After resisting as long as possible, SLU coach Brad Soderberg decided to look at the Conference USA standings last week.
Guard Anthony Drejaj didn't know where St. Louis University stood until his coach told the team. And center Ian Vouyoukas knew only because his mother sends him the standings via e-mail.
Keeping up with SLU's position in C-USA is not something the team worries about, it would seem. But the Billikens might take more interest in the final two weeks of the season after Soderberg informed them of their situation.
SLU still is trying to secure a spot in the C-USA Tournament and will continue that pursuit with Sunday's game at No. 12 Louisville (22-4, 10-2 C-USA) at 4 p.m.
"On Monday I unveiled the standings in front of the team, and I said, 'You've probably looked at them, but I haven't,' " Soderberg said. "I didn't at all until last week. The reason I looked is that I have to find tools to motivate my team.
"I haven't done that since I've been here. But I wanted to get an extra two days of intense practice with that being the thought, that we have to hold our spot so we get into the conference tournament."
SLU (7-17, 4-7) is in 10th place and 12 of C-USA's 14 teams will advance to the tournament in Memphis. But of those still in the mix, the Billikens face by far the toughest schedule.
Their next four opponents played in last year's NCAA Tournament and the combined record of the final five teams is 86-36. All are likely to either play in the NCAA Tournament or the National Invitation Tournament.
South Florida, Tulane and East Carolina follow SLU in the standings. The Billikens hold the tiebreaker over South Florida and Tulane but not over East Carolina.
But Vouyoukas and his teammates don't seem too concerned about the others.
"My mom sends me the standings, so I'm forced to look at them," Vouyoukas said. "Otherwise, I just know our record and I look at the next game we play. The only thing I know about the conference tournament is we're going to bus there. We haven't talked about what will happen. We follow coach's philosophy of taking one game at a time. At least I do."
Vouyoukas thought the Billikens had locked up a spot in the tournament until being told otherwise Friday. He just shrugged it off. Meanwhile, Drejaj knew of SLU's spot in the standings only because of Soderberg's speech, and he still wasn't positive.
"I think it's 10th or 11th, something like that," he said. "We just need to worry about ourselves. If we take care of our games, we don't have to worry about anyone else winning or losing. I never even look at the standings.
"I feel our basketball has been pretty good overall lately. We've been solid in most areas, but we definitely can get better. Getting over that late game hump is what we've been looking for."
Things became more complicated for SLU last week when East Carolina won its first road game of the season, beating Alabama-Birmingham. If the Billikens should tie for the final tournament berth with East Carolina, the Pirates would advance.
Making the stretch drive all the more imposing for SLU is that the Billikens are 1-13 this season against teams with winning records.
"What can you do?" Soderberg said. "Yeah, it makes me nervous, but I'm nervous all the time. It would be a shame not to make the conference tournament. But everything happens for a reason, so we'll see how it unfolds."
Guard Anthony Drejaj didn't know where St. Louis University stood until his coach told the team. And center Ian Vouyoukas knew only because his mother sends him the standings via e-mail.
Keeping up with SLU's position in C-USA is not something the team worries about, it would seem. But the Billikens might take more interest in the final two weeks of the season after Soderberg informed them of their situation.
SLU still is trying to secure a spot in the C-USA Tournament and will continue that pursuit with Sunday's game at No. 12 Louisville (22-4, 10-2 C-USA) at 4 p.m.
"On Monday I unveiled the standings in front of the team, and I said, 'You've probably looked at them, but I haven't,' " Soderberg said. "I didn't at all until last week. The reason I looked is that I have to find tools to motivate my team.
"I haven't done that since I've been here. But I wanted to get an extra two days of intense practice with that being the thought, that we have to hold our spot so we get into the conference tournament."
SLU (7-17, 4-7) is in 10th place and 12 of C-USA's 14 teams will advance to the tournament in Memphis. But of those still in the mix, the Billikens face by far the toughest schedule.
Their next four opponents played in last year's NCAA Tournament and the combined record of the final five teams is 86-36. All are likely to either play in the NCAA Tournament or the National Invitation Tournament.
South Florida, Tulane and East Carolina follow SLU in the standings. The Billikens hold the tiebreaker over South Florida and Tulane but not over East Carolina.
But Vouyoukas and his teammates don't seem too concerned about the others.
"My mom sends me the standings, so I'm forced to look at them," Vouyoukas said. "Otherwise, I just know our record and I look at the next game we play. The only thing I know about the conference tournament is we're going to bus there. We haven't talked about what will happen. We follow coach's philosophy of taking one game at a time. At least I do."
Vouyoukas thought the Billikens had locked up a spot in the tournament until being told otherwise Friday. He just shrugged it off. Meanwhile, Drejaj knew of SLU's spot in the standings only because of Soderberg's speech, and he still wasn't positive.
"I think it's 10th or 11th, something like that," he said. "We just need to worry about ourselves. If we take care of our games, we don't have to worry about anyone else winning or losing. I never even look at the standings.
"I feel our basketball has been pretty good overall lately. We've been solid in most areas, but we definitely can get better. Getting over that late game hump is what we've been looking for."
Things became more complicated for SLU last week when East Carolina won its first road game of the season, beating Alabama-Birmingham. If the Billikens should tie for the final tournament berth with East Carolina, the Pirates would advance.
Making the stretch drive all the more imposing for SLU is that the Billikens are 1-13 this season against teams with winning records.
"What can you do?" Soderberg said. "Yeah, it makes me nervous, but I'm nervous all the time. It would be a shame not to make the conference tournament. But everything happens for a reason, so we'll see how it unfolds."
