Nineteen days ago, St. John’s went out to Chicago and picked up a much-needed 87-81 victory against DePaul. Since then, the Red Storm had lost four straight before Saturday’s thrilling 66-63 win over UCLA at Madison Square Garden. On the other side of the court, the Blue Demons are reeling; having lost six straight and eleven of their last twelve, with the one positive highlight being a road win against Rutgers.
It is the final appearance for Carnesecca Arena on the schedule this season, and JohnnyJungle.com will help you bid adieu to the Queens campus with all the vital information leading up to tonight’s opening tip.
Date: Monday, February 20, 2012
Location: Carnesecca Arena; Jamaica, New York
Time: 9:00 PM EST
TV: ESPNU (Carter Blackburn, Tim Welsh)
Radio: WBBR 1130 AM (John Minko, Tim O’Toole)
St. John’s Red Storm (11-16, 4-10)
Head Coach: Steve Lavin* (2nd season at STJ; 32-28, 177-106 overall)
*- Assistant coach Mike Dunlap will serve as interim coach while Lavin recovers from offseason prostate cancer surgery
Projected Starting Lineup:
G Phil Greene (6-2 Fr., 7.7 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 36% FG, 75% FT, 3.0 APG, 1.3 SPG)
G D’Angelo Harrison (6-3 Fr., 16.9 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 38% FG, 38% 3pt, 82% FT, 2.1 APG, 1.6 SPG)
F Amir Garrett (6-6 Fr., 6.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 44% FG, 52% FT, 1.0 APG, 1.1 SPG)
F Sir’Dominic Pointer (6-5 Fr., 6.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 40% FG, 61% FT, 1.5 APG, 1.6 SPG)
F Moe Harkless (6-8 Fr., 15.7 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 44% FG, 66% FT, 1.4 APG, 1.5 BPG, 1.7 SPG)
Key Reserves:
F God’sgift Achiuwa (6-8 Jr., 9.4 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 54% FG, 68% FT)
Keys To Victory:
– Embrace the atmosphere. When filled near or to capacity, Carnesecca Arena is not an easy place to play. The home court advantage created by a fan base that has not seen their team at their true home for two months will be something the Red Storm can feed off of while looking to improve their seeding for the upcoming Big East tournament.
– Moe-mentum. DePaul may have a bigger lineup, but the Blue Demons do not have a big man as productive as Moe Harkless has been for St. John’s. Harkless will use his raw talent and exceptional ability to create opportunities against DePaul that he could not find against teams the likes of Syracuse and Georgetown in recent games.
– 10 & 5. Usually used to describe a baseball player that has earned a full no-trade clause, it applies tonight in that this is the tenth game in which St. John’s has used an all-freshman starting lineup. Although the Red Storm have won just three games in this stretch, Mike Dunlap has positioned this team well with valuable experience that will help the handful of rookies in their sophomore campaign next season.
It’s not quite Knicks-Bulls, but St. John’s faces a group from Chicago with similar intentions of winning.
DePaul Blue Demons (11-15, 2-12)
Head Coach: Oliver Purnell (2nd season at DePaul; 18-39, 412-320 overall)
Projected Starting Lineup:
G Brandon Young (6-3 So., 14.8 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 43% FG, 75% FT, 4.8 APG, 1.5 SPG)
G Charles McKinney (6-3 Fr., 4.3 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 46% FG, 47% FT, 1.3 APG, 1.0 SPG)
G Jamee Crockett (6-4 Fr., 8.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 45% FG, 40% 3pt, 68% FT, 1.1 APG)
F Cleveland Melvin (6-8 So., 17.7 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 45% FG, 62% FT, 1.1 BPG)
C Krys Faber (6-10 Sr., 4.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 56% FG, 83% FT)
Key Reserves:
G Jeremiah Kelly (6-0 Sr., 8.9 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 41% FG, 37% 3pt, 68% FT, 3.8 APG, 1.3 SPG)
F Moses Morgan (6-6 So., 8.3 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 35% FG, 37% 3pt, 71% FT)
G Worrel Clahar (5-11 Jr., 6.4 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 51% FG, 48% 3pt, 82% FT, 2.2 APG, 1.5 SPG)
F Donnavan Kirk (6-9 So., 3.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 44% FG, 82% FT)
Keys To Victory:
– 15. If DePaul is able to finish ahead of Providence, it will be the first time since the 2007-08 season in which the Blue Demons have avoided the cellar in the Big East. Since the conference adopted their current tournament format, DePaul has always been the first team introduced at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday morning for the 12:00 tipoff against the No. 9 seed. At least one win (maybe two) can change that.
– Young at heart. He may not command the same attention reserved for the likes of Jordan Theodore or Scoop Jardine, but Brandon Young belongs in the conversation of best point guards in the conference. The way the sophomore has adjusted from being a shooter to a combo guard to a point man in such a short amount of time has flown under the radar, and the Blue Demons’ second-leading scorer should have his share of opportunities to put up gaudy numbers against the young Red Storm.
Deja vu? Although DePaul hasn’t played St. John’s as well as they had hoped in recent years, their last win over the Red Storm came in this building on January 12, 2008. DePaul was admittedly a better team that year, and the Blue Demons used a 16-0 run midway through the second half to hold off the Norm Roberts-led Red Storm by the final of 60-54.
So, Who Wins?
This could be the last chance for either team to pick up a Big East win with the schedules both St. John’s and DePaul have the rest of the way. For St. John’s, it could be a trap game after how DePaul nearly beat them three weeks ago; while the Blue Demons, who have only won once since upsetting Pittsburgh, need this game to improve seeding in a rare matchup where St. John’s has more to lose than their opponent. Nonetheless, expect a track meet that will slow down late in the second half enough for St. John’s to navigate the waters and come away with their fifth conference win.
Final Score: St. John’s 79, DePaul 70
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