Billiken center Bradley Ezewiro has averaged 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in two games played since his return. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
SLU Basketball – Gameday Info
Game No. 14 – Loyola-Chicago (5-1) at Saint Louis University (7-6)
Date/Time – January 3, 2024 – 6 pm
Location – Chaifetz Arena — St. Louis, MO
Broadcast – Bally Sports Midwest
Radio – KMOX 1120AM
Live Stats – SLU StatBroadcast
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
ST. LOUIS, MO — After enjoying a couple of much needed weeks off for the holidays, the Saint Louis University men’s basketball team will return to action, Wednesday night at Chaifetz Arena, with its 2024 Atlantic 10 Conference opener against Loyola-Chicago.
Saint Louis completed its non-conference schedule with an 82-70 loss at North Carolina State on December 20. Since then, the Billikens have been resting up and healing up, after an opening two months of the season that saw the team face a number of tough injuries.
Head coach Travis Ford is hoping SLU will have its full unit back for the matchup with Loyola, which has faced its own adversity, but is coming off a blowout win over Central Michigan on December 30.
Series History: The all-time series is tied 24-24. Last season, the Billikens won both games over the Ramblers -– 76-59 last January in Chicago, and 81-62 in a game in February in St. Louis.
While this is the second season the two teams are meeting as members of the A-10, the series goes way back. The squads first played more than 100 years ago in 1922. From 1982 to 1991, the Billikens and Ramblers met regularly as members of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference.
Players to Watch: Bradley Ezewiro has appeared in Saint Louis’ last two games after the NCAA and US District courts deemed two-time transfers immediately eligible back in mid-December. He scored 17 points in his debut against Louisiana Tech and 18 points in the game at NC State.
For the season, the 6-9 senior is averaging 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
Junior guard Gibson Jimerson has scored 20 or points in six games this year. His 2.31 3-pointers per game rank sixth in the Atlantic 10. Terrence Hargrove Jr. turns in 13.6 ppg and is ninth in the A-10 with 6.4 rpg. In his last appearance at Chaifetz Arena Dec. 16 vs. Louisiana Tech, he powered the Billikens to a thrilling comeback win by scoring 11 points in the final 28 seconds.
Tim Dalger has scored in double figures in four of the last five, including a 17-point effort at NC State.
SLU leads the A-10 in free-throws made per game (17.0). They are second in the league and 33rd in the NCAA in three-point shooting percentage (.377).
Second-team preseason all-A-10 pick Philip Alston leads the Ramblers in scoring with 15.2 ppg. He had a career night against South Florida when he dropped 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Last season, Alston led the Ramblers in scoring and rebounding.
Des Watson is second on the Ramblers with 11.4 ppg. He is a transfer from Davidson who averaged nearly 10.0 ppg in A-10 play last year for the Wildcats.
Braden Norris leads the Ramblers in assists with 5.3 per game. Last year, he was second on the team in scoring (10.9). Norris was among the top 10 in the NCAA in minutes per game (37.3) last season as well.
Loyola Chicago ranks second in the A-10 in blocks per game (5.3). It is led in that category by Miles Rubin, who is 10th in the NCAA with 2.46 blocks per contest.
Head coach Drew Valentine is in his third season as head coach at Loyola Chicago. He has been on the staff of two programs that have made a Final Four – with Loyola Chicago as an assistant coach in 2018, and with Michigan State as a graduate assistant in 2015.
LOYOLA-CHICAGO RAMBLERS STARTERS
| Player | Yr. | Pos. | Ht./Wt. | PPG | RPG | Assists | Steals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 Des Watson | Jr. | Guard | 6’5/210 | 11.4 | 3.5 | 1.6 | 0.7 |
| 1 Jayden Dawson | So. | Guard | 6’4/195 | 8.6 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 0.9 |
| 4 Braden Norris | Gr. | Guard | 6’0/180 | 9.0 | 3.4 | 5.3 | 1.1 |
| 23 Philip Alston | Sr. | Forward | 6’6/235 | 15.2 | 4.3 | 1.2 | 0.8 |
| 24 Miles Rubin | So. | Center | 6’10/205 | 6.5 | 4.9 | 0.7 | 2.5 |
SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY BILLIKENS STARTERS
| Player | Yr. | Pos. | Ht./Wt. | PPG | RPG | Assists | Steals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Cian Medley | Fr. | Guard | 6’4/185 | 4.8 | 2.3 | 41 | 13 |
| 3 Bradley Ezewiro | Gr. | Center | 6’9/265 | 17.5 | 7.0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 Tim Dalger | Sr. | Forward | 6’7/215 | 11.3 | 4.8 | 13 | 10 |
| 22 Terrance Hargrove | Sr. | Forward | 6’5/215 | 13.6 | 6.4 | 13 | 10 |
| 24 Gibson Jimerson | Jr. | Guard | 6’5/215 | 16.1 | 2.9 | 7 | 3 |
2023-24 SLU Billikens Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Gametime | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Radio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 3, 2024 (Wednesday) | 6 pm | Home | Loyola Chicago | Chaifetz Arena | Bally’s Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 6, 2024 (Saturday) | 1 pm | Away | George Mason | Fairfax, Va. (EagleBank Arena) | USA Network | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 10, 2024 (Wednesday) | 6 pm | Home | Saint Joseph’s | Chaifetz Arena | CBSSN | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 16, 2024 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Away | Dayton | Dayton, Ohio (UD Arena) | CBSSN | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 19, 2024 (Friday) | 6 pm | Away | VCU | Richmond, Va. (Siegel Center) | ESPN2 | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 24, 2024 (Wednesday) | 6 pm | Home | Davidson | Chaifetz Arena | Bally’s Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 27, 2024 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | Massachusetts | Chaifetz Arena | Bally’s Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 30, 2024 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Away | Loyola Chicago | Chicago, Ill. (Gentile Arena) | Bally’s Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 3, 2024 (Saturday) | 1:30 pm | Home | Fordham | Chaifetz Arena | USA Network | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 7, 2024 (Wednesday) | 5:30 pm | Away | La Salle | Philadelphia, Pa. (Gola Arena) | Bally’s Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 10, 2024 (Saturday) | 11:30 am | Away | Saint Joseph’s | Philadelphia, Pa. (Hagan Arena) | USA Network | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 16, 2024 (Friday) | 6 pm | Home | VCU | Chaifetz Arena | ESPN2 | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 20, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Duquesne | Pittsburgh, Pa. (UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse) | Bally’s Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 24, 2024 (Saturday) | 2 pm | Home | George Washington | Chaifetz Arena | Bally’s Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 28, 2024 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Richmond | Chaifetz Arena | Bally’s Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| March 2, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Away | Rhode Island | Kingston, R.I. (Ryan Center) | CBSSN | KMOX 1120AM |
| March 5, 2024 (Tuesday) | 8 pm | Home | Dayton | Chaifetz Arena | CBSSN | KMOX 1120AM |
| March 9, 2024 (Saturday) | 11:30 am | Away | St. Bonaventure | St. Bonaventure, N.Y. (Reilly Center) | USA Network | KMOX 1120AM |
| March 12-17 Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament | TBA | Neutral | TBA | Brooklyn, N.Y. (Barclay’s Center) |