The University of Rhode Island Rams stunned the No. 18 Saint Louis University Billikens on Feb. 17, 81-76, ending their 18-game winning streak.
Though it was a sobering loss to an unranked team, the Billikens have nonetheless put together an extraordinary stretch of basketball that has earned national recognition and sparked serious March Madness expectations. The Billikens had escaped with narrow victories in recent games, which raised questions about their sustainability.
In a tough environment away at the Ryan Center, the Billikens trailed the Rams at halftime 43-37. Rhode Island extended the margin to eight in the second half, with junior guard Jonah Hinton hitting his stride to finish with a game-high 29 points.
SLU cut the deficit to one in the final 30 seconds, but free throws proved to be the difference. Rhode Island hit four straight foul shots in the final 24 seconds, while SLU missed the front end of three one-and-one opportunities late. The Billikens also committed an uncharacteristic 18 turnovers, which turned into 28 Rhode Island points. Fans stormed the court as the final horn sounded.
In the final stat line, Robbie Avila led SLU with 21 points, Dion Brown notched 19 points on 8-10 from the field and Amari McCottry added 10 points with just 26 minutes of play time.
SLU had won an astonishing 18 consecutive games prior to the conference loss to Rhode Island. The school record was set by the 2013-2014 squad with 19 wins; that squad also holds the overall win record with 28.
SLU head coach Josh Schertz reflected on the loss in a post-game press conference.
“We’ve been playing with fire the last three or four games in terms of our execution and physicality and competitiveness,” Schertz said. “The things that were our superpowers have been our effort and our toughness and our execution and our connectedness … they [Rhode Island] executed better, and they played more connected than we did for the entire 40 … Every time we got close, credit to them, they made plays.”
The Rhode Island defeat complicates the Billikens’ path forward towards the NCAA playoffs. SLU is likely to slip in the national rankings following the loss.
The 2026 A10 Championship will take place March 11-15 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the PPG Paints Arena. Although not yet a mathematical certainty, it looks increasingly evident that SLU will claim a top-four seed in the A10 tournament. This spot would give them an automatic bye to the quarterfinals. The winner of the A10 tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament
Regardless of how March unfolds, the foundation has been laid for one of the most significant seasons in program history. It has given Saint Louis University national recognition and reestablished SLU as a legitimate threat in college basketball.
SLU’s performance against conference rivals Virginia Commonwealth University on Feb. 20 will be important to all future opportunities. The challenge will be significant, as the Rams have won their last 10 games and are 12-2 in conference play.
The Billikens beat the Rams earlier this season 71-62 at the Siegel Center in Richmond, Virginia. The last time these two teams faced each other at Chaifetz Arena, a brawl erupted in the stands.
The game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and will be the annual “Blue Out” on home court.
