Saint Louis Basketball: Could the Billikens upset the Hokies?

Once the most highly-touted team in the A10, the up and down Saint Louis basketball team has seemingly found its rhythm at the perfect time.

If you had told a random sample of A10 fans a month ago that the Saint Louis basketball team would soon be representing the conference in the looming NCAA Tournament, most of them would have recommended that you receive a mental health assessment. This is a Billikens team that, before getting scorching hot and stealing the A10 Tournament, had won just five of its previous thirteen games and had entered Brooklyn as the No. 6 seed in a mediocre conference. Fast forward to today, and somehow they are flying out West in hopes of becoming one of thirty-two candidates for the National Title.

In terms of raw talent, it’s not surprising in the least that the Billikens have made it to their current position. In fact, the Saint Louis roster is so impressive that once upon a time (meaning during the preseason) they were picked to finish first in the A10 standings. Jordan Goodwin, Tramaine Isabell, Hasahn French, Javon Bess, and DJ Foreman is about as athletically gifted a starting lineup as one can find in the A10, and perhaps it’s even among the top half of all tournament teams in that regard.

Of course, it’s one thing to have a good roster on paper, and it’s another to have a good team. Travis Ford hasn’t been able to consistently get the most out of his guys, and it’s the reason why the Billikens, despite cutting down the nets in Brooklyn, have also suffered losses to some of the worst teams in the conference. If the same team that lost to Richmond and Saint Joe’s (by 30) shows up against Virginia Tech, A10 fans will be wishing that college basketball had a mercy rule. On the other hand, if the Billikens take the court with the same confidence and defensive tenacity that won them the A10 hardware, it’s not inconceivable that they pull off a 13-4 upset.

Besides their obvious talent, one factor that the Billikens do have working in their favor is their experience. Bess (SF), Isabell (PG), and Foreman (C) are all seniors who combine for 35 points per game, and French and Goodwin, though only sophomores, have started essentially every game over the course of their two seasons. This is not a team that will be mentally rattled from the opening tip about sharing the court with an ACC opponent, and they will come out playing a hard and physical brand of basketball. The difficulty will be consistently hitting shots, as they are prone to go ice cold for long stretches (322nd in effective FG% on KenPom), but if they can knock them down at even just a reasonable clip for forty minutes, they should be able to keep themselves in the game.

The bottom line: I don’t believe that the Billikens will win – Virginia Tech, especially with Justin Robinson returning, is just too overwhelming offensively (12th in overall efficiency on KenPom) – but I do think that SLU has the size, physicality, and confidence to make the game competitive, and it would only be mildly surprising to see them grind out a win. After a key missed shot by St. Bonaventure in the final seconds of the A10 Championship, Tramaine Isabell spoke about the basketball Gods being on the Billikens’ side. We’re about to find out if they are still around.