If there was good news for SLU in Wednesday’s A-10 results it was that the home court seemed to be worth something. Four of the five home teams won, with UMass’ upset win at Dayton the only exception. Xavier got absolutely thumped at Temple (that may not be good for SLU), and all of a sudden, Charlotte is the only unbeaten team in the league. There remain two winless teams: SLU and St. Bonaventure.

Thoughts of a titanic showdown between Xavier and Dayton may have been a bit premature. Still, it will be a good (and meaningful) game when it comes along.

Bryce Husak took an elbow to the jaw in practice on Monday — practices seem to be more dangerous for him than games — and sat out Monday and Tuesday as a precaution in case he had a concussion. Everything was fine on Wednesday and he was back on the court and, barring something in the shootaround today, will be available against Rhody. But this is a problem for SLU in that there are things Husak needs to work on, like not bringing the ball down to his waist when he gets the ball inside, but since he doesn’t practice much, it’s hard to find time to work on it.

Majerus on Rhode Island: They’re a good team. They’ve got a good shooter in Baron, and Daniels is a phenomenal athlete. Bitee, the point guard, is very cerebral. They’re big and strong, just what you want to get.

Majerus has said in the past that rebounding is mostly about effort, but he’s making some allowances now for the team’s size. SLU has been clobbered on the offensive boards in two of the past three games. “We’ve blocked out, but you do the math,” he said. “Danny Brown is 6-2 is blocking out 6-7 Binnie, or 6-10 Huelsman or Cordeiro (who is 6-9). If the ball bounces a little high, I don’t care if you’re blocking out …”

And Rhode Island starts a front line that goes 6-8, 6-8, 6-9.

Majerus said the early entrances of Adam Knollmeyer and Marcus Relphorde on Saturday against Dayton were to give guys a rest and because of fouls. It doesn’t seem to imply either will be getting more minutes any time soon. Though Knollmeyer may sneak in a few minutes here or there. I thought he looked as good as he has this year in the Dayton game, though it’s obviously tough to say since we don’t see him that much.

The last time SLU played ranked teams in consecutive games was in 2004, when they played No. 23 Memphis and No. 13 Cincinnati in the C-USA tournament. They beat Memphis, lost to Cincinnati.

SLU started last season 0-2 in the A-10, then got its first win by beating Rhode Island at Scottrade. In fact, Rhode Island has been a familiar foe when SLU needs a win. Two seasons ago, it was SLU’s win over Rhody that snapped that maddening win-loss-win-loss run.

SLU hasn’t started a conference season 0-3 since 02-03, Soderberg’s first year.