SLU’s Quentin Jones works for position with the ball, while defended by VCU’s Brandon Jennings in Wednesday’s Atlantic 10 Conference basketball game at the Siegel Center in Richmond, VA. (Photo courtesy: VCU Athletics)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLU (14-1, 2-0) | 30 | 41 | 71 |
| VCU (11-5, 2-1) | 22 | 40 | 62 |
RICHMOND, VA — The Saint Louis University men’s basketball team continued blue-blazing through the 2025-26 season, when it earned its first ever win on the road against VCU, Wednesday night.
Saint Louis had lost 10 straight games at VCU’s Siegel Center, but on Wednesday, the Billikens defeated the host Rams, 71-62.
The victory lifted SLU’s overall record to 14-1 — the team’s best start to a season since the 1993-94 campaign. The Billikens are also 2-0 in A-10 play, with a win over VCU, the preseason favorite to win the league championship.
Redshirt junior and native St. Louisan, Kellen Thames came off the bench to lead Saint Louis with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Thames was seven-for-10 from the field and also had three assists.
Senior guard Dion Brown had 10 points and five rebounds, with a block, an assist, and a steal.
Kellen Thames drops in a layup in SLU’s win over VCU, Wednesday night in Richmond, Va. (Photo courtesy: SLU Athletics)
SLU, which came into the game ranked second in the nation in field-goal percentage defense, held VCU to just 28.6 percent shooting from the field.
The Billikens led by as many 14 points midway through the second half, but VCU stormed back to take a late lead at 62-61 with 2:30 left.
SLU didn’t waver though, and responded with a 10-0 run to end the game. Sophomore Amari McCottry sparked the run with a clutch three-pointer with 2:15 left that put the Billikens back into the lead for good.
VCU attempted a number of wild shots in the final two minutes, but wasn’t able to make any, as SLU controlled the pace and ran out the clock for the win.
SLU’s Robbie Avila looks for someone to pass to during Wednesday’s A-10 men’s basketball game against VCU. (Photo courtesy: VCU Athletics)
The Billikens will conclude their current road trip with a visit to Philadelphia on Saturday, for a matchup against La Salle. That contest will tip off at 3 p.m., and will be televised nationally on the USA Network.
SLU 71
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Brown, Dion | * | 23 | 4-7 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 2-3 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 01 | Jones, Quentin | * | 31 | 4-10 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 21 | Avila, Robbie | * | 25 | 2-6 | 0-2 | 4-4 | 0-2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| 03 | Green, Trey | * | 20 | 3-9 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 04 | McCottry, Amari | * | 19 | 2-6 | 2-3 | 0-2 | 0-7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 00 | Thames, Kellen | 22 | 7-10 | 0-0 | 4-6 | 1-9 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | |
| 25 | Otieno, Paul | 20 | 4-7 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-4 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | |
| 11 | Dunlap, Brady | 19 | 1-5 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 0-3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 09 | Sharma, Ishan | 21 | 0-3 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 27-63 | 6-20 | 11-16 | 6-36 | 42 | 21 | 14 | 12 | 4 | 9 | 71 |
VCU 62
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Djokovic,Lazar | * | 31 | 3-9 | 0-0 | 5-6 | 4-8 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 |
| 02 | Tracey,Jadrian | * | 25 | 3-6 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| 05 | Evans,Barry | * | 34 | 3-10 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 00 | Jennings,Brandon | * | 28 | 1-8 | 0-2 | 3-4 | 0-4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| 01 | Lewis,Nyk | * | 19 | 0-5 | 0-3 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 06 | Hill Jr.,Terrence | 23 | 4-12 | 2-6 | 7-7 | 0-4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 17 | |
| 08 | Belle,Michael | 23 | 2-9 | 1-3 | 3-5 | 2-5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | |
| 04 | Nowell,Ahmad | 17 | 2-4 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 18-63 | 6-24 | 20-24 | 9-33 | 42 | 16 | 7 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 62 |
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. |  | |
| January 14, 2026 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Fordham | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| January 17, 2026 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Home | Richmond | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| January 20, 2026 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Duquesne | Pittsburgh, Pa. | | |
| January 23, 2026 (Friday) | 4:30 pm | Away | St. Bonaventure | St. Bonaventure, N.Y. |  | |
| January 27, 2026 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Home | George Washington | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| January 30, 2026 (Friday) | 7 pm | Home | Dayton | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| February 3, 2026 (Tuesday) | 8 pm | Away | Davidson | Davidson, N.C. | | |
| February 7, 2026 (Saturday) | 2 pm | Home | La Salle | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| February 13, 2026 (Friday) | 7:30 pm | Away | Loyola Chicago | Chicago, Ill. | | |
| February 17, 2026 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Rhode Island | Kingston, R.I. | | |
| February 20, 2026 (Friday) | 6 pm | Home | VCU | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| February 24, 2026 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Dayton | Dayton, Ohio | | |
| February 28, 2026 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | Duquesne | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| March 4, 2026 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Loyola Chicago | Chaifetz Arena | | |
| March 7, 2026 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Away | George Mason | Fairfax, Va. | | |
| March 11-15, 2026 | TBD | Neutral | TBD | Pittsburgh, Pa. |