It has been a minute since the Saint Louis Billikens basketball program has drawn the attention it is garnering now. Winning 19 of the first 20 games of the season will tend to have that effect.
After completely dismantling the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, 97-62, on Friday, the 24th-ranked Billikens notched their 13th straight win and seventh without a loss in the Atlantic 10 conference. Saint Louis and the George Mason Patriots are the only two schools that have not suffered a loss in conference play.
The Billikens, who are nationally ranked for the first time since the 2020-21 season, are not just beating their opponents. They are destroying them at the highest statistical rate in the country. Not only that, but Saint Louis is spreading the wealth offensively like no other team in all of Division 1 basketball.
Saint Louis Owns The Nation’s Largest Margin Of Victory
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A last-second three-point basket by the Stanford Cardinal beat Saint Louis by one point on November 28th. Without it, the Billikens would be one of four teams still without a loss. That 78-77 defeat in the Acrisure Invitational Championship game is the lone blemish on their record.
Saint Louis is averaging 91.5 points per game this season, good for the ninth-best in the country. What makes that statistic so impressive is that the Billikens are giving up only 66.9 points each game. That 24.6 point margin of victory is the widest of any team, leading the likes of the Michigan Wolverines and Gonzaga Bulldogs, who also have just one loss this season.
The Billikens’ success this year is a byproduct of the way they finished the last season. In 2024-25, first-year head coach Josh Schertz led his squad to a berth in the NIT, which was their first postseason bid since 2022. Saint Louis finished the year with a 19-15 record, but the stage was set for their current breakout campaign.
A Balanced Attack Keeps Saint Louis Rolling
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As a mark of unselfish and ultimate team basketball, Saint Louis is the only team in America that boasts six players averaging double-digit scoring. Robbie Avila leads the way with 12.7 points per game, followed by fellow starters Dion Brown (11.4), Trey Green (11.2), and Amari McCottry (10.8).
Reserve Kellen Thames pours in 10.3 points each contest, and Quentin Jones, the Billikens’ final starter, tallies 10.0 per game.
This spread of the wealth has not been achieved by accident. The players have bought into Schertz’s coaching style and methods of recruiting, realizing the coach brings in players with a specific quality.
“Schertz recruits personality,” said Thames, the reigning Atlantic 10 Player of the Week. “He brings in high-character people. Yeah, everybody wants to do well, but everybody here understands that when the team does well, it’s good for everyone.”
Avila, who followed Schertz from Indiana State to the Billikens, echoes his teammates comments.
“We have no egos on this team,” he said. “We know that if we are going to be successful, it’s going to take everybody.
“If I need to score 20 one night, maybe that’s what it takes. But if I need to be a facilitator or a rebound or something like that, great. And that’s not just me. I think it’s the entire team that has that same type of mentality.”
Schertz knew he wanted Avila to leave Terre Haute with him, but he also realized that his star player was one to always leave his ego at the door.
“It wasn’t a ‘Well I need more,’ or ‘I need to get paid this’ or ‘I could go I leverage this or hold you hostage,’” Schertz said about Avila becoming a Billiken. “It’s just sets a great tone because really nobody else can complain when your best player … is sacrificing minutes and shots.”
Friday’s win at St. Bonaventure is proof of the selfless attitude. Ishan Sharma, who is averaging just 9.3 points each game, exploded for a career-high 29 against the Bonnies on 9-for-12 shooting from distance. The other Billikens realized Sharma had the hot hand, and it did not have to rely on Avila or anyone else to lead them to another win.
End Of My Saint Louis Rant: The Billikens Are For Real
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Barring an unforeseen and unprecedented breakdown, Saint Louis is destined to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2019. With their 19 wins, they are just one behind the Miami of Ohio Redhawks and Gonzaga for the most in the country.
Coach Schertz has found the magic formula to mold his team into a winner thus far. With six weeks to go in the regular season, Billikens fans are hoping their squad makes this year last well into March.
