struggle defensively with some of their unique sets. 

[billikenfan05]

1 minute ago, IsaacR said:

From cape but went to SLU. I keep up with both teams. SEMO isn’t a pushover, I actually think they are really really good. We are going to struggle defensively with some of their unique sets. 

Who is we in this post? Very confusing here. 

[TheA_Bomb]

Einhorn is Finkle, Finkle is Einhorn!

 

If you're a SEMO fan just be proud.

I think Billikens win big but it's the nature of the Billikens that we can not take anything for granted. 

So I hope the team has Einhorn's....ehh  IsaacR's viewpoint.

[shempie]

1 hour ago, CenHudDude said:

Here’s a possible barometer of the Billikens strength relative to the A-10.  We beat Bradley in an exhibition game in Peoria by what, 25?  The Braves open the season this morning on the road at St. Bonaventure.  Bradley is a 1.5 point favorite.  I believe the Bonnies are picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the A-10.  I’m psyched.

Saw that too. Neutral court game in South Carolina. 

[JohnnyJumpUp]

1 hour ago, IsaacR said:

Watched some film on SEMO last night, they look scary. For a low level mid-major they have the length and athleticism to compete with us. They defend well and can shoot it. I found their scrimmage against Arkansas state last Saturday and they killed them in every aspect of the game. David Idada was a difference maker for them. We are going to have our hands full. Pound the under on points

If SEMO is a scary hand full for SLU, this SLU team isn't as good as we were hoping. If we are same level as SEMO, I see a middle of the pack, 6th or 7th place finish in conference for SLU. That being said, BILLS BY 22!!!!

[Pistol]

3 hours ago, slu72 said:

RSPN+ is showing start time of 8:30est. 7:30 STL time. 

I have ESPN+ pulled up right now and am seeing 8:00 Eastern for the men and 7:30 Eastern for the women, both of which match the schedule. Maybe you happened to catch it before it updated or something.

[BLIKNS]

On reading the game notes... Said SEMO was the first Collegiate team SLU played... back in 1915, they were known as Missouri Normal School- Third District

[BillsfaninKC]

Projected starting line up?

[Crewsorlose]

Annual reminder that the A-10 can be the #1 ranked conference in the country if they win all of their OOC games. 

On a more serious note, the conference can really help itself if it cleans up against Q4 teams and gets some good licks in against power conference teams. Time to root for the whole conference, even Dayton. 

[Pistol]

1 hour ago, BLIKNS said:

On reading the game notes... Said SEMO was the first Collegiate team SLU played... back in 1915, they were known as Missouri Normal School- Third District

No one wants to play MNSTD!

I just looked it up and the first name was Southeast Missouri State Normal School, then the name under which they played SLU, then Southeast Missouri State Teachers College, then Southeast Missouri State College, and finally Southeast Missouri State University.

If there were ever a trivia question about the first opponent SLU ever played, I wonder if SEMO would be an acceptable answer or if you'd need the 1915 name.

[SluSignGuy]

Just curious if the BIlliken Mobile Ticket App did not work for people this morning.  I can access my tickets via the web site, but when I loaded the BIlliken Ticket App from last year, the app just immediately closed.

Very likely user error on my end.

[gobillsgo]

2 hours ago, BillsfaninKC said:

Projected starting line up?

Not sure anyone knows. Robbie is about the only one I can say with 100% certainty. 

[ACE]

2 hours ago, BillsfaninKC said:

Projected starting line up?

My guess: Robbie, Otieno, Green, Jones... the only one that is a little uncertain for me is Thames or Brown.

[RyGuyBilliken]

4 hours ago, IsaacR said:

Watched some film on SEMO last night, they look scary. For a low level mid-major they have the length and athleticism to compete with us. They defend well and can shoot it. I found their scrimmage against Arkansas state last Saturday and they killed them in every aspect of the game. David Idada was a difference maker for them. We are going to have our hands full. Pound the under on points

Arkansas State. SLU beat both Iowa and Bradley handily

[billikenfan05]

10 minutes ago, RyGuyBilliken said:

Arkansas State. SLU beat both Iowa and Bradley handily

I mean, I really didn't want to talk about that SLU/Arkansas State game we no-showed in the spring. Completely different roster. Just getting in before he brings it up. 

[RyGuyBilliken]

10 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

I mean, I really didn't want to talk about that SLU/Arkansas State game we no-showed in the spring. Completely different roster. Just getting in before he brings it up. 

Yeah, bringing that up would just be grasping at straws.