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NCAAB Predictions: No. 24 Saint Louis Billikens

· Oct 11 - 4 minutes read

The countdown of the top 25 college basketball teams in the country continues with a Saint Louis team that figures to be one of the better mid-major teams in the country.

The Billikens not only return their top four scorers but also bring in former Missouri standout Javon Pickett. Scoring points should not be an issue for this Saint Louis team.

KC Hankton #23 of the Saint Louis Billikens takes a shot against the Virginia Tech Hokies — Yong Teck Lim - Getty Images - AFP

It shouldn’t take long to figure out how good this Saint Louis team is with three of the first four games coming against Murray State, Memphis, and Maryland. Saint Louis did end the 2021-22 regular season by winning its last four home games and going 3-0-1 against the college basketball predictions in those affairs.

Among teams not affiliated with Power-5 conferences, only Gonzaga, Houston, Villanova, UConn, San Diego State, Dayton and Xavier have better odds to win the national championship than Saint Louis according to the college basketball betting lines.

The Billikens are being viewed as the top challenger to a talented Dayton team in the Atlantic 10 by many basketball insiders.

Let’s check the latest NCAAB picks, stats, injury reports, and NCAAB predictions. We’ve plenty of NCAAB expert picks for you to consider.

Saint Louis Billikens

2021 record: 23-12
2021 Atlantic 10 record: 12-6
Head coach: Travis Ford
Odds to win conference title: +600

Saint Louis won 23 games and advanced to the Atlantic 10 semifinals a season ago, even while playing without injured star Javonte Perkins. Perkins, who has averaged 15.9 points in his time with the Billikens, returns to make an already talented roster downright scary.

Gibson Jimerson, who led last season’s Saint Louis team at 16.3 points per game, is joined by Yuri Collins (11.1 points, 7.9 assists), 6-foot-9 Francis Okoro (10.1 points, 8.1 rebounds), Fred Thatch (9.3 points, 5.5 rebounds) and Terrence Hargrove.

Saint Louis added Pickett, who averaged a career-high 11.1 points last season at Missouri. It is no wonder that the expectations are so high for the Billikens heading into the 2022-23 season.

Who is flying under the radar entering the season? 🤔@TheAndyKatz dropped his most underrated list 👇 #KatzRankz

📰 https://t.co/iVSKtqNM8e pic.twitter.com/i03Td7GImf

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) October 7, 2022

Seven of the losses by Saint Louis a season ago came by six points or less. The return of Perkins and arrival of Pickett should help the Billikens close out games better than they did a season ago.

After playing in the NIT a season ago, all the pieces are in place for the Billikens to be in the running for a spot in the NCAA Tournament and perhaps challenge Dayton for the Atlantic 10 title. It would not be a surprise if the conference title didn’t get decided until a March 3 home game against Dayton. That will be a game on the radar by many who bet online.

Saint Louis Outlook

Saint Louis led the Atlantic 10 in scoring offense a season ago when the Billikens averaged 76.2 points per contest. This is a team loaded with talented finishers and Collins is one of the best playmakers in the country.

One area that needs to be addressed is discipline on defense, as only Virginia Commonwealth committed more fouls per game than the Billikens did a season ago.

Saint Louis was just 5-6 in true road games so the Billikens will look to become a better team when playing away from home in order to live up to the hype.

It remains to be seen how much a talented freshman class led by 7-foot Mouhamadou Cisse and 6-foot-4 Larry Hughes Jr. will factor into the rotation.

The 6-foot-9 Jake Forrester, who began his collegiate career at Indiana before playing at Temple over the last three seasons, could help the Saint Louis frontcourt.

Saint Louis did see Jordan Nesbitt transfer to Hampton while Marten Linssen began his professional basketball career back in Europe, so the Billikens will need to replace two members of the rotation from last season.