Any long-time March Madness fan will be able to tell you that, in spite of their relatively impressive position in the 2012 NCAA tournament—a No. 9 seed against the Memphis Tigers, set to tip off Friday afternoon—Saint Louis University isn’t world-renowned for its basketball program. They had some major success in the 1950s, as well as a 1948 NIT championship back when that sort of thing was impressive, but their only lasting entry into the college athletic books is their apparent invention of the forward pass. Rick Majerus and company will look to change that tonight.
2011-12 was a season of first-sinces for SLU—the first moment in the AP Ranks (they hit 23) since 1994, their first time in March Madness proper since 2000, their first season without double-digit losses since 1995. They have one more first-since to set: They can be the first SLU basketball team since the 1998 squad, back when they were members of Conference USA, to win a game and move on in the NCAA Tournament.
More SLU coverage from SB Nation St. Louis: If you’re looking for a way to follow along, check out our complete list of NCAA Tournament radio streams for Friday. Or read on about Rick Majerus’s big test. If all else fails, we’ll be updating all night at our March Madness storystream.