Saint Louis vs NC State: 2020-21 college basketball game preview, TV Schedule

After a social media plea, the Wolf Pack and Billikens make it work at the last second for a new marquee matchup.

TV schedule: Thursday, December 17th, 8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Midwest/ESPN+

Arena: Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, MO

With social media being the new gathering place for finding last-minute games in the 2020 non-conference season, the Billikens and Wolf Pack have “swiped right” on each other to solve some of their issues for the 2020-21 campaign.

https://twitter.com/SaintLouisMBB/status/1337883537635233795?s=20

The NC State Wolf Pack needed a tune-up game before embarking on a challenging ACC schedule. One in which they are looking to compete for a title after having several games canceled—last playing two weeks ago against UMass-Lowell. On the other hand, the Billikens are looking to beef up their non-conference schedule and make their way deeper into national consciousness and relevance.

Since the beginning of the season, the Billikens had been looking for a new game against a power-five conference opponent. They strategically added gaps in the schedule to allow for new opportunities to emerge. After their game against Evansville was canceled due to an abundance of caution inside the Purple Aces program Saint Louis got desperate.

SLU put out a plead for games on Twitter on December 12th; that’s when Kevin Keatts’ team answer and the game was reported as scheduled less than two days later. The Pack travels north to St. Louis in exchange for a return game to Raleigh in 2022-23.

NC State had been one of the many programs nationwide to fall victim to game after game against high-end competition being postponed or canceled at the last minute. Games against William & Mary, Louisville, Michigan, UConn, and Florida Atlantic all unable to be played.

Without the Billikens’ addition, the only other game on the once-great schedule would be a home matchup against the Big South Conference’s Campbell Camels. NC State is 3-0 coming into the matchup, though all three wins are 200+ KenPom ranked teams. (Hard to blame them, though)

Saint Louis University is coming off a win over Indiana State two nights ago and 5-0 thus far. On the brink of cracking the AP Top 25 since 2014, the Billikens have scheduled a week to put themselves over the top, playing three games in six days next traveling to Minnesota. Head Coach Travis Ford has been claiming for weeks to want to get another top team into the gym with his squad and, almost luckily, have done so in getting an opponent into Chaifetz Arena.

The matchup will be a celebration of St. Louis basketball in many ways. The Billikens led by three starters (and a handful of reserves) from the St. Louis Metro Area taking on NC States star power forward Jericole Hellems, who attended the well-revered Chaminade College Prep in St. Louis county.

The last time Hellems and Billiken captain Jordan Goodwin faced off, Hellem’s side got the better, winning 97-94…in a high school game. The two then went on to play together as teammates at the Brad Beal Elite AAU program. The ties between programs don’t stop there, though, as NC State center Manny Bates and SLU point guard Yuri Collins are also cousins.

The Wolf Pack will have to shake off some rust very quickly to compete with the Billikens, who have been fine-tuning their game since their statement win over LSU. Taking two weeks off from seeing real opponents can lead to some undue deficiency and reduce the margin for error to essentially none as there’s no cushion of ‘experience’ or “muscle memory” to fall back on.

In their three games, the Wolfpack have won by an average of 33 points and had looked like the top-30 team they project to be. The Pack runs nine guys deep, and we will likely see all of them as reported only the nine will be traveling to St. Louis for the game.

Despite that, they have gotten performances out of everyone in the lineup, with eight players averaging 6.7 points per game or better. Jericole Hellems and Devon Daniels had been leaders on the court, while freshmen guard Cam Hayes has been a breakout star off the bench. NC State rounds out their primary group with a pair of towering big men in the aforementioned Manny Bates and DJ Funderburk.

The Billikens will counter with a depth of their own but will open with a pair of A-10 first-team all-defensive players in Jordan Goodwin and Hasahn French. Javonte Perkins has emerged as the primary scorer for SLU, and should things get sticky, or the Bills need a bucket, the ball will likely find his hands, averaging 19.4 points per game on 60% shooting. Collins will run the team from the point; coming off a 10-assist game, he also leads the team in steals with 12.

Both teams run deep benches and will play a hard-nosed, physical style of basketball. It is a rare game for SLU where they may not have the advantage of pure size but make up for it in strong rebounding and tenacity.

Expect a dog fight in Midtown St. Louis Thursday night. Both teams have something to prove…and it’s hard to tell who may want it more.