SLU’s Amari McCottry blows past two Loyola Chicago defenders for a layup in Wednesday night’s Atlantic 10 Conference men’s basketball game at Chaifetz Arena. (Photo: Ellie Parker)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loyola Chicago (7-23, 3-14) | 32 | 33 | 65 |
| #25 SLU (27-3, 15-2) | 40 | 39 | 79 |
ST. LOUIS, MO — The No. 25-ranked Saint Louis University men’s basketball team clinched a share of the Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season title, secured the No. 1 seed for the A-10 Championship Tournament, and completed its first undefeated campaign at Chaifetz Arena by defeating Loyola Chicago, 79-65, Wednesday night.
Saint Louis, which has one more regular season game left — Saturday at George Mason — is now 27-3 on the season and 15-2 in A-10 league play, is one game ahead of second-place VCU. No matter what happens on Saturday, the Billikens own a tiebreaker for the top seed by virtue of defeating the Rams in both meetings this year.
SLU’s 19 wins at Chaifetz Arena this season are a program record for a single season, while the Billikens have also tied the school record with 22 consecutive home wins, dating back to last season.
SLU’s Quentin Jones (1) and Robbie Avila block Loyola Chicago’s Kayde Dotson’s shot attempt during Wednesday’s Atlantic 10 men’s basketball game at Chaifetz Arena. (Photo: Ellie Parker)
In Wednesday’s win over Loyola, sophomore Amari McCottry came off the bench and led the way for Saint Louis with 18 points, on six-of-nine shooting overall, two-of-three from 3-point range, and four-of-six from the foul line.
Teammates Dion Brown and Robbie Avila, who were honored before the game as part of the Billikens’ Senior Night festivities, also reached double figures in points. Brown had 15 points and made all six shots he took, while Avila scored 12 points to go along with a game-high six rebounds and four assists.
Xavier Amos, who hit six three-pointers, led Loyola and all scorers with 25 points.
SLU’s Robbie Avila had 12 points, five rebounds, and four assists in the Billikens’ win over Loyola Chicago on Wednesday. (Photo: Ellie Parker)
Saint Louis led 40-32 at halftime, and built the margin to 17 points, 51-34, with 14:33 remaining. Loyola fought back and trailed 62-54 with 8:36 to play.
The Billikens regained command with a 10-1 spurt for a 72-55 advantage at the 3:53 mark, with four players scoring during the run.
Following three early ties, Saint Louis gained an 18-6 lead with a 12-0 flurry that finished with 3-pointers by Ishan Sharma, McCottry and Brady Dunlap on consecutive possessions.
Loyola then turned the tables, going on a 23-9 run for a 29-27 edge with 4:38 left in the opening frame. However, Avila sparked a 13-3 Billiken spurt to close the half with a conventional three-point play and a 3-pointer. SLU never trailed again after that point.
Saturday’s contest at George Mason will tip off at 3 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally on the USA Network.
The Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament will begin next Wednesday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, with the championship game set for Sunday, March 15. VCU won the championship last year, with SLU’s last tournament triumph coming in 2019.
LOYOLA CHICAGO 65
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Amos,Xavier | * | 32 | 9-12 | 6-7 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| 04 | Dotson,Kayde | * | 35 | 6-14 | 5-8 | 2-2 | 0-4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 19 |
| 24 | Rubin,Miles | * | 30 | 4-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
| 05 | Glazkov,Daniil | * | 28 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 1-0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 00 | Tavarez,Deywilk | * | 34 | 2-9 | 0-5 | 0-0 | 0-5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 09 | Richardson,Alexander | 10 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 14 | Reese,Caleb | 7 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 02 | Ola-Joseph,Joshua | 12 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 08 | Anderson,Nicolus | 12 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 22 | Yurasek,Samuel | 0+ | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 30 | Young,Brayden | 0+ | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 31 | Royster,Zachary | 0+ | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 24-51 | 12-25 | 5-7 | 6-17 | 23 | 16 | 11 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 65 |
#25 SLU 79
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Brown, Dion | * | 26 | 6-6 | 1-1 | 2-3 | 0-4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| 21 | Avila, Robbie | * | 27 | 4-9 | 1-2 | 3-3 | 0-6 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| 00 | Thames, Kellen | * | 19 | 4-5 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 25 | Otieno, Paul | * | 22 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 05 | Schertz, Jaden | * | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 04 | McCottry, Amari | 24 | 6-9 | 2-3 | 4-6 | 0-2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 18 | |
| 03 | Green, Trey | 23 | 2-5 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| 09 | Sharma, Ishan | 18 | 2-5 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 11 | Dunlap, Brady | 14 | 2-4 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 01 | Jones, Quentin | 24 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 15 | Kerr, Jax | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 12 | Holmes, Isaac | 0+ | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 29-48 | 9-17 | 12-18 | 5-21 | 26 | 11 | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 79 |
2025-26 SLU BILLIKENS MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 3, 2025 (Monday) | 7 pm | Home | SEMO | Chaifetz Arena |  | W, 92-67 (1-0) |
| November 6, 2025 (Thursday) | 7 pm | Home | Chicago State | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 108-86 (2-0) |
| November 10, 2025 (Monday) | 7 pm | Home | Lindenwood | Chaifetz Arena |  | W, 109-66 (3-0) |
| November 15, 2025 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | Grand Canyon | Chaifetz Arena |  | W, 78-64 (4-0) |
| November 21, 2025 (Friday) | 7 pm | Home | Purdue-Fort Wayne | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 91-60 (5-0) |
| November 27, 2025 (Thursday) | 6 pm | Neutral | Santa Clara | Palm Desert, Calif. |  | W, 71-70 (6-0) |
| November 28, 2025 (Friday) | TBA | Neutral | Minnesota or Stanford | Palm Desert, Calif. |  | L, 78-77 (6-1) |
| December 2, 2025 (Tuesday) | 9 pm | Away | Loyola Marymount | Los Angeles, Calif. | | W, 91-70 (7-1) |
| December 7, 2025 (Sunday) | 2 pm | Home | Central Michigan | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 107-65 (8-1) |
| December 13, 2025 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | San Francisco | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 85-75 (9-1) |
| December 17, 2025 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Bethune-Cookman | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 112-53 (10-1) |
| December 21, 2025 (Sunday) | 2 pm | Home | New Hampshire | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 93-79 (11-1)) |
| December 28, 2025 (Sunday) | 2 pm | Home | Principia | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 114-33 (12-1) |
| December 31, 2025 (Wednesday) | 3 pm | Home | Saint Joseph’s | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 102-79 (13-1) |
| January 7, 2026 (Wednesday) | 6 pm | Away | VCU | Richmond, Va. | | W, 71-62 (14-1) |
| January 10, 2026 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Away | La Salle | Philadelphia, Pa. |  | W, 84-72 (15-1) |
| January 14, 2026 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Fordham | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 78-56 (16-1) |
| January 17, 2026 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Home | Richmond | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 88-63 (17-1) |
| January 20, 2026 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Duquesne | Pittsburgh, Pa. | | W, 81-77 (18-1) |
| January 23, 2026 (Friday) | 4:30 pm | Away | St. Bonaventure | St. Bonaventure, N.Y. |  | W, 97-62 (19-1) |
| January 27, 2026 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Home | George Washington | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 79-76 (20-1) |
| January 30, 2026 (Friday) | 7 pm | Home | Dayton | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 102-71 (21-1) |
| February 3, 2026 (Tuesday) | 8 pm | Away | Davidson | Davidson, N.C. | | W, 91-82 (22-1) |
| February 7, 2026 (Saturday) | 2 pm | Home | La Salle | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 82-58 (23-1) |
| February 13, 2026 (Friday) | 7:30 pm | Away | Loyola Chicago | Chicago, Ill. | | W, 86-59 (24-1) |
| February 17, 2026 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Rhode Island | Kingston, R.I. | | L, 81-76 (24-2) |
| February 20, 2026 (Friday) | 6 pm | Home | VCU | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 88-75 (25-2) |
| February 24, 2026 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Dayton | Dayton, Ohio | | L, 77-62 (25-3) |
| February 28, 2026 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | Duquesne | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 91-76 (26-3) |
| March 4, 2026 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Loyola Chicago | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 91-76 (27-3) |
| March 7, 2026 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Away | George Mason | Fairfax, Va. | | |
| March 11-15, 2026 | TBD | Neutral | TBD | Pittsburgh, Pa. |