When it has rained it has poured for the St. John’s Red Storm. After leading at halftime on Tuesday night in South Bend against the Irish the Johnnies fell apart in the second half and lost by 26 points, their most embarrassing of the season. Before the final buzzer Sir’Dominic Pointer and Cameron Biedschied of the Irish got into an altercation and punches were thrown. Both players were suspended for one game.
So the Red Storm will face the #15 ranked Golden Eagles on the final day of the regular season without leading scorer D’Angelo Harrison and without the stat sheet stuffer Pointer. The Eagles are coming off a come from behind win at Rutgers and are having a very special season even without former stars Darius Johnson-Odom and Jae
Crowder who were both picked in the 2012 NBA Draft.
Last season the Johnnies were downed by the Eagles, 83-64 on the road.
Game Information
Date: Saturday, March 9th, 2013
Location: Madison Square Garden- New York, NY
Time: 2:00 PM EST
TV: ESPN
Radio: WBBR 1130 AM (John Minko, Brandon Tierney)
Marquette Golden Eagles (22-7, 10-4)
Head Coach: Buzz Williams
Marquette and coach Buzz Williams are lead this season by junior guard Vander Blue. Blue is averaging 14.3 points per game and 3.3 rebounds on 46% shooting from the field this year. Blue has started every game this year for the Eagles and lead the comeback against Rutgers and helped hunt for the #1 seed in the Big East Tournament. Blue had 22 points on 8-16 shooting.
Off the bench for the Eagles might be the Big East Sixth Man of the Year. 6’8 junior forward Davante Gardner is averaging 11.6 points per game off the bench and leads the team averaging 4.7 rebounds. Gardner was ineffective against Rutgers scoring only four points and three rebounds in 18 minutes.
Projected Starting Lineup:
F Juan Anderson
C Chris Otule
G Junior Cadougan
G Vander Blue
G Trent Lockett
St. John’s (16-13, 8-9)
Head Coach: Steve Lavin
It will be a challenge but a challenge that the Red Storm will have to face. Down two of their best players the Johnnies will try and upset the Golden Eagles of Marquette and go into the Big East Tournament looking for a miracle. From on the bubble two weeks ago to sweating out a possible NIT berth the Johnnies will have to be lead by their seasoned sophomores.
Phil Greene, Jamal Branch and Amir Garrett will have to step up in the absence of Pointer and Harrison and make it hard for the Eagles. Branch who has not looked 100% since he came back from a MCL sprain will be important. Against the Irish Branch shot 1-7 from the field while dishing out two assists.
Greene was not much better has he shot 5-14 from the field scoring 10 points an missing all three field goals from deep. Felix Balamou looks to keep getting extended minutes while Marco Bourgault is seeing his time on the court as well as his magic touch from three fading.
Projected Starting Lineup:
F JaKarr Sampson
F Amir Garrett
F Chris Obekpa
G Phil Greene
G Jamal Branch
Keys to Victory
• Sampson Take Over- JaKarr Sampson has become the number one option for this team and while only making five of 15 shots against the Irish he still lead all Johnnies with 12 points and five rebounds. The Johnnies will need a monster game from the freshman to have a chance.
• Backups time to shine- Amir Garrett and Felix Balamou look to be the two players who will see their minutes increase against Marquette. Garrett has had an okay season and Balamou has seen his minutes and production go up and down. Solid production from these two and the Johnnies will have a chance.
• Planting Gardner– Vander Blue is relentless and a great scorer but the Johnnies will have an edge in the front court. They can not allow Gardner to go off and if they can minimize his importance like Rutgers did that can be huge.
• Frustration- Against the Irish you could see the Johnnies start to lose their cool. This will be a good test heading into the postseason to see if they can keep frustration from mounting. Nothing has really gone their way since the calendar has turned to March and it will be important for them to be calm, cool and collected.
Final Prediction: Marquette Wins, 68-55
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