Game Info: Friday, January 3, 2025 - 9:00 p.m.
Location: Chaifetz Arena - St. Louis, Mo.
TV: ESPN2 | Listen: sjuhawks.com | Live Stats: sjuhawks.com | Saint Joseph's Game Notes | Saint Louis Game Notes

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Opening Tip
The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team plays its first A-10 road game of the year, facing the Saint Louis Billikens on Friday, January 3. Tipoff from Chaifetz Arena is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. EST with the game broadcast on ESPN2.The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team plays its first A-10 road game of the year, facing the Saint Louis Billikens on Friday, January 3. Tipoff from Chaifetz Arena is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. EST with the game broadcast on ESPN2.

Continuing The Climb    
Erik Reynolds II passed one Hawk legend on Tuesday and tied another with his 14 point performance against UMass. Reynolds hit a pair of three-pointers in the contest, giving him 295 in his career and passing Pat Carroll (2005-09) for the second most all-time at Saint Joseph's. He is also just five treys away from joining Langston Galloway as the second ever Hawk to hit 300 three-pointers. Galloway dropped 343 from 2010-14. The senior from Temple Hills, Md. enters the game against Saint Louis tied for fourth on the career scoring list at St. Joe's, matching Carl Jones (2009-13) at 1,845.

Lending A Hand    
The Hawks continue to dish out assists at a prolific rate with 18 more against UMass. Saint Joseph's averaged  18.4 dimes a contest in December. SJU's 129 assists came on 195 made baskets, an assist rate of 66.1 percent.

All Rise    
In his first season with the Hawks, Justice Ajogbor has made his presence felt, particularly in recent games. His game against UMass was his best yet in a Saint Joseph's uniform, coming up one point shy of his first career double-double, setting season-highs with nine points and 10 rebounds. He is also sixth in the A-10 and 60th in NCAA Division I with 21 total blocks for the year. As Ajogbor's overall play has improved, so has his block total as 12 of his rejections have come in the last five games. Additionally, he has turned aside nine opponent shots in the last three contests, including a season-high four versus Virginia Tech.

Connect Four    
Saint Joseph's has won four games in a row for the first time this season. It is the most consecutive wins for SJU since a run of six straight from November 26-December 16, 2023. During the span, the Hawks are averaging 80.8 points per game and shooting 50.2 percent from the floor. Defensively, the team is allowing the opposition 62.3 points a contest and blocking 7.25 shots an outing. Individually, Erik Reynolds II is scoring 21.3 a game while Rasheer Fleming is tallying 19.0 with 9.8 rebounds and is  shooting 59.3 percent.

Block Party    
St. Joe's rejected seven more shots against UMass, bringing its total to nine times it has swatted five or more opponent attempts in a game this year. Rasheer Fleming and Justice Ajogbor lead the Hawks with 22 and 21 blocks, respectively. It isn't just the two forwards however as nine different Saint Joseph's players have a rejection and seven have blocked five or more shots. At 5.9 swats per game, the Hawks are eighth nationally and are tied with VCU for the A-10 lead. The Hawks rejected 12 Coppin State shots on November 26, a season-high. They also achieved double digits in the season-opener against Navy.

Scouting report    
Saint Louis enters play 8-6 overall and is 1-0 in the Atlantic 10 following an 88-63 win at Fordham in its conference opener. The Billikens were picked fourth in the A-10 preseason poll.

A trio of preseason All-Conference selections lead the offense for Saint Louis. Gibson Jimerson tops the team at 18.9 points per game. Indiana State transfers Robbie Avila and Isaiah Swope come in at 17.9 and 17.7 an outing respectively. Kalu Anya bests the Atlantic 10 at 9.9 rebounds a night. Swope has 69 assists.

The Billikens can shoot well, ranking second in the conference and in the top-60 nationally in field goal percentage at 48.5 and lead the A-10 in effective field goal percentage. SLU is also one of the most prolific three-point shooting teams in the country, making 9.9 treys an outing in 27.8 attempts.

The shooting needs to be good for Saint Louis as they average 4.2 overall field goal attempts per game fewer than its opponents. In part, this is due to ranking in the bottom-75 in NCAA Division I in turnovers forced per game at 11.2 and sitting at 310th in offensive rebounds a contest at under nine a night.

Josh Schertz is in his first season with the Billikens and his 18th year as a collegiate head coach overall. He comes to Saint Louis from Indiana State where he guided the Sycamores to a 32-7 record last season and the championship game of the NIT.

All-Time Series    
Friday is the 23rd matchup between the Hawks and Billikens. Saint Louis holds a 17-5 series edge. SJU is looking for its first win at SLU since the initial matchup between the schools on January 25, 2006, a 66-54 Hawk triumph.

Last Time Against Saint Louis
In a game that featured 12 lead changes and seven ties, the Saint Joseph's men's basketball team outlasted the Saint Louis Billikens 87-86 at Hagan Arena on February 10, 2024.
Xzayvier Brown led the Hawks with 27 points in the contest, adding seven assists and five rebounds. Cameron Brown scored 23 and Erik Reynolds II added 11. St. Joe's defense was on display, forcing 22 Billikens' turnovers, leading to 26 SJU points. After Sincere Parker scored on a layup with 12 seconds remaining to give Saint Louis the lead, Xzayvier Brown knocked down a pair of free throws with seven seconds left to give Saint Joseph's the win.

Into Conference Play    
Tuesday began the 43rd season of Atlantic 10 Conference play for the Hawks. SJU is the fifth longest consecutively tenured member of the conference, behind George Washington (Charter Member - 1976), UMass (Charter Member - 1976), St. Bonaventure (1979) and Rhode Island (1980). Duquesne was a charter member of the Atlantic 10 (then the Eastern 8), but competed in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference in 1992-93. St. Joe's has an overall record of 357-341 in the A-10, a .512 winning percentage. It has won the conference seven times and taken home the A-10 Tournament title on four occasions.

Mid-Major   
The question needs to be asked if the Atlantic 10 should be considered a high major conference rather than its generally considered mid-major moniker as the A-10 is one of two conferences other than the Power 5 to have six teams in the top-100 of the NET ratings. Dayton leads the A-10 in the NET at 45 followed by St. Bonaventure (53), VCU (67), George Mason (82) and Rhode Island (87). Saint Joseph's comes in at 97. UD and SBU are also receiving votes in the AP Poll.

Out Of Conference Experience    
SJU went 9-4 in non-conference games, the second best mark in Billy Lange's time as head coach.. The Hawks are 19-7 the last two years in non-conference play. As part of the non-conference slate, the Hawks defeated power conference foes Villanova (BIG EAST), Texas Tech (Big 12) and Virginia Tech (ACC).

Up Next    
The Hawks remain on the road, traveling to Pittsburgh to take on Duquesne on Wednesday, January 8. Tipoff from UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with the game broadcast on ESPN+.