Time will tell if this team is better than McCauley’s 1948 team or other great squads, but this one has to be in the conversation. McCauley was a three-time all-American and was the 1949, National Player of the Year. Coach Hickey won over 70 percent of his games during his eleven seasons with Saint Louis.
Finishing strong and then doing damage in the postseason is what will determine this team’s historical significance, but right now they have the look of a history-making team.
Rich Grawer’s 1989 team led by all-American Anthony Bonner went 27-10 and were NIT runners-up. Bonner led the team in scoring, rebounds and steals. Charley Spoonhour’s 1995 team had an all-American of its own in Erwin Claggett. ‘Clags’ averaged over 18 points per game and the Billikens won 23 games including an NCAA Tournament first round engagement.
During the Rick Majerus era in St. Louis, the Billikens enjoyed great success. Many compare Schertz and Majerus favorably with their basketball brilliance. Majerus would leave the program due health reasons after the 2012 season. That year the Bills won 26 games and split two during March Madness.
The legendary Majerus won 95 games in five seasons in the Gateway City, and accumulated 517 Division 1 victories and a .705 career winning percentage. Most of that success took place at Utah. His 1998 team advanced to the Final Four.
The following season, with Jim Crews leading a mostly Majerus-recruited team, SLU won 28, including one in the Big Dance. Crews was named the national coach of the year.
While the 2020 postseason was canceled due to the covid pandemic, Travis Ford’s team was 23-8. Future NBA player Jordan Goodwin led the Bills in scoring, rebounds and steals.
With the Billikens joining the nation’s top-25 for the first time since 2021, it marks just the twentieth time Saint Louis has been so ranked. The Billiken team of 2013-14 was a top-ten team. That Jim Crews-led team finished 27-7 and split to NCAA Tournament games. All-American Jordair Jett was the A-Ten ‘Player of the Year’.
There are 13 league games and the conference tournament in front of this year’s team and they haven’t played the A-Ten’s other two undefeated teams (George Mason and Dayton). SLU entertains Dayton on January 30 and visits the Flyers on February 24. The Bills and George Mason play each other just once this year and it will be on the season’s final day.
To be one of Saint Louis’ all-time best teams they will have to be very successful in those three games and at the league tourney in Pittsburgh.