Bills vs. Hawks

The Billikens return to action tonight with a game against Division II school Rockhurst University from Kansas City.
The Hawks are members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), which is annually one of the top Division II basketball conferences in the nation.
Rockhurst is currently 5-3 and riding a four-game winning streak. They started slow at 1-3, but have been on a roll ever since.
The Hawks like to shoot the 3-point shot and they have several players that can do it. In eight games, they have taken 204 3-pointers as a team, which is an average of more than 25 per game.
Their top gunner is 6'1" senior Aaron Hill, who averages 20 points a game while hitting 33 of his 71 3-point attempts. Their other top scorer is 6'5" senior Aaron Morrissey, who averages 12.6 points and 5.3 rebounds a game.
The Hawks also employ 6'5" senior Jake Meyer (9.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg.), 5'10" senior Tyler Knust (8.5 ppg., 13-33 from 3-point), 6'2" senior Jazz Neal (7.3 ppg.), 6'5" senior Jawan Davis (6.7 ppg.), 6'6" junior Blake Baird (6.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg.) and 6'5" freshman Russell Burns.
As you can see, the Hawks are dominated by upperclassmen, so I doubt that there will be any fear of intimidation factor for them coming in here to play against a Division I opponent. On the contrary, it is a great opportunity. I expect them to come in and play loose and let the 3-pointers fly.
Willie Reed has been playing with great consistency this season. He has a decided edge over the Hawks in size, so I suspect he will have a lot of company inside whenever he gets the ball, even some zone defense.
If that's the case, Willie has to show good judgement with the ball, as a passer and as an offensive player. It should open up opportunities for all of our perimeter players. Our 3-point shooting has gotten a little better in the last two games, which is a good sign. We may have to hit a few more tonight to keep the Hawks from buzzing around Willie and Brian Conklin inside.
For the Billikens, the challenge is to come into tonight's game fully focused and ready to play. The guys have just finished a tough four-game stretch which included BCS schools Iowa State, Notre Dame and Georgia, plus a big game against regional rival Southern Illinois.
After that brutal stretch, the kids had a week off with the top priority being final exams last week. Now, the task at hand is to get ready to play a Division II school from in your state that might have illusions of pulling off a LeMoyne-Syracuse type upset tonight.
The kids must come out and display that defensive intensity at home that we've seen throughout the five games at Chaifetz. At home, we're keeping teams' shooting percentages in the 30's, so that must continue. After facing power teams that like to jam the ball inside, we have to pay attention to the perimeter shot and force the shooters to either put the ball on the floor or make the extra pass.
The victory over Southern Illinois was the beginning of a six-game home stretch in December. With that victory under their belt, tonight represents the first opportunity to string some good performances at home together this month before tackling that tough A-10 slate at the beginning of 2010.
Hope to see everyone tonight at the Chaifetz. If not, you can always catch the action on 101-ESPN with yours truly and SLU Hall of Fame play-by-play man Bob Ramsey on the call. Pre-game show begins at 6:45 p.m.
See you there.
Go Bills!