GAME NOTES: Following losses in the series of Friday games in the Corpus Christi Coastal Classic, the Bradley Braves and Saint Louis Billikens will battle it out in the consolation game Saturday at American Bank Center.

Bradley entered the Friday game against TCU on a two-game winning streak, but the Braves couldn't pull it out against the Horned Frogs in a defensive battle, 57-49.

Saint Louis defeated North Carolina A&T back on Tuesday, and had high hopes coming into the contest against Mississippi State Friday. But the Billikens struggled against the Bulldogs, losing 75-50 to fall out of contention for the tournament championship.

These two teams have met many times on the basketball court in their series history, which largely favors Bradley, 44-27.

It was a poor shooting performance from both sides in Friday's TCU win over Bradley. The Braves finished the game shooting just 35.7 percent from the floor, and the team turned the ball over 17 times in the loss. Auston Barnes netted 19 points for the Braves, while Warren Jones came off the bench to score 10 points. Josh Cunningham grabbed a team-best 12 rebounds in the defeat, but the team's defense wasn't all bad. Bradley did hold TCU to a 37.5 shooting percentage in the contest.

Jones has played in all five games this season for the Braves, but has yet to start one of them. Still, he is tied for the team lead in scoring averaging 12.0 ppg, a mark Barnes is certainly familiar with. The Braves need to develop more offense, though. The team comes into the contest against Saint Louis averaging a meager 59.0 ppg, while giving up 59.8 ppg to opponents. Omari Grier enters the game averaging 11.8 ppg, and Cunningham tops the squad with a 6.0 rpg average.

Saint Louis didn't show much in the way of positives in Friday's 25-point loss to Mississippi State. The Billikens couldn't contain the Bulldogs, who shot 55.6 percent from the floor, and on offense the team managed just 36.4 percent shooting. Austin McBroom was the only Billikens player to net a double-digit scoring total, contributing 10 points to his team's defeat - good for one- fifth of Saint Louis' total scoring.

The Billikens, like Bradley, have had some trouble putting the ball in the basket through five games. Saint Louis enters the game against the Braves shooting 37.8 percent from the floor, and scoring 58.8 ppg. McBroom tops the team this season with a 12.4 ppg average, followed by Ash Yacoubou's 10.8 ppg mark. Yacoubou also leads the team in rebounding at 5.4 boards per outing.

Neither team seems to have a scoring advantage in this one, but the Billikens certainly know what it takes to win. Saint Louis made it to the NCAA Tournament a year ago, and anything short of that this season will be a waste. The Mississippi State game aside, the Billikens have been utilizing a very tight defensive effort they'll employ against Bradley.