Social markets: Co-founder Peter Hans’ profile on his new financial community website, Harvest Exchange.
Photo courtesy of Harvest Exchange

Between the headlines about subprime mortgages and Wall Street bonuses, littered with names like Bearn Stearns and Bernie Madoff, seems to have been lost a fundamental truth about high finance.

“The financial industry is a service industry. It should serve others before it serves itself,” Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, says in “Inside Job,” an Oscar-winning documentary that delves into the causes of the financial meltdown.

This fundamental idea is behind a new social media site for investors, Harvest (HVST.com). Some renowned hedge fund managers have already used the website to release news of bets they’re making and performance of their funds.

“There’s a real organic nature to our community that we want to highlight,” Peter Hans, co-founder of the website, said. After a stint on Wall Street, Hans saw a need to make investing and financial information more open and accessible.

“I travelled all around meeting different types of investors, and it’s a very close network, but a very archaic one,” Hans said. “I was getting the same questions about what to invest in. All we were doing was playing this very insular game of telephone… so I wanted to take this Wall Street network and make it open, accessible to the masses.”

Hans and two other co-founders started Harvest last December, but over 750 investing firms are already using the website. Employing a group of 15, Hans also added that use of the website is growing at 30 percent compounded per week. When Reuters profiled the company in February, the site had approximately 10,000 members.

While Hans wants to utilize social media to create a platform facilitating open information, allowing investing professionals and novice investors to communicate and share ideas, he also has larger goals for Harvest.

“I want to create a utility for anyone interested in investing,” Hans said. “We have a portfolio simulation tool, the idea of which is to let anyone run their own hedge fund. It’s very expensive to learn how to trade, so if we can get people to learn how to do it for free, that’s a tremendous benefit.”

“It’s going to become the new ‘Total Frat Move’ for Wall Street,” junior economics and mathematics major Christien West said.

In addition to the Harvest website, Hans and his team have been working hard to create “Harvest University,” which they envision as “a larger ecosystem, allowing universities to share information so they can run competitions and share results; this can also be a tool for networking and recruitment.”

The portfolio management function could be especially useful for programs like SLU’s Applied Portfolio Management program, which provides students an opportunity to manage a small portion of the University’s endowment.

A graduate of Vanderbilt University’s Graduate School of Business, Hans points to the reality that, traditionally, a handful of “core schools” are recruited for top-tier investing jobs, primarily on Wall Street. He hopes to level the playing field, enabling talented stock pickers form across the country to be discovered.

While many investors have been using Twitter and other social media formats to communicate ideas, Harvest is perhaps the first specifically tailored to investors, allowing novice investors to read ideas “straight from their source.”

“That’s where we got the name from,” Hans added, referring to the farm-to-table-type atmosphere he hopes to create. “Right now, [investing] is a black box. But there’s nothing more important than an individual’s financial security.”

Image courtesy of Walk the Moon’s Facebook

The Student Activities Board is hard at work promoting this semester’s spring concert, to be held next Friday, March 28. This year’s headliner is Walk the Moon, an indie rock group from Cincinnati, Ohio.

The show will be held in Simon Rec Center, where the doors will open at 8 p.m., with the concerted slated to begin at 8:30 p.m. SAB is excited to bring the show back to Simon Rec after last year’s “NorthXSouth Grand” show featuring NEEDTOBREATHE was held in the Georgetown Parking Lot. The 2012 concert featured four headliners, including Super Mash Bros and Karmin. Last fall, SLU brought The Lumineers to Chaifetz Arena.

Walk the Moon’s opener will be COIN, a “product of the ‘90s” from Nashville, Tenn. The band calls itself “swirly indie party pop” that “makes you feel good.” If you like Grouplove or Young the Giant, make sure to show up on time to check out these four funky fellas.

Walk the Moon burst on the seen in 2011 when its single “Anna Sun” hit airwaves and internet streams across the country, Esquire even naming it the “song of the summer.” While their debut album, “i want! i want!” was independently released in 2010, the band has since been signed by RCA Records, releasing their eponymous second album in 2012.

The band displays a unique mixture of poppy vocals and indie guitar riffs that make them a draw to a widespread audience. With catchy hooks and melodies, the band will have SLU singing in the sounds of spring at Simon Rec.

Their latest single, “Tightrope,” has reached as high as No. 15 on the U.S. Alternative charts, just short of the top ten ranking “Anna Sun” achieved.
The band, a collection of the talents of lead singer Nicholas Petricca, Kevin Ray, Sean Waugaman, and Eli Maiman, is prepping for an upcoming, cross-country summer tour.

The event, like all SAB spring concerts, is included in the student activity fee and thus admission is free to students.

In addition to the concert, SAB also will be giving away prizes to attendees. Traditionally, food booths and other activities are also set up before the concert.

John Schuler / Photo Editor

It’s printed on every syllabus a student receives at the beginning of a semester: Saint Louis University’s “Academic Integrity Policy.” “The University is a community of learning, whose effectiveness requires an environment of mutual trust and integrity,” it reads. While the causes of academic dishonesty are varied and often debated, what cannot be debated is its prevalence on college campuses across the country. Statistics and studies vary, but consistently report that anywhere from 50 percent to 75 percent of college students admit to cheating, and it has become more pervasive in recent years. But how prevalent is it at SLU, and in what form does it most often manifest itself?

“I don’t think [cheating] is a common occurrence, but it definitely happens,” a senior biomedical engineering major said.

“I wouldn’t say it’s prevalent, but it does occur, mainly in bigger classes,” a senior biology and pre-medical student said.

This pre-medical student talked specifically about the physics class pre-medical students are required to take and the cheating that became widespread in the class.

“It was such a difficult class, and adoes occur, mainly in bigger classes,” a senior biology and pre-medical student said.

This pre-medical student talked specifically about the physics class pre-medical students are required to take and the cheating that became widespread in it.

“It was such a difficult class, and a lot of people didn’t do well first semester. Second semester, people really started cheating a lot- it was rampant by the end of the year,” she said.

“Everyone wants to get that A and that perfect GPA, so there’s a drive to do anything to get that grade,” she added.

This illustrates a trend seen nationwide; while academic dishonesty has traditionally been associated with students struggling to get by, it has recently been associated with high-achieving groups as well. Whether it be high school students striving to get into an elite university or college students hoping to get into medical or law school, cheating has become more common.

Harvard University made national news in 2012 when a widespread cheating scandal involving 125 students was revealed. The students copied answers on a take-home exam, and the incident sparked conversation around the country.

“In classes where people don’t cheat, there isn’t a need to. Professors teach the content well and students can really study for what’s going to be on the exam,” said this pre-medical student. “Compare that to a class where kids can attend lecture, take notes, study hard, and the exam doesn’t reflect anything you learned in class; it becomes frustrating and kids start to cheat.”

Jonathon Zimmerman, chair of humanities and social services at New York University and frequent commentator on higher education, has expressed a similar view.

“As educational researchers have repeatedly demonstrated, students are more likely to cheat when they feel disengaged,” he wrote in the wake of the Harvard scandal. “If you think your professor doesn’t care whether you’re learning, you probably won’t care either.”

The biomedical engineering student echoed these sentiments.

“There are little forms of what is technically cheating, like copying homework, that go on a lot. Usually that’s only for assignments that are more busywork than actual learning though,” he said. “There are times when people will pass around past versions of tests they’re not supposed to have, but I don’t know if I would consider that cheating.”

In addition to disengaged professors, research suggests that classroom and campus environment are contributors to cheating; those with more tight-knit social circles, whether it be as members of Greek life, athletic teams, or in other student organizations, are more likely to cheat. If cheating is viewed as “acceptable” on campus or a class is hyper-competitive, it becomes more common; cheating begets cheating.

While SLU’s Academic Integrity Policy works to stem dishonesty before it begins, the University is continually looking for new ways to enforce the policy and maintain SLU’s community of integrity.

“The most frustrating thing about that physics class was that someone went to the professor, telling him that people are cheating,” the pre-medical student said. “Over the summer, they asked people who knew that cheating occurred to come forward and testify; but people would know your name, So the issue ended up being dropped.”

While she says strategies ranged from “trading Scantrons or motioning answers to each other,” no one ended up being punished.

While incidences like this are rare, they are not unnoticed, and the administration makes efforts to prevent them in the future.

Individual events of academic integrity are addressed by the academic units involved, but an Academic Integrity Task Force has been created that will be charged with “developing an academic integrity policy that can apply University-wide and guide unit policies,” according to Dr. Lisa Dorsey, Associate Vice President of Undergraduate Education.

“The mission of Saint Louis University is the pursuit of truth,” reads SLU’s mission statement. Academic dishonesty cuts to the very core of this pursuit of truth; and yet it continues to become more common.

As student loan debt rises above $1 trillion, what is a degree worth?

College pays. This much we’ve been told. College graduates earn $1 million more over their lifetime than those with a high school diploma.

But how does a student foot the ever-increasing bill? Tuition for the 2013-14 school year at Saint Louis University is $36,090, not to mention the nearly $10,000 it costs to live in Griesedieck Hall and the host of other costs including books and fees. In the United States, the average private, four-year institution’s tuition is $30,090. For the majority of students, financing this increasingly means taking out loans and accumulating debt. With SLU’s “sticker price” easily topping $47,000, loans often become a necessity.

For Derrick Neuner, who graduated from SLU in 2013 with a Master’s in Athletic Training, it meant accumulating more than $100,000 in debt during his six years.

“What I did not expect was the longevity of it all. I know it’s not true, but I almost felt like I had nothing. Going through that summer job search, I was wondering ‘what is the point of this, why did I rack up all this debt?’” Neuner said.

After receiving a six-month grace period to begin payment on his student loans, Neuner made his first payment in November. Now an athletic trainer for a high school in Huntsville, Ala., Neuner makes about $29,000 a year before taxes.

Neuner is far from alone. Sixty-three percent of SLU students graduated with debt in 2011, holding an average debt of $36,601. Nationally, student loan debt has increased from $260 billion in 2004 to just over $1 trillion now.

Another 2013 graduate, Mike Hogan, was able to graduate from SLU with considerably less debt.

“I’ve been very fortunate. I recognize that…I worked hard in college and I was able to leverage my SLU education to get into a great graduate school where I have incurred a ton of debt,” Hogan said, who is now in his first year at Yale Law School.

“There are definitely concerns about the overall debt level, but there are also some things being taken out of context… we have very little flexibility to decrease what a student decides to borrow,” Cari Wickliffe, SLU’s Assistant Vice President and Director of Financial Services, said. “Not all families have been able to save for college, but we still want to provide that education…sometimes that means borrowing.”

Neuner was one of these students.

“I knew what going to SLU would mean, financially. I knew neither of my parents had the financial flexibility to help much,” he said.

SLU’s tuition has increased by 63 percent the last ten years, from $22,050 during the 2003-04 school year. The list of culprits contributing to these precipitous raises runs long: from ballooning administrations to expensive capital projects, but can be summed up with a fundamental economic dynamic. Demand simply cannot be satiated, and a seemingly endless supply of easy-to-acquire loans has made college accessible to an increasing number of students. With these funds, schools have engaged in a sort of arms race to attract new students and garner more prestige.

“Making loans so available and flexible, we’ve taken out some of those checks and balances to remind students that this is a loan and these are the consequences of it,” Wickliffe said.

While students are legally allowed to borrow up to the full cost of tuition, it’s best to exhaust all options before making such a commitment.

SLU touts the statistic that 95 percent of its incoming students receive financial aid, including grants, loans and work-study, with an average award of $24,900.

But, a college degree is now viewed as essential to securing a stable, middle-class job, leaving many students with few options but to bet on their future income; the unemployment rate for high school graduates is more than twice that of college graduates. “To have a middle class job, you need to have a bachelor’s degree…but there’s a little price to pay, and it’s student loans,” Neuner said.

“There are pressures building from government and accrediting agencies as well as from families on institutions with regard to affordability and accountability,” Dr. Heather Bednarek, the chair of SLU’s economics department, said. With these pressures, SLU has upped its efforts to help incoming students understand the full cost of a degree.

“[Debt] almost seems like a problem you deal with after the fact. They’ve gotten a bit better, but it still needs work,” Neuner said.

“We can always improve on communicating a complex situation and making it more simple,” Wickliffe said.

The office of financial services aims to engage students early and often, offering one-on-one sessions at SLU 101 and holding exit counseling for those who graduate with debt.

“We can’t cure every situation, but if a family is having a change financially and we know about it early on there is a lot more we can do,” Wickliffe said.

So what does the future hold for student loans? Besides more borrowing, there will be a continued demand for increased transparency and alternative payback plans. Especially for students who go into lower-paying professions, there are increasingly ways to lessen the debt burden.

“There are government programs that provide debt or partial debt forgiveness for professions that are in shortage in rural or other low-income areas,” Bednarek said. Because Neuner works as a health professional at a public school, his loans will be forgiven after ten years, as long as he stays current on his payments.

In the end, neither Neuner nor Hogan has any regrets about attending SLU.

“SLU was definitely worth it for me. I grew tremendously and met some of my best friends. How could I put a price tag on that?” Hogan said.

“Nothing about SLU would make me change my mind, other than the cost,” Neuner said.

It seems, for now, college still pays.

In the University News’ never-ending question to keep up with the changing face of 21st century media, we’ve begun to institute a collection of blogs covering a wide range of topics.

From sports to pop culture to fashion and SLU culture, our blogs will keep you up-to-date on the idiosyncratic interests of our editors and their fruitless efforts to make sense of this mad, mad world.

As the Red Queen famously muses in Through the Looking Glass, ”Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!”

This is our attempt to run twice as fast as the rest, giving you thoughts and news as they happen, how they happen, unedited and often unscripted. It’s our attempt to jump from a news stand every Thursday to your first click every morning.

“Make a remark,” the Red Queen also once said, “it’s ridiculous to leave the conversation to the pudding.” This is our effort to start a continuous conversation at SLU; we do hope you’ll join us, becoming wiser fools along the way.

Last week I was flipping through television channels. Tired of the trite “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” and “Sports Center,” I stopped on “Notorious,” the story of the rise and dramatic death of “gangsta” rapper Notorious B.I.G.

It brought me back to my high school days. Like many a white suburban frustrated with-my-11 p.m.-curfew teenager, I found release in gangsta rap. I thought I could relate to the sultry street rhymes of Tupac, the deep Brooklyn baritone of Biggie Smalls, and the bitter balladry of Immortal Technique. I thought I could relate to the streets, man. Tupac rapped about guns and corrupt politicians. I had helicopter parents and too much algebra homework.
More than anything, though, I loved the counter-culture aspect of it all; politicians, parents, and the media all hated it, which naturally made me love it even more.

“There is absolutely no reason for a record like this to be published. It has no place in our society,” Vice President Dan Quayle said of Tupac’s first album, 2Pacalypse Now.

What a difference two decades makes.

Now, it has become commonplace for politicians to profess their fandom for rappers of all sorts. Jay-Z is one of the highest profile friends of the First Family. Senator Marco Rubio has avowed his love of Tupac’s music in speeches and interviews.

“In some ways, rappers are like reporters… the ‘90s was a time when this was really pronounced. You had gang wars, racial tension, and they were reporting on that,”  Rubio recently said. Likewise, President Obama has praised Jay-Z for telling “American stories.”

Today’s rap is far from the American story, though. It has become a canticle that over glorifies sex, drugs, and $3,000 bottles of champagne. Now, rapping about Jesus pieces and Maybachs is more popular than telling the story of the streets; the tales of single mothers working two jobs to support their family have been replaced by anecdotes of a misanthrope rapper’s latest sexual conquest.

When “2Pacalypse Now” was released in 1991, it was an anthem for the disenfranchised, from Tupac’s Compton to Biggie’s Brooklyn.

“They got money for wars but can’t feed the poor./ Say there ain’t no hope for the youth but the truth is there ain’t no hope for the future,” Tupac rapped on “Keep Ya Head Up.”

Listen, Tupac was no saint. He was arrested for sexual assault, battery, and

#CallWillieUp

Former Saint Louis University basketball player Willie Reed finally got called up.

After a year of hard work in the National Basketball Association Development League and a relentless Twitter campaign defined by his own hashtag, #CallWillieUp, Reed finally got the coveted call up to the NBA. On April 14, two days before the Memphis Grizzlies’ final regular season game of the year, the squad decided to pick up Reed, who had been playing for the NBADL’s Springfield (Mass.) Armor. He averaged 14.8 points and 7.8 rebounds for the Armor, garnering the NBADL’s “Top Performer of the Week” award earlier in the season.

So how did it feel to finally get that call up to the NBA?

“It was an unbelievable feeling. To continue to work throughout the whole season and eventually get noticed, it’s a great opportunity,” Reed said.

The 6-foot-10 Reed has been struggling to break into the NBA since he left SLU during the 2010-11 academic year. In the 2009-10 season, Reed averaged 12.7 points per game and led the Billikens in rebounding (7.9 rpg). He went undrafted in the June 2011 NBA draft, but was later invited to participate in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ training camp.

The following season, Reed signed with the Sacramento Kings for their eight preseason games, in which he averaged 0.8 points per game and 2.8 minutes in four game appearances. The Kings waived Reed on Oct. 12, 2012, and while he was disappointed, he used the opportunity to grow as a player. He eventually signed with the NBADL’s Springfield Armor, where he would spend the entire season.

“I knew I would eventually be in the D-League somewhere, which would give me the opportunity to grow and mature as a player and as a person in general. So to be able to make it through that and persevere and be able to reach my dream, it’s just an amazing feeling,” Reed said.

He played 48 games for the Armor, posting an impressive 12 double-doubles.

Finally, on April 14, the Grizzlies signed Reed for the remainder of the season. Though they only had one regular season game left, the Grizzlies had secured the five seed in the Western Conference, meaning Reed would be travelling with the playoff-bound squad. He didn’t put on a uniform for the Grizzlies’ first playoff game against the Los Angeles Clippers, but could seen be sitting on the bench during the game, obviously relishing the experience.

“It felt great, ” Reed said. “The atmosphere was awesome in Memphis and they did a great job welcoming me.  And to be able to go to a place like Memphis that already has a successful team and great fans, it makes everything more comfortable.”

While his future remains uncertain, it’s clear that Reed is ready to use this latest opportunity to the fullest. Contract details haven’t been made clear yet, but it seems probable the Grizzlies will attach a team option for next season, giving Reed another chance to prove himself at the NBA level come the 2013-14 preseason. Right now though, Reed is content making the most of his long-awaited call up to the NBA.

“It’s definitely a great experience. I’m learning from Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. It’s a great experience to just sit and learn, and working with them is a lot of fun,” Reed said. “I just plan to continue to keep working hard here and hope things work out… I just have to make sure I stay focused on achieving my dream and doing the things they want me to do here.”

After a 0-4 loss to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee snapped the Billiken baseball team’s six-game winning streak on Friday, April 12, the squad was able to rebound with strong performances over the weekend. SLU ended up taking two of the three games against Milwaukee, a mid-season out-of-conference opponent.

The Billikens (26-11) first took a 4-2 victory over the Panthers on April 13, led by sophomore Nick Bates on the mound. Bates went six innings and brought his season record to 5-2, matching senior Alex Alemann’s mark. In addition, senior Marco Mejia picked up his fourth save of the season, getting one strikeout in the effort.

Alex Kelly led the Bills at the plate, going one-for-three. He registered two RBIs in the seventh with his double, cushioning what had been a 2-1 Billiken lead going into the inning. From there, Mejia, with relief help from freshman Matt Eckelman, was able to close out the Billikens’ 24th win of the season.

On a windy Sunday, the Billiken offense exploded to cap off the series, picking up an 8-4 victory over Milwaukee. The game got off to a fast start, as both teams put three runs on the board in the third inning. However, the Billikens were able to break the game open with a three-run seventh inning, giving them a 7-4 advantage. The inning scoring was spurred when centerfielder Danny Brennan was hit by a pitch and was later driven in by Mike Levine. Then, with runners on second and third, Jake Henson slapped a grounder to the Milwaukee first baseman. The ball was too hot to handle, and Henson gained two RBIs, giving SLU a 7-4 lead.

Finally, in a mid-week tussle with cross-town rival Washington University, the Billikens picked up another win, topping the Bears 5-4.

While Josh Moore got the start for SLU, Mejia picked up the win, forcing a crucial bases-loaded double play in the top of the ninth. Mejia’s clutch pitching set the stage for the Billiken offense, which was able to load the bases in the bottom of the ninth. After Levine was hit by a pitch to start the inning, Washington intentionally walked Bozarth, bringing Kelly to the plate with the bases loaded. The Washington pitcher, Max Zhang, walked Kelly, sending Levine to home for the victory.

For the first time in a long time, a school was actually excited to play Saint Louis University. Students lined up outside Hinkle Fieldhouse for two hours to get a seat in the “Dawg Pound.” The historic fieldhouse was rocking, the sellout crowd of 10,000 on its feet throughout the first half to cheer their Butler Bulldogs on to a 34-29 advantage.

But, it was section 32 that saw the Billikens win 65-61. It was the raucous section of students that made the bus trip from SLU and chanted, “This is our house.” As the clock hit 0:00, juniors Mike McCall Jr. and Dwayne Evans smiled, pointed toward the crowd and walked off the court, capping off a wild final minute of college basketball.

“Sometimes we can overanalyze these things…that’s a good basketball team,” Butler coach Brad Stevens said after the game. He’s touted SLU as a Final Four contender all week on local radio shows, comparing it to his national runner-up squads of 2010 and 2011. He says that they’re not as talented, but play a similar style of basketball: well-coached, disciplined, defensive-minded.

Now, the Billikens are 2-0 against the new kids on the Atlantic 10 block, blowing out the Bulldogs in a rowdy Chaifetz Arena before enduring a similarly boisterous, but hostile crowd at Hinkle last Friday.

The even-keeled Billikens withstood the early onslaught though, falling behind by as much as nine in the first half but never panicking. An early 8-0 run in the second half put the Billikens ahead, and they never relinquished the lead after a Kwamain Mitchell lay-in at the 17:21 mark.

After the game, it wasn’t about what Butler did wrong, it was about everything SLU did right. McCall was draped on Butler star Rotnei Clarke all evening. Freshman Kellen Dunham went on a personal 7-0 run early, but the Billikens adjusted and quieted him the rest of the game.

“They’ve got really good players, they’ve got a good coach… They beat us,” Stevens said. It was two good, top-20 basketball teams playing basketball the way it’s supposed to be played. Fans, get used to it.

SLU is the only team that has had the Bulldogs’ number since Stevens began coaching the team in 2007. Not Indiana, not Xavier, not Purdue. Just little old SLU, led by an interim head coach from Indiana University and a handful of wily veterans determined to make this season one to remember.

Whatever happens with the “Catholic 7” that will soon be breaking away from the Big East, these two schools need to play each other. They’re four hours apart, straight down I-70. It’s a match made in basketball heaven, something SLU and Butler students and fans could look forward to twice a year.

If both teams were invited to join the Catholic-7 and form a sort of basketball power conference, they’d be the heart of its Midwestern branch, the face of the mid-major darlings that endear the hearts of basketball fans everywhere come March Madness.

Imagine this season, plus welcoming the likes of Georgetown, Marquette or Villanova to Chaifetz Arena. After SLU’s dominating home performances against Butler and VCU and its invasion of Hinkle Fieldhouse, it’s in the conversation to join that conference. Further, SLU’s vacant head coaching position becomes more attractive with every victory if Crews decides he doesn’t want the gig (and it should be his for the taking if he wants it, by the way.)

Crews professes, “we keep things pretty simple around here.” Keep winning like this, and things are pretty simple. After SLU’s run last season, he’s done wonders to keep this team in the national conversation after its tumultuous off-season, and is a leading candidate for National Coach of the Year.

There’s an old saying about rivalries that goes something like, “it’s not a rivalry until both teams win.”

So it’s not a rivalry yet. It’s one year. It’s two great basketball games (for SLU at least), two good basketball teams at the top of their conference, playing a beautiful form of team basketball.

From an Indiana perspective, it’s a big deal when a team beats Butler at its own, well-coached game. “Out-Butlered” read the headlines in Indianapolis after SLU’s 76-58 victory at Chaifetz in January. There were similar sentiments after this victory. That’s not supposed to happen. You’re not allowed to walk into Hinkle, out-hustle the Bulldogs, play better defense and just look like an all-around better team. But the Billikens were the superior squad. Twice.

It’s not Yankees-Red Sox, Duke- North Carolina or even Missouri- Illinois. But it’ll do.

It’s not a rivalry yet. But it could be. It could be something to look forward to twice a year, something worthy of waiting in line for tickets, something that brings a couple regional schools on to the national stage for a few hours.

It could be, and it very well should be.

The entire college basketball world began to take notice of the Saint Louis University Billikens on Friday evening. The Billikens (21-5, 10-2) left fans chanting “this is our house,” as they walked out of Butler University’s Hinkle Fieldhouse with a 65-61 victory. The No. 15 Bulldogs (22-6, 9-4) came out strong, but the Billikens eventually had an answer for everything Butler coach Brad Stevens threw at them, and swept the season series against Butler, backing up their blowout of the Bulldogs in Chaifetz.

Freshman Kellen Dunham cam out firing for the Bulldogs, pulling the Bulldogs ahead 15-9, forcing interim head coach Jim Crews to call a time out to calm his squad.

The Bulldogs continued their roll though, pulling ahead 17-9 after another two by Dunham down the lane. Led by junior Jordair Jett, the Bills were able to play themselves back into the game though. Seven straight points by Jett pulled the Billikens to within 22-20 late in the half.

SLU struggled offensively, shooting 11-31 in the first half, including 1-9 from behind the arc. Shot selection and rebounding were an issue for the Billikens, as the Butler defense stifled the Billiken attack.

The second half was an entirely different story though.

SLU came out firing in the second half, keyed by senior guard Kwamain Mitchell’s six early points. His lay-in over Butler Center Andrew Smith at the 17:21 mark put the Billikens ahead 37-36, and they didn’t look back.

“We jumped out quick and got some big buckets inside,” coach Crews said.

SLU continued its second-half surge, jumping out to a 48-41 lead after another Mitchell layup. Mitchell scored eight of his 10 points in the second half.

The Bulldogs kept attacking the Bills’ lead, but SLU had an answer for everything Butler threw its way. Junior Mike McCall Jr. hit a three-pointer to stretch the lead to 51-44.

Roosevelt Jones made a layup to pull the Bulldogs within one, 57-56, setting up a wild five minutes of play at Hinkle. An offensive rebound by guard Jordair Jett led to a lay-in by junior Dwayne Evans to make it 59-56.

A tip-in by Evans at 1:20 gave the Billikens a 63-58 lead.

SLU was unable to put it away in the last minute though, as Evans, Mitchell, and McCall all missed key free throws down the stretch. McCall did manage to make two free throws on his last trip to the line, giving the Billikens a 65-61 lead.

Perhaps Butler coach Brad Stevens summed it up best:

“That’s a heck of a basketball team. They can go as far as they want to go,” he said.