Billikens Returning to the NCAA Promised Land

There are more than 320 Division I teams in NCAA men’s basketball competition.  As we enter conference tourney play for the major conferences this week (some minor conferences already have concluded theirs), just a handful of teams have fewer than the Billikens’ six defeats.

As they head into Atlantic 10 tourney competition, the Saint Louis University Billikens have achieved a sterling 25-6 record this season under head coach Rick Majerus.  Despite that lofty number of victories, a loss to lowly Rhode Island 10 days ago precluded the Bills from having an automatic ‘lock’ on a slot in March Madness.

However, in typical fashion this season, the Bills responded with convincing victories against Xavier at home and then with a final regular-season win over Duchesne.  Now, as the Billikens are poised for A-10 tournament competition, they likely already have assured themselves their first March Madness ticket in more than a decade.  Their efforts in the Atlantic 10 tournament likely will impact exactly how high a seed they’re awarded on Bracket Sunday, March 11.

Majerus has worked his magic with a talented and hard-working team that has adopted his credo of suffocating defense and opportunistic offense.  The Billikens are ranked in the NCAA’s Top Ten in lowest scoring average by their competition, which should bode well as they prepare for NCAA tournament activity.

The Atlantic 10 right now has just two teams, SLU and Temple, which seem more or less guaranteed to make the tournament.  A strong A-10 tournament run by one or two other teams in the league could result in another one making the cut.  Obviously, if a team other than SLU or Temple wins the A-10 tournament that will enhance the league’s number by at least one.

It’ll be most interesting to watch the progress of the Bills in the NCAA tournament.  On two occasions this year SLU crept into the Top 25 rankings, only to tumble immediately with losses a few days later.  This lack of much national recognition can help the Billikens if they are able to ‘fly under the radar’ of opposing coaches and thus catch their competition off guard.

Of course, it takes a crystal ball to fully map out many post-season scenarios, as each year March Madness offers abundant surprises by small-conference or relatively unknown schools.  It should be a lot of fun, though, to see how far SLU and another local surprise, the University of Missouri, go in the 2012 edition.

Evan Makovsky
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