Saint Louis’ first game as a ranked team in five years turned into a stress-test, but the Billikens passed with poise and free-throw precision to stay atop the Atlantic 10.
Trey Green turned defense into offense and the Saint Louis Billikens turned a 17-point second-half lead into a four-point survival, 81-77, at Duquesne on Tuesday night. The victory pushes the nation’s No. 24 team to 18-1 overall and a spotless 6-0 in Atlantic 10 play while extending the program’s longest winning streak since 2014 to 12 games.
Why this win matters more than the box score shows
Saint Louis hadn’t appeared in the AP Top 25 since Jan. 26, 2021. Tuesday was their re-introduction to the spotlight—and the first time all year they faced an opponent that refused to fold. Duquesne’s 28-9 run over the final 7:30 flashed every weakness the Billikens will see in March: half-court stagnation, live-ball turnovers, and foul pressure. They answered with two elements good teams need in the tournament—shot-making (8-of-8 from the stripe in the last 30 seconds) and veteran poise from role players.
Green’s fingerprints were everywhere
The sophomore guard’s 14 points were helpful; his four steals were decisive. Green stripped Jimmie Williams on the game’s penultimate possession, forcing the Dukes’ leading scorer (28 points) into a rushed wing three that clanged long. It was the third time Green had pick-pocketed Williams in a three-minute window, turning Duquesne’s hottest hand cold when it mattered most.
Balanced scoring hides a deeper truth
Four Billikens hit double-figures—Robbie Avila and Dion Brown each had 14, Brady Dunlap 11, and super-sub Kellen Thames 10. The distribution looks egalitarian, but Saint Louis actually relied on solo shot-creation whenever Duquesne shrank the floor. Avila’s step-back triple at 3:09 stopped a 10-0 Dukes run and restored a two-possession cushion; Brown’s consecutive lay-ups in transition rebuilt a 15-point lead at the 13-minute mark. Translation: when sets bogged down, individual talent bailed them out—an unsustainable recipe in larger sample sizes.
Duquesne’s near-miracle exposes Saint Louis’ late-game blueprint
Travis Ford’s group entered the night 7-0 in games decided by six points or fewer; they’re now 8-0. The common thread is free-throw variance. Saint Louis ranks second nationally in FT rate (46.1 attempts per 100 field-goal tries) and converted 22-of-27 on Tuesday, including the final six in the last 28 seconds. Conversely, Duquesne entered 344th in opponent free-throw rate—meaning the Dukes foul…a lot. They hacked away, sent the Billikens to the line, and still almost stole it. Expect every future opponent to copy the full-court pressure that flustered Saint Louis into three turnovers in 90 seconds.
Key sequences that flipped momentum
- Opening second-half burst: A 9-2 run in the first 1:48 ballooned a two-point edge to nine and forced Keith Dambrot to burn a timeout 18 seconds in.
- Ishan Sharma heat-check: The seldom-used guard scored five straight—including a pull-up wing three—to give SLU its first two-possession lead at 17-12 and quiet a raucous Palumbo Center.
- Final 30-second execution: Up one, Saint Louis in-bounded against a 94-foot trap, found Dunlap, who hit both free throws, then forced Williams into a contested top-of-key three. Ball-game.
What the numbers forecast for March
Saint Louis’ resume already features two Quad-1 wins (at Mississippi State, neutral vs. Memphis) and zero Quad-3/4 losses. KenPom projects them 24-5 entering Arch Madness; a 15-3 league mark would lock a top-4 seed in the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2013-14 Bills. Tuesday’s escape keeps them on pace and, more importantly, keeps the locker-room belief percolating that close games are winnable—no matter the deficit or clock.
Bottom line
Great teams win pretty; championship teams win ugly. Saint Louis did the latter in Pittsburgh, proving their ranking isn’t ceremonial. If Green keeps pilfering possessions and Avila continues late-game daggers, the Billikens won’t just hang around the Top 25—they’ll seed themselves into the second weekend of March Madness.
Keep your eyes locked on onlytrustedinfo.com for the fastest post-game analysis and next-day breakdowns that tell you why the final score matters before the buzzer stops echoing.
