Kyle Cassity made a bold statement following his team’s 69-53 victory over the Minutemen of Massachusetts on Wednesday., Feb. 2.

“February is the month of the Billiken.”

As a journalist, there are some quotes that make your ears perk up and your head tilt sideways. Mr. Cassity just delivered. Being the keen writer that I am, I thought to myself, “Now here’s a fact I just have to investigate.”

Congratulations, dear reader, for you are about to journey with me on the “Cassity Quest” to discover if February really is the best month to be a Billiken.

Let’s start by examining the month of February itself. Oft held in high esteem by college basketball fans, the month of St. Valentine brings us the heart of conference play. Teams like Duke take on teams that can’t beat them, like St. John’s, and Mizzou struggles to win outside of Mizzourah. Teams hopes of dancing, like the Izzos of Michigan State, are broken while other teams, like our very own Duquesne, start dreaming of the Ides of March on CBS.

Ah, yes, while most of the country freezes and Punxsutawney Phil tells us, “it’ll all be over soon my children,” college basketball fans gear up for the hottest month of ball all year.

That’s exactly what Cassity is hoping for.

You see, February is the month of the Billiken, or at least, the Billikens that Cassity knows. Since the junior joined the team, SLU has gone 13-3 in the second month of the year. Included in that lucky #13 is the triple-overtime thriller at Richmond where former Bill great Kevin Lisch hit two buzzer beaters to seal the win.

Is that hot or what?

But there’s just one problem in Cassity’s proclamation about February. A third of those losses was to Xavier University. Yes, that Xavier.

And guess where Cassity and Crew are headed on Saturday, Feb. 5? OH-IO!

When Xavier is involved, it doesn’t matter which month SLU steps on the court. The Musketeers are 12-25 overall against the Billikens, spanning almost 100 years, and are on a 5-0 streak against the Midtown men.

Let’s rewind the clock: January 2009, SLU lost at Xavier. March 2009, SLU loses to Xavier in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. February 2010, SLU drops the ball at home against Xavier.

In February, the Billikens are 7-8 all time against their conference foe. Looks like Cassity better be right.

And if he is, the fortunes of the team may be reversed. This season, SLU takes on 8 opponents in February: Massachusetts, at Xavier, La Salle, at Richmond, at St. Bonaventure, Charlotte, Chicago State, and league-leading Duquesne.

Of those teams, all but Chicago State have winning records. With Wednesday, Feb. 2’s win over UMass, SLU has started off on the right foot but still does not have a winning record. The Billikens sit at 8-13, 3-5.

So what have we learned? SLU does tend to play well in February. And they must if they plan to resuscitate the 2010-11 season. The Bills cannot go just .500 this month; they must win the games they are supposed to win (La Salle, at St. Bonnie, Chicago State) and pull a surprise win, most likely at home.

For the Billikens to enjoy March, they better play to win in February.