After a one game hiatus due to school work and my money making job, I am back to provide a preview for the upcoming game against Duke. Unfortunately, it seems the St. John’s basketball team is taking the rest of the season off. The Johnnies have followed up their 3 game winning streak by losing 3 in a row, putting themselves out of the Big East Tournament picture. But then again according to the head coach of St. John’s, “not making the Big East Tournament is not a disappointment”. I ask how does one root for a team to win, when their coach claims that losing games is not a disappointment.
Not only is St. John’s losing, but they are getting embarrassed in the process. They have lost by an average of 15 points per game during this skid. Scoring has been the problem, as the Johnnies have put up 20, 13, and 24 in the 1st half of these games. I don’t care how well you defend; you are not winning a game in the Big East on those numbers. Plain and simple, the team can’t shoot the ball. It doesn’t help there is no structure to the offense and the players rarely get open shots. Like Mike Francesa said earlier this week, it is one thing to be a bad team, but when you are ‘bad and boring’ you have problems. This is true, especially considering only 6,413 people showed up at the Garden on Wednesday. Basketball in general is becoming an afterthought in this city, both professionally and here at St. John’s. It really is a shame. I have given up on complaining about this team, mainly because it would just be a waste of breath. Until I see changes made within the entire program, there is no point of even getting worked up after bad losses. Hopefully if the lopsided scores keep piling up, there will actually be changes made around here. At least the media has started to take notice of how bad this program continues to be. The more exposure this awful situation gets, the better off the team will be in the long run.
As for the upcoming game, the best advice would be not to watch; even though that is something I still can’t do at this point. This game against Duke in Cameron Indoor will make the last 3 games look as good as Jessica Simpson. Not only is St. John’s sending 8 freshmen into the rowdiest arena in the country, but they are about to go up against a team and a coach who are not exactly in the best of moods. The #4 Blue Devils have lost two straight games for the first time this season, with both losses coming on the road at Wake Forest and Miami. This is not exactly like losing to UNC for the Dukies, so I can guarantee Coach K has ripped into his team and will have them fired up Saturday afternoon back at home. The Johnnies scored 10 points in the 1st half last season against Duke. But that game was at the Garden and the Johnnies were much better. So my only prediction for this game is this: Watch out St. Louis, the Johnnies are coming for your record.
BEG FOR MERCY.
On Saturday February 23th, the Red Storm of St. John’s University travel to Durham to take on the Blue Devils of Duke University. This non-conference game is scheduled for 4:00pm at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The game can be seen live nationally on CBS and heard on WFAN 660-AM.
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