Photography courtesy of Saint Louis University Athletics Department
The calendar still says February, sure, but we are quickly approaching the point in the men's college basketball season when people will start discussing the bracket. Who's in? Who's out? Which schools are worthy of No. 1 seeds, and who's still stuck on the bubble?
For the past two or three weeks, the Billikens of Saint Louis University have been playing like a team that will tough to beat come tournament time.
Their current six-game winning streak is just the latest development in what has been a roller-coaster season.
There has been tragedy. Back in August, legendary head coach Rick Majerus announced that he would be taking an indefinite leave of absence to deal with heart trouble, and Jim Crews took over as interim coach. Then in December, Majerus died. He was 64.
There has been hardship on the court. The Bills started the season 3-3. Perhaps the players were struggling to deal with the emotional strain of Majerus' illness. Or maybe they were having difficulty adjusting to Crews and his coaching style. The team managed to finish nonconference play on a winning streak, but started 1-2 in the Atlantic 10.
There has also been inspiration along the way. Young Joshua Brown, a 9-year-old who is battling a brain tumor, has become the team's No. 1 fan. At many home games, he sits just behind the SLU bench. Over the course of the season, he has developed a personal relationship with several players, hanging out in the locker room and sitting in on practices.
And now, the Billikens are playing their best basketball of the season.
Initially, Crews had said the plan was to keep things mostly the same. 2011-12 was one of the most successful campaigns in school history, and the players were comfortable with Majerus' system. Why rock the boat? But their current success has been a direct result of this year's team finding its own identity, its own style.
That identity is predicated on pressure defense. The Bills allow the fewest points in the conference, and work hard to control the tempo. Listening to their games on the radio, it sounds as if half of the team's defensive possessions end in turnovers. On offense, SLU has a balanced attack. Leading scorer Dwayne Evans averages just 11.7 points per game, but five players average at least 9.
Their latest winning streak started at Duquesne, a back-and-forth affair that featured 17 lead changes, before the Billikens prevailed, 73-64. That was followed by a 10-point victory over St. Bonaventure, in which SLU forced 19 turnovers. Then came the truly eye-opening performance. On January 31, the Billikens beat No. 9 Butler, a win so big, it sent the students storming onto the court. SLU hadn't beaten a team ranked that high since taking out No. 2 Louisville in 2003. And it wasn't even close, a 75-58 drubbing that saw the Bulldogs turn the ball-over a season-worst 23 times. And the Bills weren't done there. They beat Dayton by 29, tying the Flyers' largest margin of defeat ever in an A-10 game. At one point, Dayton failed to score for seven minutes. They beat Fordham by 17 and held Richmond to 46 points.
That streak puts the Bills in a three-way tie for first place in the conference, along with Butler and Virginia Commonwealth, and as we look toward the NCAA tournament, SLU seems like a team primed to do damage. After all, March Madness is all about David and Goliath, the unknown kid from the small school pulling off the impossible. The Billikens have grieved with the death of their coach, have taken inspiration from a 9-year-old hero, and through it all, have come together as a team. How's that for a Cinderella story?
