By Malcolm Price

1 31 2025

SETTING THE SCENE

• Saint Louis welcomes in the Dayton Flyers to Chaifetz Arena for the “Billiken Blizzard.” Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
• All SLU fans will receive a free white Billliken Blizzard t-shirt, which will be placed on their seat. A table to exchange sizes will be located in the concourse behind sections 119/121 (student section).

FOLLOWING THE ACTION

• Friday’s game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 as part of the A-10/ESPN Friday Night Showcase. Mike Corey and Dalen Cuff 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.

BILLIKEN NOTABLES

• Saint Louis enters Friday night’s game tied for second in the league standings. The Bills are coming off a 78-69 win over VCU on Tuesday night.
• The Billikens lead the A-10 in defensive efficiency in conference only games. They yield just 64.1 ppg in conference play, which is second in the league.
• The Billikens are 11-1 at Chaifetz Arena this season.
• Robbie Avila leads the Billikens with 17.9 ppg. His 4.2 assists and 1.7 3-pointers made per game lead all centers in NCAA Division I.
• Gibson Jimerson is second on the Billikens in scoring with 17.6 ppg. He is the Billikens’ all-time leader in points and 3-pointers made.
• Isaiah Swope averages 16.4 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).
• Kobe Johnson is averaging 13.3 points and 5.0 rebounds over the last three games. He is coming off a career-high-tying 19 points in the win over VCU.
• Saint Louis leads the A-10 in FG% (.476), effective FG% (.560) and 3-pointers made per game (9.2).
• Head coach Josh Schertz is in his first season at SLU. His .780 winning percentage ranks No. 7 among active coaches across all three NCAA divisions.

ABOUT THE FLYERS

• The University of Dayton Flyers (Dayton, Ohio) enter Friday’s game 14-7 overall and 4-4 in the A-10 heading into games against Saint Joseph’s (Jan. 24) and St. Bonaventure (Jan. 28).
• The Dayton roster includes five players who have earned All-Conference honors: Nate Santos (A-10), Enoch Cheeks (Horizon League), Javon Bennett (Northeast), Malachi Smith (A-10) and Posh Alexander (Big East).
• Nate Santos and Enoch Cheeks are the team’s top scorers at 14.5 ppg and 13.0 ppg, respectively. Along with Javon Bennett, the trio is shooting an impressive .414 from 3-point range, while the rest of the Flyers are at .270 from the arc.
• Malachi Smith leads the A-10 with 5.9 assists per game.
• Amaël L’Etang has started the last four games. He is the reigning A-10 Rookie of the Week. L’Etang was on the receiving end of Smith’s 55-foot pass at the buzzer against Loyola Chicago that he laid in for the game-winner.
• The Flyers lead the A-10 in assists per game (16.2) and 3-point field-goal percentage (.364). They are second in the conference in turnover margin (1.6) and fewest turnovers per game (10.1).
• Head coach Anthony Grant is in his eighth season coaching at his alma mater.

SERIES HISTORY

• This is the 73rd meeting all-time between the Billikens and Flyers. Dayton holds a 42-30 lead in the series.
• Dayton won both games against the Billikens last season. The Flyers are 3-2 over the last five games and 8-2 over the last 10 outings.
• SLU’s last win in the series came on March 3, 2023, at Chaifetz Arena.
• Dayton is the Billikens’ fourth-most common opponent.

COURTESY ST. LOUIS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS