Category: Washington University Basketball

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A Quick Look at the Augustana and Washington University Rivalry

In 1963, the Bears hosted the Vikings in 1963 in the first round of the NCAA regional. Washington University won that game, 71-66 to advance to the second round of the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.

The programs would then wait 43 years to meet again. Despite the short history, this is a rivalry that has an age-old feel.

Here is a quick look at every game in the Augustana – Washington University series:

1962-1963: Washington University defeats Augustana, 71-66

Story: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 5, 1963

The first-ever meeting between Washington University and Augustana occurred in 1963 when the Bears hosted the Vikings in the first-round of the NCAA regional. Sandy Pomerantz led all scorers with 27 points, shooting 11-15 from the floor and 5-5 from the free-throw line.

The Bears fought off a late Viking rally thanks to clutch free-throw shooting. The Bears went 17-23 from the line, including a 4-6 and 7-8 performance by Ed Dancy and Joe Patterson.

Left: Ed Dancy (24) tips the ball to Bill Roe (52) for the rebound in the NCAA Regional against Augustana. Right: Ron Jones (14) fouls Tom Hoder. Photos: St. Louis Post-Dispatch and St. Louis Globe Democrat, March 9, 1963

2006-2007: Augustana defeats Washington University, 75-73

The No. 24 ranked Vikings overcame a 6-point half-time deficit to get the win in Rock Island. Aaron Thompson tied the game with 38 seconds left. Then Drew Wessels stole the ball on a Washington University inbound play and was fouled. Wessels shot two free-throws to give Augustana a 75-73 lead. In the final play of the game, Tyler Nading drove the lane but his lay-up rolled off the rim.

2007-2008: Augustana defeats Washington University, 66-60

The No 5. Vikings defeated the No. 1 Bears for the second-straight year. This game was played in Grant Gymnasium as part of the Webster Classic. Troy Ruths scored with 40 seconds left to bring the Bears within two points, but the Vikings closed out the game at the line. Nading finished with a double-double including 20 points and 12 rebounds. Thompson added 17 points and 3 rebounds.

2007-2008: Washington University defeats Augustana, 70-67 OT

The teams met again in 2007-2008; this time in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Bears got the win in OT to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.

The Bears held a 4-point lead at the half and possessed a single-digit lead for most of the second half. The Vikings knocked down two free-throws with 0:01 left to force overtime. In the extra period, the Vikings used two free-throws to take a one-point lead. Cameron Smith drained a three-pointer with 1:00 left. Danny O’Boyle added a free-throw to bring the lead to 3 and the Bears held on for the win.

The three-point margin of victory of ended up being the smallest win for the Bears in the tournament, though Buena Vista also forced an overtime before eventually falling, 85-77. In his column, Tom Johnston, Augustana beat writer, suggested that this game deserved to be played in Salem as part of the Final Four.

Story: Quad City Dispatch, March 9, 2008

2008-2009: Washington University defeats Augustana, 87-82

In one of the most highly anticipated match-ups of the non-conference season, the No. 1 ranked Bears defeated the No. 2 ranked Vikings in Rock Island in front of a crowd of 2,200. Thompson led all scorers with 26 points. Zach Kelly finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double.

Story: Student Life, November 24, 2008

2009-2010: Washington University defeats Augustana, 71-53

The No. 1 ranked Bears easily defeated the Vikings in St. Louis. Aaron Thompson led the way, finishing with 26 points on 9-10 shooting (4-4 three-point shooting).

Story: Quad City Dispatch, December 13, 2009

2010-2011: Augustana defeats Washington University, 78-55

The 24th ranked Vikings defeated the No. 20 ranked Washington University. The Bears were young and generally inexperienced, returning only one starter from a team that graduated 5 seniors from 2009-2010.

2011-2012: Washington University defeats Augustana, 71-68

The Bears defeated the No. 1 ranked Vikings in the championship game of the 28th annual Lopata Classic. Dylan Richter scored 27 points in what was one of the greatest individual performances in the Lopata Classic.

2015-2016: Augustana defeats Washington University, 70-67

The No. 1 ranked Vikings defeated the No. 20 ranked Bears in St. Louis after a four-year break in the series. The Bears raced out to a 59-51 lead after trailing by 10 at the half. The Bears trailed by 2 points with one minute left, before the Vikings closed out the game.

The Bears had hoped to play Augustana in the second round of the NCAA tournament the season prior, but DePauw played spoiler, defeating the Bears, 83-73 in the Field House.

2016-2017: Washington University defeats Augustana, 68-61

The No. 20 ranked Bears raced out to an 11-0 lead and held off a late rally to defeat the No. 18 ranked Vikings in Rock Island.

2017-2018: Augustana defeats Washington University, 72-57

The No. 10 ranked Bears shot 55% from the line in the 72-57 loss to the No. 3 ranked Vikings in St. Louis. Andrew Sanders finished with 21 points.

2018-2019: Augustana defeats Washington University, 78-55

The No. 3 ranked Viking defeated the Bears in Rock Island; the 400th Augustana win for Coach Giovanine.

Story: Quad City Times, December 30, 2018

2019-2020: Washington University defeats Augustana, 73-70

The No. 15 ranked Bears edged the No. 17 ranked Vikings in a game that featured an unfortunate technical for Augustana on a kicked ball after the whistle. The Vikings missed a game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer. Jack Nolan scored a career-high 28 points. Jonathan Arenas recorded a career-high 8 rebounds.

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Decades: the Incomplete Story of the Saint Louis University-Washington University Rivalry, 1937-1947

Editors Note: this blog is written as a supplement to the St. Louis Nine Network series Living St. Louis: Decades episode on the 1940s. I highly recommend this episode along with the others in the series.

As far as athletics go, Saint Louis University and Washington University pursued divergent paths a long time ago. But the Bears and Billikens once had a decades-long rivalry going back to the earliest days of basketball in St. Louis. By the 1930s, the schools had a fierce rivalry that culminated in a ten year period between 1937-1947.

The first official games between the teams go back to 1914-1915 when Washington University recorded back to back 29-22 and 20-7 wins over SLU. However, both schools were fielding club teams as early as 1901-1902 and may have played each other as part of the fledgling St. Louis Basketball League.

By the late 1930s, the two had become regular competitors and conference rivals after Saint Louis joined the Missouri Valley Conference in 1937.

As the importance of the games increased, so did the rhetoric from the local newspapers. Note: it took a while before everyone settled on one spelling for the Billiken mascot.

The fans also understood the intensity of the rivalry. In 1937, for example, Saint Louis fans were responsible for a 5-minute delay of the game due to excessive booing and cheering. The fans were assessed a technical foul (true story!) with the Bears being the beneficiaries.

According to the Post-Dispatch, the “intense rivalry” made the game more difficult than usual to call.

SLU would lose the game from the free-throw line, shooting just 3-16.

In 1939, the Bears defeated the Billikens, 42-35 in front of of 2,500 fans. Dr. James Naismith was also reported to be in attendance.

The win tied the series 1-1, prompting a third, non-conference game to be scheduled the following week. Washington University won that game, 34-28 to capture yet another city championship.

In January 1940, the Post-Dispatch did its part to add fuel to the flames the rivalry by reporting that the Billikens were looking to bust the city championship monopoly. Saint Louis would go on to win that game 26-24, but the Billikens would ultimately split the series after falling to the Bears, 32-20.

Washington and Saint Louis would team up in 1940 to host consecutive double-headers with Drake and Washburn to kick-off Missouri Valley Conference play. The first of two games were played at the Field House with the following two games played at the West Pine Gym.

The rivalry would continue through the 1946-1947 season despite the decision by Washington University to leave the Missouri Valley Conference in 1942 and WWII-related scheduling challenges. The results were as follows:

1936-1937 Washington University 2, Saint Louis 1

1937-1938 Washington University 1, Saint Louis 2

1938-1939 Washington University 2, Saint Louis 1

1939-1940 Washington University 2, Saint Louis 1

1940-1941 Washington University 2, Saint Louis o

1941-1942 Saint Louis 2, Washington University 1

1942-1943 Washington University 2, Saint Louis 0

1943-1944 ——-

1944-1945 Saint Louis University 2, Washington University 0

1945-1946 Saint Louis University 2, Washington University 0

1946-1947 Saint Louis University 2, Washington University 0

It is unclear why the teams chose not to continue the series after the 1946-1947 season, though it may have been related to coaching changes at Washington University—the Bears had four coaches over a five year period heading in to the 1947-1948 season. It also could have been the rise of SLU basketball in the “tall boy” era of “Easy” Ed Macauley and Marvin Schatzman, a team that would win the 1948 NIT with a win over New York University.

Saint Louis and Washington University would play sparingly after 1947 leaving the 1940s as the last great decade of the rivalry. The record as it stands today favors Washington University, 37-29.

File Under: At Least He Cared Enough to Write a Letter to the Editor

Though unrelated to the rivalry, take a look at this letter to the editor of the St. Louis Star and Times published January 13, 1940 from a Washington University student who had experienced the “razzle-dazzle style of play of the eastern teams through movie newsreels” and was sure that his classmates wanted “fast, furious and wild” basketball.