The 51黑料 University men鈥檚 basketball team will open its second season under coach Josh Schertz with a 13-game nonconference schedule that will include 10 home games and one game against a major-conference team.
It鈥檚 not precisely the schedule Schertz had in mind, but he thinks it鈥檚 still enough of a nonconference schedule to set his team up for an NCAA Tournament bid.
鈥淚 would say we have enough that if we take care of our business, we鈥檒l be fine to achieve our goals,鈥 Schertz said. 鈥淚f you look at last year, VCU had a nonconference strength of schedule of 293 and Dayton was 54, at the end VCU had much better pathway to get into the tournament had they lost to Mason (in the Atlantic 10 final). 鈥 I think the sweet spot from a nonconference standpoint to put yourself in the at-large conversation is to get five or six quad 1, quad 2 games. Predictably right now we have four and if Grand Canyon, which is predictably 77, if they become 75, we have five. Is it exactly what wanted, no, but is it good enough for us to achieve what achieve, yes. It just narrows our margin for error for doing so.鈥
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SLU, whose nonconference strength of schedule ranked 185 last season at , was originally supposed to play Santa Clara at home as the start of a new home-and-home and then get two high-major teams in the Acrisure Invitational, its multiteam event in Palm Desert, California, at Thanksgiving. SLU was looking to be in either a group with Washington, Colorado and Nevada or with Iowa, Utah and Mississippi. But when the participating teams there didn’t come together as planned, SLU ended up with Santa Clara for its opening game and the expected regular-season meeting was postponed. (That contract right now is on hold for when it may start.) That switch cost SLU a second high-major opponent and a quality home game.
鈥淪anta Clara at home would have given us a third top 85 opponent on our home court,鈥 Schertz said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know anyone else in the A-10, maybe Dayton, with three top 85 teams coming into their home arena.鈥
SLU will start play on Nov. 3 against Southeast Missouri at Chaifetz Arena and play its first games at home, including one against Lindenwood on Nov. 10. That leads into three games played on a trip to the West Coast, first facing Santa Clara on Nov. 27 and then either Minnesota or Stanford the following day. On Dec. 2, the Billikens will play Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles. There are no new home-and-home series starting this season.
The team won鈥檛 have any home exhibition games, but will play one at Bradley on Oct. 23 and play a closed-door scrimmage with Iowa. Billiken Madness will be a free event held in conjunction with the school鈥檚 homecoming at the start of practice.
The schedule for SLU鈥檚 A-10 games will be announced in September. SLU will face Dayton, Duquesne, Fordham, George Washington, La Salle, Loyola Chicago, Richmond, St. Joseph鈥檚 and VCU at Chaifetz Arena and Davidson, Dayton, Duquesne, George Mason, La Salle, Loyola Chicago, Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure and VCU on the road. SLU will face three of what鈥檚 expected to be the top teams in the league 鈥 Dayton, Loyola and VCU 鈥 twice.
The SLU nonconference schedule:
Sept. 26 Billiken Madness
Nov. 3 Southeast Missouri
Nov. 6 Chicago State
Nov. 10 Lindenwood
Nov. 15 Grand Canyon
Nov. 21 Purdue Fort Wayne
Nov. 27 Santa Clara at Palm Desert, Calif.
Nov. 28 Minnesota or Stanford at Palm Desert, Calif.
Dec. 2 at Loyola Marymount
Dec. 7 Central Michigan
Dec.13 San Francisco
Dec. 17 Bethune-Cookman
Dec. 21 New Hampshire
Dec. 28 Principia
