The St. Louis Billikens charged into Atlantic-10 play with a 12-2 record, not to mention a real chance to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Billikens have made major strides this year under coach Rick Majerus, and were ranked earlier in the season. In the first week of conference play, the Billikens went 1-1. St. Louis suffered a heart-breaking overtime loss at the Dayton Flyers on Wednesday and earned a win over George Washington on Saturday.
The Billikens have a pair of games this weekend. Let's take a look:
Wednesday January 11 St. Louis Billikens Vs. Temple Owls, 8:00 p.m. (central)
Temple enters the contest 10-4, but suffered a loss to Dayton in their first and only Atlantic-10 game. The Owls are averaging 75.1 points per game (61st best in the country) and are 28th in the country in assists with 15.8 per game. Temple's rebounding has been less impressive: the Owls are 195th in the country on the glass, grabbing just 34.8 rebounds per game.
Temple's season hit a high note last Wednesday when they knocked off No. 3 Duke at home 78-73. Ramone Moore (16.9 points per game) and Khalif Wyatt (15.8) enter as the team's leading scorers.
Saturday January 14 St. Louis Billikens @ Charlotte 49ers, 1:00 p.m. (central)
The 49ers are simply not a very good offensive team. Charlotte is 185th in the country in points per game (68.0) and is shooting just 40 percent on the season as a unit. Chris Braswell and Javarris Barnett enter the game as Charlotte's two top players, ranking first and second respectively in both scoring and rebounding for the team. Braswell is averaging 13.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, while Barnett is scoring 11.4 points a game and grabbing 7.1 rebounds a night.