Saint Louis coach Josh Schertz agrees in principle to long-term contract extension
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PITTSBURGH (AP) — Saint Louis coach Josh Schertz has agreed in principle to a long-term contract extension, athletic director Chris May announced Friday before the Billikens’ win over George Washington in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament.
Schertz, in his second season with the Billikens after being hired away from Indiana State, guided Saint Louis to a tie with Virginia Commonwealth for the A-10 regular season championship. They entered The Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 2020-21 in January and stayed in the poll regularly — reaching a peak of No. 18 — before dropping out Monday.
The Billikens entered the conference tournament as the top seed, then overcame a 20-point first-half deficit against the Revolutionaries to improve to 28-4 — tying a school record for wins in a season — and advance to the tournament semifinals on Saturday.
The Billikens found out about the deal before the opening tip against George Washington, and Schertz joked that his team’s early performance didn’t exactly serve as an endorsement of the decision.
“Well, obviously, the players were much inspired,” Schertz said with a laugh. “They were trying to get me fired. I guess that shows how they feel about me.”
May locked up Schertz as the coach’s name was bandied for a number of jobs in power conferences. The Billikens were 19-15 with an appearance in the National Invitation Tournament last season, and have taken a significant step forward this year thanks in part to an investment by the administration.
“I had really high expectations on what I thought it could be in terms of people, commitment and infrastructure,” Schertz said. “And it’s been all that and more. … We’re just scratching the surface of what it can be. We’ve got a good run ahead of us, hopefully this year and certainly in the years to come.”
Schertz believes the Billikens are worthy of making the 68-team NCAA tournament field regardless of how the rest of the weekend goes. The Billikens haven’t reached the NCAAs since 2019.
“We’re 28-4 in the seventh-best league in the country,” he said. “I think we have enough good wins. I’d be shocked if we’re not just in, but in comfortably. Hopefully, now we’re just playing for seeding and a championship.”
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Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball