After a red-hot February, The Saint Louis University men’s basketball team has faltered in college basketball’s most important month. Saturday’s 62-52 loss to La Salle was the second in a row for the Billikens, who have now lost twice as many games in March as they did in February.
Despite a disappointing finish, the La Salle loss marked the end of a successful regular season for the Billikens. A preseason coaches poll picked SLU to finish 13th in their first season competing in the 14-team Atlantic 10 Conference. Yet their 10-6 record in league play was good for fourth place, earning the Billikens a bye in the first round of the conference tournament.
The Atlantic 10 honored three of the catalysts responsible for SLU’s vault to the top of the conference on Monday. Center Ian Vouyoukas was named to the all-conference first team as balloted by the A-10 coaches. The 6’10” junior also received the Chris Daniels Most Improved Player award.
Coach Brad Soderberg said, “Being named most improved is quite a feat for Ian, considering that only two coaches in this league had seen him play, prior to this year. We challenged Ian prior to this season to be our leading scorer and rebounder, and he enthusiastically answered the call. Everything we do revolves around Ian.”
Tommie Liddell was selected as the 2006 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year. Fellow freshman Kevin Lisch joined Liddell on the conference all-rookie team. Liddell also was named to the collegeinsider.com Freshman All American Team. The 25-player list spans across every Division I conference in the nation.
“I have said throughout the season that Tommie brings unusual poise to the game and has a feel for the game that is uncommon for such a young player. He has an impact in all phases of the game whenever he’s on the floor, and his statistics bear that out,” said Soderberg.
Liddell ranks in the top 10 on the Billikens’ all-time freshman lists in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocks.
La Salle forward Steven Smith was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. The 6’7″ forward led the conference in scoring (20.0 ppg) and finished third in rebounding (8.0 rpg).
SLU received a first-hand demonstration of Smith’s dexterity on Saturday afternoon. Playing the last home game of his career, Smith netted 26 points on a mix of strong post play and accurate perimeter shooting. He also grabbed 16 rebounds.
The Billikens struggled offensively throughout the game, but only trailed 25-22 after the first 20 minutes. The Explorers rotated between a box-and-one and triangle-and-two defense for most of the game. The plan dared SLU to find alternative scoring and assured that a La Salle defender would always be near Lisch, Vouyoukas and Anthony Drejaj.
“Our other perimeter players weren’t able to knock down enough open shots, and that was pretty much the story. Frankly, I’m surprised that we haven’t seen more of that,” said Soderberg.
The Billikens never found their offensive rhythm and shot a measly 34.5 percent from the field. Vouyoukas’ 13 points led the way for SLU. Drejaj and Liddell pitched in with 11 points each.
The win allowed the Explorers to leap past SLU for third place in the conference standings. The top four teams earned a bye in the conference tournament that began yesterday in Cincinnati.
SLU awaits the winner of the first-round contest between #12 seed Dayton and #5 St. Joseph’s. The Billikens have a combined record of 0-3 against both teams on the season.
Dayton owns a pair of two-point victories over SLU on the season. On Feb. 11, the Flyers triumphed at home 46-44 on guard Brian Roberts’ last second fall-away jump shot. The Flyers escaped Savvis Center on March 1 with a 72-70 overtime victory.
St. Joseph’s rolls into Cincinnati on a five-game win streak. The Hawks left a frustrated Billiken team behind on Jan. 25, leaving Savvis Center with a 54-39 victory. The game saw SLU produce season-lows in points, shooting percentage (.286) and three-point percentage (.095).
The quarterfinal game tips off at 1 p.m. on Thursday at the U.S. Bank Arena. The winner advances to Friday’s 5:30 p.m. semifinal. The Atlantic 10 championship game is slated for 5 p.m. on Saturday March 11.
