If things go as St. Louis University desires during the NCAA tournament, perhaps its mascot will be the reason why.
St. Louis' mascot is a charming, devilish-looking creature called a "billiken." The school's official site defines the billiken as a "mythical good-luck figure" representing the mantra of "things as they ought to be."
The billiken was created by Florence Pretz, who taught art and was an illustrator in Missouri, in 1908. A study by Dorothy Jean Ray details how, historically, billiken caricatures have been believed to bring good luck.
There are two legendary tales which explain how the billiken became St.