The phrase “Big Three” has become cliche in the world of basketball over the last decade and a half but it’s hard to argue for a more apt phrase to describe the 2024-25 Saint Louis Billikens.
The numbers have fluctuated over the conference schedule but the trio of Robbie Avila, Gibson Jimerson & Isaiah Swope have each averaged between 14-18 points per game in different stretches of the season. As of publication, here’s where those numbers stand, split up by non-conference, conference & season total per game numbers:
The concept of a “Big Three” revolves around the group carrying the team, and this combination has certainly done that…
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Gibson, Isaiah & Robbie have accounted for almost 70% of the Billikens offense throughout this season and the Saint Louis trio stands out as the only team in Division 1 with three players averaging 16+ points.
That stat is part of the reason, beyond an admitted bias, that Billikens HC Josh Schertz is adamant he has the top Big Three in the conference and maybe one of the best in the whole country, “Yeah, I’m biased…I do believe that sincerely.”
Schertz makes a strong argument, “I think those three, the load they’ve had to carry this year for us is immense and there’s a variety of reasons for that but they’ve been able to produce, everybody is obviously game planning, tying to take them away and they’re fighting like crazy.”
What makes their success even more impressive has been the injury issues each has had to deal with over as they enter the final stretch of the regular season.
Schertz laid out the medical report, “Robbie’s still, he’s pretty but he’s battling a little bit with the Ankle. Swope, in and out of practice with the knee. And Gib’s ankle is still purple and swollen.”
The raw production is undoubtedly there but there have been many times this season, especially in conference play, where one (or more) of the top trio didn't show up. And it cost the Billikens almost every time.
So...How many times have the Big Three all scored 10+ in the same game? Their season averages? 20+?
As you can see from our handy little graphic above the Billikens most important triplets all scored 20+ points in one game this season (W vs. UMass-Lowell). That performance also stands out as just one of two games where all three scored 16 or more points the same night—that magic number from earlier. The other was the opening season game against Santa Clara. (Which happened to be a loss, but we all know what happened there.)
They all scored in double figures 14 of the 22 games they played, while there is one game this season (L @ St. Joseph’s) where they all finished in single-digits in the scoring column.
What about games where two of the three were able to carry the weight—or weren’t? In addition to that explosion vs. UMass-Lowell there are another four games against D1 teams where two of the three went for 20 apiece. Interestingly, they went 2-2 in those games: the wins came against Loyola-Marymount without Robbie and a St. Joe’s win in which Gibson only scored 9–while the two loses came against Illinois State & George Mason. Refer to both of those games in the chart above. What do you see?
The Billikens are still dealing with the least-played bench in the entire country (13.7%, 364th) while dealing with shifts in the starting lineup and trying to adapt to conference matchups that are playing them completely different than the non-conference schedule.
Bottom line, if the Billikens are going to close out the final five games of the season on a high-note, secure a Top 4 seed and double-bye in the A10 Tournament, and do anything after that, the Big Three are going to have to put up a lot of blue, green & maybe a little purple.
Head coach Josh Schertz put it even more succinctly on Friday afternoon, “With the depth situation being what it is, if those guys don’t play well, we don’t have a chance to win.”
Do you think the star group of Gibson Jimerson, Robbie Avila & Isaiah Swope has done enough for the Billikens this season? Comment below!