Billikens Face Arkansas State in First Round of NIT

3/17/2025 1:36:00 PM

By: Saint Louis Athletics

SLU Men's Basketball Game Notes & Information
NIT First Round Saint Louis (19-14) at Arkansas State (24-10)
Date // Time Tuesday, March 18, 2025 // 8 p.m.
Location Jonesboro, Ark. (First National Bank Arena)
Radio 1120 KMOX | Varsity Network App (Bob Ramsey, Earl Austin Jr.)
TV ESPNU (Eric Rothman, Paul Biancardi)
Live Stats Link coming soon
Series History Saint Louis leads 10-1
Game Notes Saint Louis

BILLIKENS HEADED TO THE NIT

  • Saint Louis earned a bid to the postseason National Invitation Tournament and opens play in the NIT on Tuesday at Arkansas State. Game time is 8 p.m.
  • The winner advances to face the winner of North Texas and Furman. Those two teams play Wednesday night. North Texas, as a No. 2 seed in the quadrant, is the likely host for the second round should the Mean Green win on Wednesday.
  • The seeded teams in the Billikens' side of the bracket are No. 1 SMU, No. 2 North Texas, No. 3 Arkansas State and No. 4 Oklahoma State.
  • The first round, second round and quarterfinal rounds are all played on campus sites. The semifinals and final will once again be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis April 1 and April 3.

FOLLOWING THE ACTION

  • Tuesday's game will be televised on ESPNU. Eric Rothman and Paul Biancardi have the call. Biancardi was an assistant coach at SLU under Rick Majerus in 2007-08. 

NEWS & NOTES

  • Saint Louis was the No. 5 seed in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. SLU went 1-1 with a win over Davidson before falling in the quarterfinals against Loyola Chicago.
  • First-team All-Conference selection Gibson Jimerson leads the Billikens with 18.0 ppg. He is SLU's all-time leading scorer and leads all active players in NCAA Division I in career 3-pointers. He is 19th all-time in Division I in career treys.
  • Robbie Avila is second on the Billikens in scoring (17.1 ppg), rebounding (6.9 rpg) and assists (4.0 apg). He leads all centers in Division I in assists (4.0) and 3s made per game (1.7).
  • Isaiah Swope leads the Bills and is fourth in the A-10 with 4.3 assists per game. He also averages 17.1 ppg. His 102 3-pointers this season rank second in school history.
  • The Billikens are the only program in NCAA Division I with three players averaging 17.0 ppg or better.
  • Saint Louis has already broken the school record for 3-pointers made in a season (325). 
  • Head coach Josh Schertz is in his first season at SLU. His .774winning percentage ranks No. 8 among active coaches across all three NCAA divisions.

ABOUT THE RED WOLVES

  • Arkansas State enters the NIT with a 24-10 overall record. The Red Wolves are making back-to-back postseason appearances after they were selected for the CBI last season.
  • A-State reached the title game of this year's Sun Belt Conference Championship after knocking off top-seed South Alabama in the semifinals. Earlier this year, the Red Wolves had another impressive win at Memphis.
  • The Red Wolves lead their conference in scoring, averaging 79.2 ppg. They shoot a lot of 3-pointers, even more than the Billikens, at 28.9 attempts per game. 
  • Arkansas State is one of the top rebounding teams in the country, ranking sixth in the country with 40.9 rebounds per game. 
  • Taryn Todd leads the team in scoring with 14.6 ppg, while Joseph Pinion is the Red Wolves' top 3-point shooter with 84 makes. Kobe Julien scores in double figures as well with 11.9 ppg to go along with a team-high-tying 43 steals.
  • Izaiyah Nelson averages 9.9 ppg and a team-best 8.7 rpg. Terrance Ford Jr. leads A-State and is third in the league in assists per game (4.9). His 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks second in the Sun Belt.
  • Head coach Bryan Hodgson is in his second year at Arkansas State. He was a finalist last year for the Joe B. Hall Award, presented to the nation's top first-year head coach, after leading Arkansas State to the CBI. Hodgson came to Arkansas State after spending the previous four seasons at Alabama.

SERIES HISTORY

  • The Billikens and Red Wolves are meeting for the 12th time. Saint Louis leads the all-time series 10-1.
  • Saint Louis and Arkansas State last met on Dec. 22, 2011, a 70-46 Billiken victory at Chaifetz Arena. Dwayne Evans recorded game highs of 18 points and nine rebounds as SLU won its fifth straight game to improve to 11-1 that season.
  • The lone win for Arkansas State came on Jan. 27, 1993, when it defeated the Bills 58-45 at First National Bank Arena, which was then called the Convocation Center.