GAME NOTES: The Saint Louis Billikens try to bounce back from a humbling loss against a highly-ranked opponent over the weekend, as they host the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State at Chaifetz Arena on Tuesday night.

Saint Louis played a pair of games last week against opponents who could not have been any different. The first contest saw the Billikens destroy Rockhurst by an 80-48 score on Tuesday night, but four days later it was Saint Louis that came out on the short end of a blowout loss as it stumbled in a big way versus nationally-ranked Wichita State, 81-52, on a neutral floor.

As for the Jackrabbits, winless in three tries away from Frost Arena to this point, they are coming off an 81-61 thrashing of Kansas City on Saturday afternoon. The victory was the second in a row and the fourth in five tries for the team from the Summit League.

The Billikens have won two of the previous three meetings against SDSU, although the most recent took place more than 50 years ago in 1961, as Saint Louis claimed a comfortable 70-42 triumph at home.

The Jacks scored the first points of the day against Kansas City and never looked back, shooting 56.5 percent from the floor in the first half and close to 50 percent overall for the game as they cruised to the 20-point win. Cody Larson and Jake Bittle each tallied 18 points, the former posting six blocked shots and the latter offsetting his six turnovers by also pulling down eight rebounds. Deondre Parks pitched in with 14 points, although he shot just 5- of-14 from the floor.

Larson leads the team in scoring over seven games with his 14.7 ppg, clearing 8.0 rpg and also pacing the program in both assists (14) and blocks (13) which is a rare feat for any player at any level. Parks checks in with 13.9 ppg and has the most made 3-pointers (10) of anyone on the roster, which is why the team comes in at only 32.0 percent out on the perimeter. Bittle chips in with another 12.7 ppg, but is third on the team in that category even though he has at least shared the scoring lead for the Jacks four times already.

Saint Louis was simply awful against the Shockers on Saturday, making a total of just eight field goals in the first half and shooting a disappointing 35.7 percent from the floor overall. The Billikens finished with just as many turnovers (15) as made field goals and were dominated on the glass, 41-20, as they cleared just four boards at the offensive end of the floor. The starting five combined to shoot only 4-of-16 from the field, leaving reserve Marcus Bartley to lead the scoring with 13 points.

Already this season the Billikens have lost two games by as many as 25 points, the other setback coming against Mississippi State just four games ago. Of the five victories for the program, three have come by just three points, although the Rockhurst 32-point win will certainly serve to boost some of the Saint Louis stats for a while. The only double-digit scorer for the Billikens at the moment is Austin McBroom with his 11.9 ppg.

As long as there are no lasting effects from being crushed by Wichita State, the Billikens should be able to gather themselves and take care of business against SDSU.