Sports

Billikens ride emotion into tournament

SAN JOSE, Calif. — If there’s a feel-good story in this region of the NCAA Tournament, it is fourth-seeded Saint Louis.

The Billikens (28-6) are riding a wave of emotion after the death of their head coach, Rick Majerus, last December. It was Majerus who laid the foundation for this run, recruiting players and changing the culture of a school and a city that didn’t think much about basketball.

“Saint Louis basketball really wasn’t on the map even in St. Louis,” is how junior forward Dwayne Evans put it.

The Billikens, victors over New Mexico State on Thursday, get a chance to put their team in the national spotlight tonight when they face Pac-12 Tournament champion Oregon (27-8), which defeated Oklahoma State on Thursday in a third-round Midwest Region clash.

With Majerus at the helm, the Billikens built a team that came into this tournament with higher aspirations than last year, when they defeated Memphis in their opening game and lost to Michigan State in the third round.

“This year there’s a renewed confidence not only in our coach [Jim Crews] but in each other,” junior forward Jake Barnett said. “So I think this game stepping forward, I think we know we have a chance to win it.”

The Ducks view themselves as a feel-good

story, too. They are a team smarting at their low

seeding despite winning their conference tournament.

“We never really cared about the 12 seed,” senior center Tony Woods said. “We’re just happy to be here, happy to stay alive and keep playing.”