Second Round Means Revenge

Ambiance: Jay-Z, On to the Next One

Malik Boothe after the win vs. U Conn:

“I don’t know if [the win over Connecticut] removes the frustration. I know it was a good win today. We also can’t celebrate on this win. Last year we were in the same position going against the same team in the next round, and they pretty much had their way with us. We have to have the same focus tomorrow.”

Surprise, surprise. St. John’s didn’t squeeze out a win. The Johnnies eviscerated the poor-shooting, weak-willed Huskies in a performance that made the viewers do a double-take, made the Husky faithful begin to think long and hard about their coach and team, and made a subset of the Red Storm fans giddy. Personally, however I feel about the direction of the team… I love to see a Jim Calhoun team taken out to the back of the woodshed for a thorough whaling.

The Red Storm uncharacteristically jumped out to a nice cushion early… and took advantage of atrocious shooting (31% in the first half) and 8 turnovers to build a 53-22 cushion… and then repeated the feat in the second half, holding the desperate Huskies to 29 and scoring 38. It was a strange game for longtime St. John’s fans – the team was aggressive, active, and looked to dunk on the Huskies.

I bring all that up because the box score looks like it was brought from the other side of the looking glass. Contributions up and down the roster, aggressive and smart play, patience when necessary, smart passing… the fans hope they see a repeat of that performance in the next game, a 2:00 PM matchup against the Marquette Golden Eagles. It was spectacular, and the team should come out fired up, considering how badly the Eagles beat the Johnnies last year.  You might remember Chris Mullin in the stands, or the complete lack of execution, as Buzz Williams had the team well figured out.

Will tomorrow repeat the failures of the past? Or will the Red Storm get revenge? The OT loss against the Golden Eagles was very close, and if the team was playing with the kind of pep in their step that they had against Connecticut, they just might have dunked that breakaway that would have been the difference in the regular period.

Game Information

Tip Off: 2:00 PM, Wednesday, March 10
Location: Madison Square Garden
TV: ESPN
Radio: WSJU Radio, Redstormsports.com, XM Radio LIVE | Bloomberg 1130AM Delayed 7:00 PM

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Team Reviews

Marquette (20-10, 11-7)

2 PG Maurice Acker SR 5′8 165: 8.4 ppg* 3.7 apg* 1.3 spg* 46.7% 3PT

10 G David Cubillan SR 6′0 175: 6.2 ppg* 2.8 apg* 37.3% 3PT

1 G Darius Johnson-Odom SO 6′2 200: 12.9 ppg* 2.3 rpg* 2.7 apg* 47.5% 3PT

33 F Jimmy Butler JR 6′6 215: 15.2 ppg* 6.5 rpg* 2.1 apg* 1.3 spg

32 F Lazar Hayward JR 6′6 225: 18.0 ppg* 7.8 rpg* 32.9% 3PT

Bench

23 G Dwight Buycks JR 6′3 190: 24.9 mpg* 6.9 ppg* 3.3 rpg* 2.4 apg

21 F Joseph Fulce JR 6′7 205: 11.8 mpg* 3.8 ppg* 3.2 rpg* 50% FG

The Eagles have had a few days off. That has to be good for them, since they play in so many close games. Besides a blowout of Louisville, the Golden Eagles’ last 4 games have been decided by 3 points or less – including the overtime match against St. John’s at Carnesecca (the ending of which you can watch over again, like I have a few times).

The Golden Eagles are well-coached, effective, shoot a lot of 3’s but don’t rebound very well – they are (relatively) short.

St. John’s (17-14, 7-12)

3 PG Malik Boothe JR 5’9 188: 4.8 ppg* 2.8 apg

23 G Paris Horne JR 6’3 191: 9.2 ppg* 3.1 rpg* 38.5% 3PT

1 G-F DJ Kennedy JR 6’5 215: 15.1 ppg* 6.1 rpg* 3 apg* 37.2% 3PT* 1.2 spg

G-F Anthony Mason Jr. SR 6’7 210: 6.6 ppg* 5.3 rpg* 1.8 apg

5 F Sean Evans JR 6’8 255: 6.8 ppg* 5.8 rpg

Bench:

12 G Dwight Hardy JR 6′2 187: 22.3 mpg* 10.5 ppg* 38.3% 3PT

24 F Justin Burrell JR 6’8 235: 20.3 mpg* 6.9 ppg* 4.6 rpg* 46.4% FG

32 F Justin Brownlee JR 6′7 232: 18.7 mpg* 6.6 ppg* 4.6 rpg

31 PG Malik Stith FR 5’11 185: 11.2 mpg* 1.7 ppg* 1.2 apg

15 F-C Dele Coker JR 6’10 252: 9.1 mpg* 1.7 ppg* 1.7 rpg* .9 bpg

11 G-F Omari Lawrence FR 6’4 210: 9.7 mpg* 2.6 ppg*1.5 rpg

Continuing on how it was a strange game for longtime St. John’s fans – the team was aggressive, active, and looked to dunk on the Huskies. Malik Boothe was aggressive on defense and a baller of a point guard on offense, with 8 points on 4 of 4 shooting, 9 assists, 4 steals, and 2 turnovers. Omari Lawrence got 14 minutes of burn and should have had a few free throw attempts along with his 4 points. And DJ Kennedy was saddled with foul trouble, only playing 25 minutes. Sean Evans looked good with his dribble and made hustle plays to the tune of 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Justin Brownlee scored 13 (on 13 shots) and was credited with 4 blocks. Burrell chipped in 4 points, Mason hit a three and played good defense, and Paris Horne had a crisp 13 points.

Does that mean the team has found its stride without Dwight Hardy? Or was that game a nice fluke against a team that didn’t know how to battle back against the Red Storm, like Louisville a few weeks ago and like South Florida in mid February?

Keys to the Game

Harass and Defend. The Red Storm have to make everything hard on the Golden Eagles, both to take the team out of its rhythm and to make their legs work – tire them out!

Turnovers. Marquette will convert the turnovers to fast points.  In the last game, the team had inopportune turnovers that led to Marquette opportunities.  If the Red Storm can match them shot-for-shot, the turnovers that St. John’s commits – and Marquette doesn’t – will be the margin in the game.

Focus, Grit, and Pep. The Red Storm’s game against U Conn brought the question up (to me), why hasn’t played like this in all their games?  That kind of play is something St. John’s has been inconsistent at.  But if they make a run in the Big East Tourney, they have to be focused and energetic for 40 minutes.

Attack for Rebounds. Marquette’s forwards are undersized hustlers. St. John’s needs to try and own the glass to keep Marquette from second chance station.

Free Throws. The Golden Eagles have many tools in their arsenal. One of them is a great ability to get fouled and shoot some free throws.  The Red Storm has to defend without fouling.

Prediction:  64-62, Marquette.

Transplanted New Yorker and now Midwesterner Peter a/k/a Pico writes for the East Coast Bias and the Church of Bracketology and for Johnny Jungle, doing the Calm Before the Storm posts. Pico is also on Twitter, @ECoastBias.