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Loose in the Cuse

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Ambiance: Fall Out Boy, Sugar We’re Going Down (video link, pops up in a new window)

Coach Norm Roberts – Pregame Quotes:

“We’re capable of it. We have to play 40 minutes. Syracuse is a great basketball team and doesn’t make many mistakes. We need to make shots and defend their players inside. Everything they do stems from their big guys keeping balls alive. We have to neutralize their big guys. They want to get the ball inside. Dele Coker and Justin Burrell should start for us tomorrow in a big lineup.”

Closing down the regular season are two road matchups – one in snowy Syracuse, and one in chilly Chicago. First is a matchup against the now consensus number 1 ranked Syracuse Orange in the Carrier Dome, where thousands of orange fans will be cheering their team to crush the red-clad opposition. Can the Red Storm catch Syracuse in the glow of their big win against Villanova and surprise the Orange?

Scoop Jardine + Coach Jim Boeheim. IconSMI

The end of the season is near, and the efforts by the Red Storm to translate their better play into wins and move up in the standings have not been successful. The team has had better offense recently, and has improved from their turnover-prone past. But the small improvements haven’t been able to close the large gap between being in the bottom 4 and being in the middle 8. In fact, the results from this team (and perhaps the effort) have been inconsistent.

A slew of middling performances on offense against the top teams in the league suddenly gave way to veritable offensive explosions against Louisville, Notre Dame, and South Florida.

Meanwhile, the defensive performances have averaged out to decent for the Big East, but far from dominating; and blips like the performance against Pittsburgh (allowing 71 points on 47 shots) and Rutgers (84 points on 55 shots) keep the team far from defensively  competitive.  And those blips are indicative of a team whose concentration, and/ or planning, and/ or execution is not where it needs to be.  That should have fans questioning the team’s ability to pull a gritty win out.

Moreover, the upper level offensive teams had their way with the Red Storm, except for Louisville in the second matchup. Teams that score more of their points inside the arc like Connecticut and Pittsburgh have certainly enjoyed their success inside.

Meanwhile, Syracuse is fourth from the bottom of the Big East in three-pointers taken. Not a good matchup, there.

The Red Storm will need to defend the paint better than they did against the Panthers on Saturday. That said, St. John’s has gotten in some hot starts against teams that didn’t take them seriously – Villanova this year, #1 Pittsburgh last season… St. John’s might just come out ready to win the implausible.

Game Information

Tip Off: 7:00 PM, Tuesday, March 2
Location: Carrier Dome
TV: SNY
Radio: Bloomberg 1130

Team Reviews

Syracuse (27-2, 14-2)

25 PG Brandon Triche SO 6’4 198: 8.6 ppg* 3.1 apg* 51.5% FG

1 G Andy Rautins JR 6’4 195: 11.8 ppg* 4.8 apg* 2.7 rpg* 2.1 spg* 40.3% 3PT

4 G Wesley Johnson JR 6’7 205: 15.7 ppg* 8.7 rpg* 2.4 apg* 1.7 spg* 1.7 bpg* 39% 3PT

00 F Rick Jackson SR 6’10 250: 10.3 ppg* 7 rpg* 1.1 spg* 2.1 bpg* 61% FG

21 C Arinze Onuaku JR 6’9 261: 10.3 ppg* 5.0 rpg* 1.1 bpg

Bench

11 G Antonio “Scoop” Jardine SO 6’2 190: 8 ppg* 4.5 apg* 1.2 spg

32 F Kris Joseph JR 6’7 207: 11.3 ppg* 5.4 rpg* 1.4 spg

The team that lost to local Division II LeMoyne College in exhibition play has topped 90 points 7 times, and have been dutifully blowing out everyone. But the thing that is elite about the team is their defense – they won’t foul opponents, and the sticky 2-3 zone forces teams to shoot 3-pointers… at a 32% clip. And they hold teams to 46.5% shooting from inside the arc. It’s the magic of a team defensive concept as opposed to individual defenders; a team that communicates well on defense and doesn’t allow any quick guards to leak through.

Forcing teams the shoot 3-pointers takes them out of a balanced offense; and Syracuse takes advantage by running with long rebounds and forcing turnovers with their length. The ballhandling is done by solid freshman Brandon Triche and Scoop Jardine, who has become, apparently, an excellent passer and a capable shooter. Andy Rautins can catch-and-shoot for the three, but he can dribble a little bit – a very smart player. He has taken 79% of his shots from 3-point range in conference, and needs to be defended closely when the ball’s not in his hands as well.

On the wing, Wesley Johnson has been a spectacular playmaker who doesn’t need to take many shots. Note that he is shooting 16-55 (29%) from beyond the arc in conference play, however; and he has been struggling with a hand injury in recent games. Kris Joseph plays alongside Johnson, but functions as a wing. He is willing to take a jump shot and is a good, though not dominating, rebounder against Big east competition. That said, his might might be enough to dominate the St. John’s bigs.

Arinze Onuaku is an excellent center, rebounding and blocking shots. But he has been eclipsed a bit by Rick Jackson, who has been very good as a burly forward in the lane who also gets offensive rebounds. Neither of the two are good at shooting free throws.

St. John’s (15-13, 5-11)

St. John's logo3 PG Malik Boothe JR 5’9 188: 4.6 ppg* 2.3 apg

23 G Paris Horne JR 6’3 191: 8.3 ppg* 2.8 rpg* 36.3% 3PT

1 G-F DJ Kennedy JR 6’5 215: 14.6 ppg* 6.2 rpg* 2.9 apg* 33.3% 3PT* 1.2 spg

15 F-C Dele Coker JR 6’10 252: 8.9 mpg* 1.9 ppg* 1.7 rpg* 1.0 bpg* 64.7% FG

24 F Justin Burrell JR 6’8 235: 6.8 ppg* 4.3 rpg* 48.3% FG

Bench:

12 G Dwight Hardy JR 6′2 187: 22.9 mpg* 10.8 ppg* 38.6% 3PT

32 F Justin Brownlee JR 6′7 232: 18.4 mpg* 6.5 ppg* 4.8 rpg

2 G-F Anthony Mason Jr. SR 6’7 210: 6.6 ppg* 5.0 rpg* 1.8 apg

5 F Sean Evans JR 6’8 255: 21 mpg* 6.6 ppg* 5.9 rpg

31 PG Malik Stith FR 5’11 185: 11.8 mpg* 1.7 ppg* 1.3 apg

Dele Coker, who has logged under 9 minutes per game on the season and 6.3 minutes per game in conference (13 of 16 games), will get the start along with Justin Burrell, according to Norm Roberts’ pregame quotes.

In truth, there is nothing for St. John’s to get stressed about. The idea in this game is to find the little cracks in the zone, play with confidence – forgetting the two teams’ records – and making plays. To do this, they’re going to have to get the ball to Justin Burrell and Dele Coker, two players who can hit that midrange jump shot. Justin Brownlee could be a strong factor as well; he has athleticism and length to get his shot off. And the coach is right, Syracuse’s bigs really dominate the glass on defense. The could be second chance points, though, according to what Syracuse has given up.

Running when possible and squaring up to shoot 3-pointers will give the Red Storm chances to score; it will be hard to get the ball inside unless the team is very crisp.

Keys to the Game

No Easy Runs. In the loss against Louisville, the Cardinals restricted the pace. And St. John’s has to take a cue from that, making the game slow and ugly. No one gets out. NO ONE. No run outs. The goal on defense has to be first and foremost to slow them down and keep them from crushing, crowd-pleasing runs.

Clog the Interior. St. John’s has to use what height they have to get poor shots out of Rick Jackson and Onuaku. Those two are the most efficient scorers on a team that prefers to go inside rather than jack shots from the outside. The team has balanced scoring, so they CAN score without those two; but good interior defense will slow down the Orange attack.

Shoot The Lights Out. St. John’s is going to need, at the very least, a good offensive performance to compete with the Orange. A great performance could make the fans in the dome get a little tight.

Catch Them Sloppy. If the Syracuse team comes out with a lackadaisical attitude, or loses concentration, the Red Storm have to attack them hard. If they can force turnovers from the Orange and score off of those, throw off their offensive attack, the team can give themselves a chance to win.

Own the Glass. Restricting second chance points will go far towards keeping the Syracuse scoring total within a reachable point for St. John’s.

Prediction: St. John’s loses control in the second half. 78-59, Syracuse.

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.

Wishin' and Hopin'

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Ambiance: Skee-Lo, I Wish (video link, pops up in a new window)

Coach Norm Roberts – On advice for his team going forward:

“We will continue to play the way we have been playing. We will win our share. Some will go our way. We have to continue to play hard.”

The Red Storm were close, so close to an upset win over Marquette, one of the top-8 teams in the conference. A win would have had St. John’s at 6-9 in the Big East, and in spitting distance of this year’s parity – in 12th place, but a game back of the 8th-11th teams. For all the gnashing of teeth and the losses, St. John’s is not only competitive, but has an outside chance at the NIT with a lot of breaks. One wonders what would have happened if St. John’s could have beaten Providence… or Rutgers… or Seton Hall… or Marquette. 2-2 in those games would have the Johnnies in the NIT picture with an outside shot at the NCAA Tournament.

And if I were a little bit taller, I’d be a baller.

It’s too bad that close doesn’t matter, because truth be told, the team has played better in recent weeks. There is some passion, some effective play from all positions (instead of DJ Kennedy trying to carry the team). And to their credit, the team is still fighting hard to win the tough games, but has found themselves a step behind both good teams and the bad teams they have lost to.

Can that change in this late season rematch against Pittsburgh? In the last game, St. John’s allowed 52% shooting to the Panthers in the second half, and most of that damage was done inside the arc. The Red Storm also shot much more poorly in that second half, shooting 26.7% (as opposed to 39% in the first half). The Red Storm consistently beat the Panthers to the boards, especially in the second half – but that may have been because those (offensive) rebounds were available with such poor shooting. Ashton Gibbs was held in check from the perimeter; but Brad Wanamaker and Gary McGhee scored 16 and 10 points on a total of 17 shots.

There is still an outside chance for the team to see the postseason. Can the Red Storm beat the Panthers at home in the rematch and keep hope alive?

Game Information

Tip Off: 12:00 PM, Saturday, February 27
Location: Madison Square Garden
TV: MSG
Radio: Bloomberg 1130/ WSJU

Team Reviews

Pittsburgh (21-7, 10-5)

12 G Ashton Gibbs SO 6’2 190: 16.2 ppg* 2 apg* 2.4 rpg* 38.8% 3PT

22 G Brad Wanamaker JR 6’4 210: 12.2 ppg* 6 rpg* 4.4 apg* 1.1 spg

24 G Jermaine Dixon JR 6’3 200: 10.4 ppg* 2.9 rpg* 2.3 apg

35 F Nasir Robinson SR 6’10 250: 6.4 ppg* 5.6 rpg* 1.5 apg

52 C Gary McGhee JR 6’8 235: 7.4 ppg* 7 rpg* 1.8 bpg* 64.1% FG

Bench

1 G Travon Woodall SO 5’11 190: 20.5 mpg* 5.1 ppg* 2.4 rpg* 3.3 apg

5 F Gilbert Brown JR 6’6 210: 25.3 mpg* 10.6 ppg* 3.2 rpg* 51.2% FG

11 F-C Dante Taylor FR 6’9 240: 13.9 mpg* 4.0 ppg* 3.8 rpg* 57.4% FG

The 12th ranked – or 16th ranked, depending on which poll you look at – Pittsburgh Panthers are pretty much the same as before – a defensively-oriented squad that sometimes struggles to score. You can read the breakdowns of the players from the earlier Calm Before the Storm; and for some updates, let’s turn back to Pitt bloggers Eye of a Panther and Pitt Blather.

Pitt Blather on what’s different from January’s meeting:

Well, Jermaine Dixon is healthy. He was already missing practice time with a sore ankle — that he further aggravated in the last meeting. That adds defensive intensity. Also, guard Travon Woodall has found his confidence and is back in the rotation, creating more depth and taking some pressure off of Ashton Gibbs.

Really, it just seems to be players still improving. Gary McGhee has displayed noticeably more confidence in games lately. Calling for the ball. Better passing back outside.

More from Eye of a Panther:

[Gary McGhee] has definitely improved and has been playing better since the last game against St. John’s. In the past eight games, he’s gotten to double digits in rebounds in half of them and he’s been more of a force. Pitt will really be counting on him to rebound well as they really were beaten up on the boards in the first game.

Pitt’s backup point guard Travon Woodall has also been improving, and that in turn, has helped Ashton Gibbs break out of a bit of a funk. Woodall had averaged about 2.3 turnovers per game going into the first game against St. John’s. Since then, he’s averaged only .7 per game. He’s not a huge contributing scorer, but his ability to play mistake-free ball has really helped take some of the load off of Gibbs. And when they’re both in the game, Gibbs can focus on getting open for shots rather than trying to get the ball upcourt and set up the offense.

I don’t think anyone’s regressed significantly, but Pitt’s McDonald’s All-American freshman, Dante Taylor, has been less of a factor. He had shown some glimpses and been serviceable at times early in the season, but over the past ten games, he’s really seen a reduced role.

On Keys to Beating Pitt, we’ll start with Eye of a Panther:

There are lots of ways Pitt can lose, but if I had to single out one thing (other than lights-out shooting, which did Pitt in against Notre Dame), the easiest way is to beat them on the glass. In Pitt’s seven losses, they’re -16 (-2.29 per game) in rebounding. That might not sound like a ton, but when you factor in how important rebounding is to Pitt, it’s actually quite a bit. Contrast that with Pitt’s +123 over their 19 wins (average of 6.33 per game) and you see just how important it truly is. Pitt thrives on limiting teams to one shot and grabbing offensive rebounds.

Plenty of things worry me about Saturday’s game. Pitt is 1-2 in their last three against St. John’s at home for starters. Also, if Pitt is outrebounded like they were in the first game (-10), they could be in trouble. The rebounding was a problem in the last game (though part of that was due to ridiculously hot shooting by Notre Dame) and it could carry over. And even though I believe Pitt is the better team, they’ve had their share of struggles against teams they probably should have beaten.

And back to Pitt Blather, on why they lost to Notre Dame:

Credit ND. They played a fantastic game. They were knocking down 3s — open and contested. They had some fantastic ball movement last night. It was a very efficient and impressive offensive performance. Especially since it was never an up-and-down game. ND showed a patience I did not think they had in them.

Between them hitting their shots and a defense that packed it inside, they goaded Pitt into settling for jumpers and not getting it inside or driving to the hoop.

St. John’s (15-12, 5-10)

St. John's logo3 PG Malik Boothe JR 5’9 188: 4.4 ppg* 2.3 apg

23 G Paris Horne JR 6’3 191: 8.2 ppg* 2.8 rpg* 36.4% 3PT

1 G-F DJ Kennedy JR 6’5 215: 14.7 ppg* 6.2 rpg* 3.0 apg* 33.3% 3PT* 1.2 spg

2 G-F Anthony Mason Jr. SR 6’7 210: 6.7 ppg* 5.1 rpg* 1.8 apg

5 F Sean Evans JR 6’8 255: 6.8 ppg* 5.9 rpg

Bench:

12 G Dwight Hardy JR 6′2 187: 22.7 mpg* 10.6 ppg* 40% 3PT

32 F Justin Brownlee JR 6′7 232: 18.9 mpg* 6.7 ppg* 4.9 rpg

24 F Justin Burrell JR 6’8 235: 19.5 mpg* 6.7 ppg* 4.1 rpg* 49.6% FG* 30.8% 3PT

31 PG Malik Stith FR 5’11 185: 12.1 mpg* 1.8 ppg* 1.3 apg

15 F-C Dele Coker JR 6’10 252: 8.9 mpg* 2.0 ppg* 1.8 rpg* 1.0 bpg* 66.7% FG

Keys to the Game

Convert Missed Shots. The earlier game saw a lot of that St. John’s special talent of getting to offensive boards, and smacking the ball with the hope it goes through the net. If St. John’s can convert some of those tips into second chance points, they will have an excellent chance to steal the game.

Stop Ashton Again (And Guard the Perimeter). Ashton Gibbs has more help this time around in Travon Woodall and a more healthy Jermaine Dixon, but he is still the ban. If they can’t bomb from the outside, the team can stagnate.

Stay Sharp. Pittsburgh is okay with playing a slugfest and pulling out the game with some key stops and a strong play at the end. In the earlier game, Gary McGhee scored a late bucket that solidified their chances of winning on a pick and roll where no St. John’s defender rolled back to the basket. The Red Storm have to stay sharp and play better defense for the whole game; some missed assignments will create easy opportunities or free throws.

Turnover Battle. St. John’s found it difficult to get Marquette to turn the ball over; they have to force the Panthers into tough spots and generate a few key TOs, while minimizing their own turnovers.

Do It, Fluid. St. John’s has to get back to the movement, offense, and execution that served them well against Louisville and South Florida. Confidence and aggressiveness have their rewards.

Prediction: St. John’s puts up a good effort and pulls it out; 60-58, St. John’s.

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.

Soaring Storm?

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Ambiance: Freda Payne, Band of Gold (video link, pops up in a new window)

On Wednesday evening, St. John’s returns to action after a decisive victory at the Sun Dome against the South Florida Bulls… who found their resurgence cut short. The Red Storm hope to continue their spoiler ways and hopefully, cobble together enough wins to see a postseason berth.

Is it possible? Sure.

Jimmy Butler + Lazar Hayward. By IconSMI

Is it feasible? Ask after the upcoming stretch of games against the better teams in the league, Marquette, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse.

St. John’s (favorably) has the Golden Eagles and Panthers at home, and they have already faced the Pittsburgh squad. But unlike the last 4 opponents, these teams have tended to execute well this year. Marquette, in particular, has won some decent games and mastered the close loss – against Florida State, against NC State, at West Virginia, against Villanova twice by a total of 4 points, against Syracuse by 5… and against DePaul by 1.  The Golden Eagles may not be traditional, and they may not be able to knock off teams at the top of the conference, but they have won enough to likely secure themselves a spot in the Round of 64.

With the NCAA Tournament a real possibility, expect Lazar Hayward and the Golden Eagles to come out with purpose at little old Carnesecca Arena. They will look to break down the defense and kick the ball out to their team of capable catch and shoot 3-point gunners – they shoot 41.3% from the three, fourth in the nation (and 42% in conference, by the way). The Red Storm will have to defend them closely on the perimeter, cover breakdowns in the paint, and try to use their size on the small but gritty boys from Milwaukee.

It’s a tough task. And it’s senior day, finally, for Anthony Mason Jr, who has endured a tough road to stay on the court. Here’s hoping for a little Carnesecca magic for the boys. If the Red Storm are really a better team, they need to show it with a win over the Eagles at Carnesecca.

Game Information

Tip Off: 7:30 PM, Wednesday, February 24
Location: Carnesecca Arena
TV: MSG
Radio: Bloomberg 1130/ WSJU

Team Reviews

Marquette (17-9, 8-6)

2 PG Maurice Acker SR 5’8 165: 8.2 ppg* 3.7 apg* 1.3 spg* 47.4% 3PT

10 G David Cubillan SR 6’0 175: 6.2 ppg* 2.8 apg* 40% 3PT

1 G Darius Johnson-Odom SO 6’2 200: 12.7 ppg* 2.3 rpg* 2.2 apg* 48.8% 3PT

33 F Jimmy Butler JR 6’6 215: 15.5 ppg* 6.6 rpg* 2 apg* 1.3 spg* 7.3 FT att/ game

32 F Lazar Hayward JR 6’6 225: 18.1 ppg* 8.1 rpg* 35.6% 3PT

Bench

23 G Dwight Buycks JR 6’3 190: 26 mpg* 7.2 ppg* 3.5 rpg* 2.5 apg* 28.3% 3PT

21 F Joseph Fulce JR 6’7 205: 11 mpg* 3.6 ppg* 3.2 rpg* 50% FG

The Golden Eagles are a big surprise in the Big East, a hard-working squad whose coaching and skill development has allowed them to stay in the top half of the Big East. The team shoots a lot of threes (well), and uses the spacing to drive to the hoop. Hayward holds things down in the paint with Jimmy Butler, and despite their height, the Eagles are in the middle of the Big East in defensive rebounding. They don’t seem to be very effective on the offensive boards, but shooting as well as they do negates the chances (and need?) for offensive rebounding.

The Golden Eagles are great at getting their shots and decent at forcing turnovers. And they defend the three-pointer very well. For more on Marquette, let’s turn to Golden Eagles blog Cracked Sidewalks for their answers:

Mo [Acker] seems to be more of a rhythm player, where he does better with more reps. Plus, Acker got plenty of minutes in reserve late last year, and contributed in some key stretches…. He does a great job protecting the ball, and has picked his spots with shooting the jumper where his long-range efficiency is extraordinary.

[David] Cubillan was actually really efficient his freshmen year and part of his sophomore year, but then hurt his shoulders and has been working back since then. Of course, after almost every loss, there are invariably multiple posts about how our guards are undersized and not BE-caliber. It’s not their fault, but they are working hard and minimizing mistakes — both guys have responded with fine senior seasons to date.

Lazar Hayward is the double-double guy that defends the post at 6’6 but takes your big man out to the wing for threes. Hayward is tough as nails, and his offensive versatility creates matchup problems for most opponents. Jimmy Butler’s entire game consists of grabbing offensive rebounds and getting fouled or driving to the hoop and getting fouled. Butler is a remarkably efficient player who never plays out of character. Even in a much more expanded role this season, you’ll rarely see Butler attempt to do something on the court that does not fit his strengths.

Darius Johnson-Odom, aka DJO, is a newcomer that shoots remarkably well from three, but possesses the ability to head to the hoop for a bucket. He’s a lefty and is the one player on the MU roster who can get his shot off the dribble nearly every time.

Read more of the answers they gave on the Golden Eagles.  And my answers to their questions here.

St. John’s (15-11, 5-9)

3 PG Malik Boothe JR 5’9 188: 4.4 ppg* 2.2 apg

23 G Paris Horne JR 6’3 191: 8.4 ppg* 2.9 rpg* 37.2% 3PT

1 G-F DJ Kennedy JR 6’5 215: 14.5 ppg* 6.4 rpg* 3.0 apg* 33.3% 3PT* 1.2 spg

2 G-F Anthony Mason Jr. SR 6’7 210: 6.6 ppg* 5.0 rpg* 1.9 apg

5 F Sean Evans JR 6’8 255: 6.9 ppg* 5.8 rpg

Bench:

12 G Dwight Hardy JR 6′2 187: 22.6 mpg* 10.6 ppg* 39.7% 3PT

32 F Justin Brownlee JR 6′7 232: 19 mpg* 6.9 ppg* 5 rpg

24 F Justin Burrell JR 6’8 235: 19.2 mpg* 6.8 ppg* 3.9 rpg* 50.5% FG* 36.4% 3PT

31 PG Malik Stith FR 5’11 185: 12.3 mpg* 1.8 ppg* 1.4 apg

St. John’s is experiencing a strange offensive resurgence in the past few games, looking like a near scoring juggernaut. Are the 60 point games gone? Or were the last 4 teams simply poor or inconsistent defenses? The next three games will help sort it out.

The much maligned Malik Boothe has really found a bit of his game since the Louisville contest, taking 4 shots or more per game and trying to be more than a bad decoy on offense. He’s hit open jump shots and driven into the lane. Playing 5-on-5 basketball will surely help the Red Storm, but one wonders why it’s taken this long to find a way for Boothe to be effective. Were the injuries a factor?

Justin Burrell has been very good at rebounding and finding ways of making plays, and he’s getting a little more time on the court. He needs more consistent touches in the post, because he has been a beast down there – and has been fighting for rebounds. Sean Evans has also shown some pep on offense as well.

Against Marquette, the defense of Kennedy, Horne, and the mobility of Brownlee and Evans on defense will be needed, as well as some level of disruption from the lead guards.

Keys to the Game

Everything You Didn’t Do Against Cornell And More. The Golden Eagles are going to shoot three-pointers. And they are going to drive the lane and kick the ball out. That offense worked very well for the Cornell Big Red, and Marquette is more athletic, though they lack a 7-footer in the post. St. John’s has to stay with their man and remember that a defended (and unfouled) 2-pointer might be a better bet than an open three-pointer; the Eagles can’t get wide open looks.

Sharp Focus. Buzz Williams will have his Marquette team focused on the prize. They have stopped growing their hair as a sign of solidarity/ motivational technique, but Buzz has the team sharp and prepared to take advantage of weaknesses. Last year, he had the Red Storm well-scouted and beat the piss out of the team; St. John’s has to stay focused, aware, and find ways of getting into their sets without turning the ball over or giving up runouts.

Get To The Rebounds. The Golden Eagles are small, and do not rebound their offensive misses well. St. John’s has to make sure Marquette gets very few offensive rebounds, and to get some second chance points themselves.

Draw Them Into The Post. The Johnnies need to work from the outside in. The Eagles defend the three-pointer very well, but when faced with an interior threat, can leave shooters open (as seen against Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon). St. John’s enjoys a slight height advantage in the paint, and they need to use it.

Don’t Send Shooters to the Line. At the very least, St. John’s have to make the Golden Eagles work for their points. No foolish fouls on jump shooters. This team will knock them down.

Prediction: I’ll get one of these right. Marquette 67, St. John’s 61.

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.

Sunshowers

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Ambiance: Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band, Sunshowers (video link, pops up in a new window. The source for a number of songs you may have heard)

Well, maybe it’s better to follow up the home loss to Seton Hall at Carnesecca Arena with a game at South Florida.  The weather’s nicer, there are fewer hometown distractions and two of the Red Storm’s 10 road wins in Norm Roberts’ stewardship happened at the Sun Dome.

Dominique Jones, South Florida. By St. Petersberg Times

But unlike the Bulls of old, South Florida is unlikely to cooperate with their role as the league’s 98-pound weakling.  In fact, South Florida is one of the best stories in the Big East, a team rising to competitiveness from nothing.  A basketball team with very little tradition (and an 18-year drought from the NCAA tournament), only in the Big East because their up-and-coming football program was desirable.

Those Bulls are firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble.  The Bulls will be favored at home – that’s what beating Virginia, Seton Hall, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, along with a road win over top-ten Georgetown – will do.  Dominique Jones had been a lone star, carrying the team on his own.

Now, he has some help.  Coach Stan Heath has cobbled together JUCOs, transfers, and unheralded players into a competitive unit with ballooning dreams.  The Bulls hope to dispatch St. John’s quickly and concentrate on the kind of streak that will get them on the national stage for once.

According to the NY Post, there will be some punishment for St. John’s starters DJ Kennedy and Sean Evans for their role in a post-game altercation after the Seton Hall loss.  I assume they will play, but one never knows how harsh a punishment might be announced with an athletic administration so concerned with the “culture” of the program (i.e., not looking thuggish).

Whatever the punishment is, and whoever plays, the game won’t be easy.  Can the Red Storm put a damper on South Florida’s aspirations?

Game Information

Tip Off: 12:00 PM, Saturday, February 20
Location: Sun Dome
TV: SNY
Radio: Bloomberg 1130

Team Reviews

South Florida (16-9, 6-7)

3 PG Chris Howard JR 6’3 200: 10.1 ppg* 3.8 rpg* 3.8 apg

20 G Dominique Jones SR 6’4 205: 21.8 ppg* 6.2 rpg* 4.2 apg* 1.8 spg* 35% 3PT

33 G Mike Mercer JR 6’4 190: 8.7 ppg* 4.2 rpg

24 F-C Augustus “Gus” Gilchrist JR 6’10 235: 16.7 ppg* 6.9 rpg* 1.1 bpg* 51.5% FG* 62.5% 3PT

31 F-C Jarrid Famous JR 6’11 240: 11.6 ppg* 7.8 rpg* 54.2% FG

Bench

32 F Toarlyn Fitzpatrick JR 6’8 230: 22.7 mpg* 4.9 ppg* 5.1 rpg

10 G Anthony Crater JR 6’3 202: 27.5 mpg* 3.6 ppg* 1.7 apg* 1.7 rpg

11 C Alex Rivas SR 6’10 230: 7 mpg* .8 ppg* 1.7 rpg

The Bulls go about 7 or 8 deep, and will be welcoming center Jarrid Famous back from a slight knee injury.  Also back is Gus Gilchrist, who missed some time with an ankle injury.  Without them, Jarrid Famous and Toarlyn Fitzpatrick stepped their games up and were excellent post defenders and role players; the Bulls have a tall, deep group of forwards to complement the star scorer Dominique Jones (who is getting NBA looks) and lead guards Chris Howard and Anthony Crater.

South Florida does not shoot the three-ball, and that’s probably good, because they shoot them poorly.  That might change with the return of Gilchrist.  And for a team with such height, they have not been spectacular rebounders in conference play, or particularly good at stopping the other team from scoring. The Bulls have been winning with a few defensive stops and the power of the efficient Dominique Jones (and the team’s ability to get to the free throw line).

For more on the Bulls, let’s listen to Ken, a blogger from the Voodoo 5/ AstroBull site:

Chris Howard and Anthony Crater man the point most of the time for the Bulls, with Dominique Jones taking care of the ball every so often. Howard is the last holdover from the Robert McCullum era, and after coming back from two ACL tears, is finally coming into his own. Howard has done a good job this season distributing the ball. He will make a boneheaded pass once or twice a game, but most kids will. Howard does a really, really good at posting up smaller guards, and will hit a kick-out three if he is open.

Crater is quite possibly the quickest guard in USF history. He is starting to come into his own offensively, but his defense is what keeps him on the court. He creates havoc on opposing points, and you can count on him getting to one pass that no one should really have a chance at. His three-point shooting is lacking, but he is in there for defensive purposes and most teams know it.

Mike Mercer is an athletic 6’6 wing who gets his points driving to the basket and causing contact. He is also another guy who will get in your face defensively. He’s also good for one great dunk a night.

I think the reason we haven’t had much of a bench, is because we haven’t played with a healthy team all season. Once everyone is healthy, you should see Rivas, Fitzpatrick, and Crater as our three off the bench. If Ryan Kardok is in, something has gone horribly wrong.

Overall the three bigs along with Alex Rivas have brought stability to the post. The guys be more aggressive on the defensive end has been a huge plus since they know that there will be a quality guy coming in if they get in foul trouble.

With Gus [Gilchrist], the big thing was finding out that was anemic over offseason conditioning. An iron supplement later and he has improved 100%. He is out best shooter on the team, and with his range, it allows Jones or Mike Mercer to get to the basket a little easier with one of the teams bigs out on the top of the key. He’s starting to get back into the swing of things since his injury back in December, but it will be a work in progress the rest of the season

Jarrid Famous has been fantastic in he low post. He uses his athleticism to gain position on slower guys down low, and there have been a few times where he has led the fast break and throws it down. He does try to go out to 10-15 feet, but hasn’t had much success finding his jump shot. He is prone to get into some foul trouble, but it hasn’t been much of a problem with the added depth. He did sit out against our game Tuesday vs. Cincinnati, but the MRI showed no damage and Heath said he will be good to go Saturday.

Fitzpatrick has been by far the biggest surprise on the team this season. Most thought he was going to be an afterthought this season, but with Gilchrist getting hurt he was thrown into the fire and has held his own down low.

St. John’s (14-11, 4-9)

3 PG Malik Boothe JR 5’9 188: 4.2 ppg* 2.2 apg

23 G Paris Horne JR 6’3 191: 8.3 ppg* 2.9 rpg* 34.9% 3PT

1 G-F DJ Kennedy JR 6’5 215: 14.4 ppg* 6.6 rpg* 3.1 apg* 33% 3PT* 1.2 spg

2 G-F Anthony Mason Jr. SR 6’7 210: 6.5 ppg* 5.1 rpg* 1.0 bpg

5 F Sean Evans JR 6’8 255: 6.9 ppg* 5.9 rpg

Bench:

12 G Dwight Hardy JR 6′2 187: 22.8 mpg* 10.8 ppg* 40% 3PT

32 F Justin Brownlee JR 6′7 232: 19.3 mpg* 6.8 ppg* 5.1 rpg

24 F Justin Burrell JR 6’8 235: 18.9 mpg* 6.8 ppg* 3.6 rpg* 51% FG* 36.4% 3PT

31 PG Malik Stith FR 5’11 185: 12.3 mpg* 1.8 ppg* 1.3 apg

15 F-C Dele Coker JR 6’10 253: 9.1 mpg* 2 ppg* 1.8 rpg* 1 bpg* 66.7% FG

As mentioned earlier, the status of Sean Evans and DJ Kennedy for Saturday’s game is uncertain.  Supposedly, no punches were thrown, so they should be able to play.  If not, I would expect some combination of Justin Burrell, Dele Coker, and possibly Dwight Hardy starting (I would bet more on the first two, given the size of the Bulls lineup).

Anthony Mason Jr.’s return to form has been slow.  And as a whole, the team’s ability to shoot jump shots from the floor or from distance has been poor, with the exception of Justin Burrell and end-of-game looks from Dwight Hardy. The team needs to refocus and bring the energy and confidence they had at Notre Dame to South Florida.

Keys to the Game

Slow Dominique. Jones is obviously the team star.  And he’s very hard to stop.  But he can be slowed down with team defense and occasional traps.  Marquette did a decent job getting him to give the ball up to other players, who shot poorly.

Defend the Drive (And Run Outs). While Dominique Jones can go off and score in bunches, the Bulls can be slowed down when the other players are made to take more than their share of shots under duress.  Moreover, the team is much more dangerous when they get to take shots inside the arc and going to the basket.  If St. John’s can defend the driving players, they will likely force guys like Anthony Crater, Chris Howard and Mike Mercer to take three-point shots (again, preferably under duress).  Howard shoots 29% on the season but takes 39% of his shots from beyond the arc; Crater shoots 14% from the three but has taken 71% of his shots from beyond the arc.

Run Some Offense. The opportunities to run and score in transition won’t be plentiful.  St. John’s has to run some offense, get shooters good looks (Horne in the corner, Hardy off of screens), and use the post play that they have in Burrell and Sean Evans (at times).  The forwards for South Florida are big, but they can be put in foul trouble if the Red Storm players move actively, create mismatches, and aggressively attack when they have chances.

Post Position. St. John’s has to look for second chance points in this game, and rebound on defense to minimize second chance points.  It’s one of the things the Bulls are mediocre at, and something that St. John’s is good at when they concentrate.  Keeping the Bulls in check on the blocks – by keeping them out of preferred positions – will minimize their ability to do damage from in close, as well.

Defend Without Fouling. Note that one thing the Bulls do very well is get to the free throw line – they average 25 attempts from the line per game.  Some of that is due to being ahead in the late stages of the game, but it’s still impressive.

Prediction: I predict a road loss, South Florida 67, St. John’s 59.

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.

Carnesecca Curse is Killed

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NEW YORK — Things couldn’t have been any bleaker for Seton Hall.

There was a 20-minute delay at the start because of a broken shot clock. The Pirates were on the road, where they hadn’t won yet in the Big East. They were playing St. John’s at Carnesecca Arena rather than Madison Square Garden. Their backup point guard and senior leader was out with a wrist injury. Their leading scorer injured his shooting hand 12 minutes into the game.

That’s right. They won.

Jeff Robinson had 16 points and nine rebounds to lead Seton Hall to a 59-50 victory over St. John’s on Wednesday night.

Bobby Gonzalez finally got the monkey off his back that he couldn't win in Carnesecca Arena. (Icon SMI)
“This is one of my favorite wins of my lifetime,” Pirates coach Bobby Gonzalez said. “We beat Florida in the NCAAs when I was at Manhattan. We beat Louisville here against Rick Pitino, an idol of mine. But this ranks up there. We got 15 wins and are tied for eighth in the conference. It was our first road win. There were so many things. We proved we could play without Jeremy (Hazell) and Eugene (Harvey). We won a game at Carnesecca Arena over a metropolitan area rival. This was big. This was special. They’ll remember this for a long time.”

Hazell, the Big East’s second-leading scorer at 22.4 points per game, suffered a deep cut between fingers on his shooting hand 12 minutes into the game and never returned. He scored the first eight points of the game for Seton Hall (15-9, 6-7) and finished with 10.

Hazell didn’t know he was bleeding and continued to play with a trail of blood following him up and down the court for a couple of trips. At a stoppage, one of the officials noticed the blood and called for it to be cleaned up. That’s when Hazell, and everyone else, realized he was bleeding.

“He doesn’t know how it happened,” Gonzalez said of Hazell, who was unavailable after the game as he was being tended to by the trainer. “He was stitched up. We’ll see the doctor tomorrow and figure out what happens from there. I’m going to church and pray a little bit.”

Robinson picked up for Hazell, even emulating him from 3-point range.

The 6-foot-6 junior transfer from Memphis came into the game 0 for 7 from 3-point range and hadn’t even attempted one since Jan. 21. He made 2 of 3 and finished one point off his season high.

“I knew at some point he would make a 3. It’s the law of averages,” Gonzalez said. “I didn’t think he’d make two in a row.”

Robinson, who scored the first five points, including his second 3, of a 9-1 run that gave the Pirates a 49-35 lead with 5:57 left, was working on that shot recently.

“I don’t know, I just felt confident and I just took the shots,” he said. “I’ve been working a lot. I’ve been coming in the gym, shooting a lot on my own to get prepared for this game. … I started off slow from 3 but I’ve been working on it and it paid off in this game.”

Robinson made sure his teammates knew they could win even without Hazell.

“We huddled up, the five that was on the court, and we said `Guys, we don’t have Jeremy on this one so we’ve got to come together, get stops and play hard.”

Sean Evans, who had a total of six points in his last three games, had 14 points for the Red Storm (14-11, 4-9), who like Seton Hall came in on a two-game winning streak.

St. John’s, which missed its first 11 3-point attempts, finished with a season-low point total.

“There’ll be no pity party. They played better than us and beat us and we’ll move on to the next one,” said St. John’s coach Norm Roberts, who heard chant of “Fire Roberts” in the final minutes. “Sometimes you want something too bad. At times we got tight and didn’t make it happen. It just didn’t happen for us.”

Courtesy of Associated Press