THE WATER COOLER:

Has SLU turned the corner under Rick Majerus?

TOM TIMMERMANN:

It sure seems that way to me. They're 19-5 and it's no fluke. Majerus has put together a solid collection of players and the sum of their parts is greater than the whole. And this is a team that looks good for a few years. They lose only Conklin and Cassity this season, and assuming the younger players continue to develop and the incoming freshmen play as good as they look in high school, the pipeline looks promising. Success breeds success and this team looks to be on the rise.

This year's team still has a very narrow margin for error -- if Cody Ellis doesn't start dumping in 3's on Wednesday, SLU's in trouble -- but they have enough weapons, inside and outside, that chances are good at least one player will be scoring well on any night. And defensively, they've been pretty solid, which is what Majerus preaches. Offense may come and go but there's no reason not to be solid defensively every night, because that's about effort.

VAHE GREGORIAN:

For a variety of reasons, it took longer than anyone would have expected. But there's little doubt the Billikens are finally becoming what was envisioned under Majerus. His players have made his style and his will apparent, and it will be more of a surprise now if the Bills don't qualify for the seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in school history than if they do.

STU DURANDO:

For the immediate future the Billikens should have an impact at the top of the Atlantic 10 standings. They have only two seniors and will return six of their top seven scorers for next season. That's a pretty good start. But to say they've turned the corner, we'll need to see them in the NCAA Tournament and that's not a given just yet, although the resume is improving by the week.

BRYAN BURWELL:

I believe they have, but a strong finish to February and into the conference tournament will remove all doubts. Wednesday night's road victory at St. Joe's was a big deal, and going 2-0 on this Philly trip would be very impressive. But just look at the kind of team he has now. They are deeper, more athletic and more skilled than when he arrived. He has a good recruiting base in place, which means the winning should continue. If they can win a conference regular-season or tournament title that will be further confirmation of the turn.

JEFF GORDON:

I'd say so. It appears he has assembled the critical mass of talent and experieced needed to close out the A-10 schedule on a strong note, make noise in the conference tourney and get back into the NCAA Tournament. Last night's road victory was a huge step. His veterans stepped up and closed out a well-coached foe in a difficult environment. This win came after the Billikens slugged out an ugly home victory over Dayton. He has SLU playing his style and his more recent recruiting suggests it can continue.