Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

It will be rise and shine for the Red Storm as their early morning game against #19 Georgetown Hoyas will be a tough and physical matchup. Coming off a brutal home loss to Rutgers on Wednesday night, 58-56. The Red Storm were so close to pulling it out but with two chances in the final seconds to win or tie the game the Johnnies came up short both times. Free throws wound up being the difference as St. John’s shot only 15-27 from the line. Including some big misses down the stretch.

The Johnnies and the Hoyas will both be looking for a big win, the Johnnies in the midst of their longest home stand of the season want to get this game against the suddenly low scoring Hoya team which is looking for their first Big East win.

The Hoyas and Johnnies have a long history with each other dating back to their huge rivalry in the in the mid 80’s and their meeting in the 1985 Final Four with stars Chris Mullin & Patrick Ewing leading their respective teams. Last year the Hoyas went 2-0 against the young Johnnies, beating them by 20 at the Garden, 69-49 and then winning at home 71-61.

Game Information

Date: Saturday, January 12th, 2013
Location: Madison Square Garden- New York, New York
Time: 11:00 AM EST
TV: ESPN2
Radio: WBBR 1130 AM (John Minko, Vin Parise)

Georgetown Hoyas (10-3, 0-2)
Head Coach: John Thompson III

Georgetown has run into a little bit of trouble scoring the ball lately. In their first two Big East games at home against Pittsburgh and on the road against Marquette they are averaging only 46.5 points. Most recently against Pitt the Hoyas shot 16% in the first half and only 35.1% for the game. The Hoyas played big starting four forwards and it didn’t work out for them.

This has been a trend for the Hoyas as they have had a ton of low scoring wins before Big East play started. They won a disaster of a game, 37-36 against Tennessee in the Big East-SEC Challenge as well as winning another close one to Towson 46-40. They are learning you can’t score 40 and win in the Big East and will look to adjust against St. John’s.

Otto Porter, the sophomore forward who’s draft stock was soaring due to the Hoyas hot start to the season at 10-1 hasn’t been playing well. In his first two Big East games Porter is averaging 11 points and shot 2-6 from the floor against Pitt. If the Hoyas want any chance at a win they need Porter to be on his game.

Projected Starting Lineup:
F Otto Porter
F Nate Lubick
F Mikael Hopkins
F Greg Whittington
G Markel Starks
 

St. John’s (9-6, 1-2)
Head Coach: Steve Lavin

The close losses keep on coming for Steve Lavin and the Red Storm. They are a couple of last minute baskets away from being 3-0 in conference play. But two of those games the Storm came up short and are looking at a 1-2 Big East record. The loss to Rutgers on Wednesday night can’t stick in the Red Storm’s craw for too long as they need to defend their home court against the always tough Hoyas.

D’Angelo Harrison had another up and down night for St. John’s as he shot 5-15 from the field and missed a shot to put the Red Storm ahead in the waning seconds. Harrison still had 20 points, five assists and five rebounds to lead the team. Chris Obekpa is really growing into his role on this team racking up 11 rebounds and five blocks to go along with his four points.

Projected Starting Lineup:
F JaKarr Sampson
F Amir Garrett
C Chris Obekpa
G Phil Greene
G D’Angelo Harrison

Keys to Victory
▪    They’re Called FREE for a Reason- Free throws have been a problem for the Johnnies all season long but it doesn’t get more noticeable then a 15-27 showing that costs you a game. You’d like to see a conscious effort from the boys to work and get better from the charity stripe.
▪    Obekpa blocks & rebounds!– Chris Obekpa has a knack for blocking a ball right into the third row at the Garden. But his last few games he has not only been blocking and tying the St. John’s all time single season record for blocks with 76 but he has been cleaning the glass. A strong rebounder is what this team has been missing and recently the rebounding problem hasn’t been such a problem.
▪    Who’s it Gonna Be? – Every night it seems to be a different guy for the Johnnies who plays that specific role of glue guy. Last time out it was Sir’Dominic Pointer who had 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench and hit 6-8 from the free throw line. Amir Garrett also plays that role and last game finished with four points and five rebounds.
▪    Pass the Olive Branch- Jamal Branch only played eight minutes against Rutgers and recorded three assists while only taking one shot. As opposed to Phil Greene IV who ran the point for most of the game and only had one assist in 34 minutes. It should be beneficial for the Storm to see if they can play Branch more at the point and Greene more off the ball where he could possibly flourish.

Final Prediction: Georgetown Wins, 55-52

The third annual Ugly Christmas Sweater night comes to you from Carnesecca Arena this Friday when the Red Storm take on the UNC Asheville Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are known for their memorable NCAA Tournament game last year as they almost became the first #16 seed to upset a #1 seed. The Bulldogs lead Syracuse at halftime and part of the second half before Syracuse made a comeback and won 72-65.

St. John’s has played one game against UNC Asheville in the schools history and that was back in the 1998 Preseason NIT where they blew out the Bulldogs, 105-50. That year’s Red Storm team went on to the Elite Eight and lost to The Ohio State University, 77-74.

Game Information
Date: Friday, December 21st, 2012
Location: Carnesecca Arena- Queens, New York
Time: 7:30 PM EST
TV: ESPN3 (Tony Luftman, Brandon Tierney)
Radio: WBBR 1130 AM (John Minko, Tim O’Toole)
Online: WSJUradio.org
UNC Asheville (4-7, 0-0)
Head Coach: Eddie Biedenbach

UNC Asheville returns most of their Tournament team from last year including four of their starters who were on last years team that almost upset Syracuse. After losing six in a row, the Bulldogs have won three of their last four games including a road victory at Northeastern on Dec. 18. Jeremy Atkinson is the top scorer and rebounder for the Bulldogs as he scores 17.7 points per game while grabbing 7.5 rebounds.

As a team, Asheville shoots it at a 45% clip and averages seven steals a game. Keith Hornsby is the top scoring guard on the team, the guard averages 13.6 points and is a 47% shooter from downtown. This Bulldogs team will look to end the curse of New York as the University has never won in the state of New York at 0-5.

Projected Starting Lineup:

F Jeremy Atkinson
F Jon Nwannunu
F Will Weeks
G Keith Hornsby
G Trent Meyer
St. John’s (8-3, 0-0)
Head Coach: Steve Lavin

The story of the week for St. John’s is the debut of Jamal Branch. The point guard transfer from Texas A&M has been with the team for a year as he had to sit out due to NCAA rules and has been practicing with the team. Branch averaged 4.4 points and 2.5 assists in 19 minutes a game. Branch backed up senior guard Dash Harris but left because he didn’t get to play for the coach he committed to. Branch will try to mesh the offense together better as he is viewed as a more traditional point guard as compared to D’Angelo Harrison & Phil Greene.

JaKarr Sampson was awarded his second straight and third overall Big East Rookie of the Week honors. D’Angelo Harrison was named to the Big East Honor Roll for the fourth time in five weeks. It has become pretty standard for the Red Storm standouts to be honored by the Big East. This is St. John’s last game of 2012 and last non-conference game. The Red Storm will return to the court on Jan. 2 as they head to Philadelphia to take on Villanova.

Projected Starting Lineup:
F JaKarr Sampson
F Sir’Dominic Pointer
C Chris Obekpa
G Phil Greene
G D’Angelo Harrison

Keys to Victory
▪    Welcome to my block party- Chirs Obekpa had another ridiculous 9 blocks against St. Francis last Saturday in Brooklyn and is second in the nation in blocks per game (5.3) and actually has more than 7′ center from Kansas Jeff Withey, leading 58-50. Withey has more per contest as Kansas has played one less game than the Johnnies.
▪    Come together, right now- The win against St. Francis was an all together effort. Harrison and Sampson had big scoring games, Obekpa had the edge on blocking shots and Sir’Dominic Pointer had 12 points, seven rebounds & five assists. An all together effort equaled a cool 17 point win.
▪    +/- – In their first 11 games the Johnnies are +4.0 in turnovers. They haven’t turned the ball over much and with the addition of Jamal Branch it should improve. Branch knows for his good point guard play has been noted as a good defender also. Our first glimpse of him will be interesting to see how he can help this club.
▪    This is the end- Is December 21, 2012 going to be the end of the world? Probably not, but it is the end of the Johnnies’ non-conference schedule. The Johnnies will look to the new year and try to do better and improve their 6-12 mark from the year prior. Picked to finish 10th in the preseason poll it will be important for the Storm to win games they are supposed to and try to squeak out some upsets if they want to play in the postseason.

Final Prediction: St. John’s Wins, 66-60

After a week off to rest and take finals for the end of the fall semester, St. John’s will be back on the court for a mid-afternoon matchup with St. Francis Brooklyn of the Northeast Conference. The game is part of a triple header at the new home of the Brooklyn Nets, the Barclays Center. The Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival will also see match ups of Fordham/Princeton and Michigan/West Virginia. This is a non televised event so make sure to grab a ticket and see this great triple header.

As for the Red Strom and St. Francis, this will be the 77th game in their long history. St. John’s leads the series 64-12 and last year at Carnesecca Arena the Red Storm finished the Terriers off easily with a 63-48 victory. This will be the Red Storm’s first game in Brooklyn since 1958 when they played at Brooklyn College.

Game Information

Date: Saturday, December 15th, 2012
Location: Barclays Center- Brooklyn, New York
Time: 5:00 PM EST
TV: None
Radio: WBBR 1130 AM (John Minko, Tim O’Toole)
St. Francis Brooklyn (2-6, 0-0)
Head Coach: Glenn Braica

The St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers are coming off a loss to Stony Brook at home and are losers of four straight. Glenn Braica’s club has played some quality competition so far this year including Illinois, Norfolk State and Boston College. So far this year Jalen Cannon is stroking it at a 65% clip from the field. The 6-6 forward also averages16 points per game and 9.5 rebounds.

The Terriers are a balanced scoring team with four of their players averaging over 10+ points per game. As a team they shoot it at about 45% from the field and 32% from behind the arch. The Terriers are similar to the Fordham game a week ago in the respects that they are a below average team that will play hard and try to steal one away from the Red Storm.

Projected Starting Lineup:

F Akeem Johnson
F Jalen Cannon
F Kevin Douglas
G Ben Mockford
G Brent Jones

St. John’s (7-3, 0-0)
Head Coach: Steve Lavin

After a week off the Johnnies are ready to get back to work and keep the momentum going before the conference schedule starts. Last game was a rough shooting night for most of the Johnnies. As a team they shot 33% from the field and star sophomore guard D’Angelo Harrison only went 3-12 from the field and 0-5 from three. Freshman forward JaKarr Sampson had another nice game with 16 points and 10 rebound while Chris Obekpa had a St. John’s record 11 blocks in the game.

There are so many ways St. John’s can win a game and the turning point against the Rams came with a steal and breakaway dunk by Sampson. They needed their overall team effort to escape with a win. Now if they can put it all together for a full 40 minutes they can really start to get on a roll. This will be the last game the Johnnies have to play without sophomore point guard Jamal Branch as this is the last game he has to sit out due to transfer rules.

Projected Starting Lineup:

F JaKarr Sampson
F Sir’Dominic Pointer
G Phil Greene
G D’Angelo Harrison
G Felix Balamou

Keys to Victory

• Oblockpa- Chirs Obekpa had a ridiculous 11 blocks against Fordham last Saturday and is one of the nations leaders in that category. If Obekpa can get half of that it should put St. John’s in a good position to win.
• Out hustled, out worked- It seemed like during the Fordham game all the Johnnies were getting out worked and out hustled, especially for rebounds. The small Rams team was able to beat the Storm on the boards 54-40 while Rams big man Ryan Canty collected 16 of his own. This is still a serious problem and it is not encouraging at all.
• Be the aggressor- You’re St. John’s University. You are the Red Storm. You play in the Big East. The Johnnies should be playing with fire and passion, if they do they will be able to easily defeat the Terriers and claim Brooklyn for their own.
• Where Dee goes…- D’Angelo Harrison did not have a good shooting night and the Johnnies still came away with a victory Saturday. That will not often happen in games. Harrison didn’t shoot great in the San Francisco loss either, it’s time to get him going before conference play starts and there is no better time to start then the present.

Final Prediction: St. John’s Wins, 67-57