Interesting point;
Even in the wins, St. John's finds themselves unable to maintain the same defensive effectiveness. Is it playing from behind? Maybe not - the Johnnies held leads in both of their wins and against Providence. Is it the offensive inefficiency? Maybe not - the team had better scoring second halves than firsts against Connecticut, Syracuse, Louisville, and Providence.
Digging deeper, the Johnnies are allowing a higher percentage of shots to be taken outside of the arc in the second half of these games (36% of shots vs 32% of shots) and allowing a far higher success rate. The Johnnies hold opponents to 26% on threes in the first half, but that number balloons to just under 47% shooting outside of the arc in the second stanza.
(If you're wondering, teams are shooting slightly better at the rim in second halves - 55% opposed to 52% in the first half, as well. Less of a significant difference than the three-point disparity.)
“@ECoastBias: Marquette/ St. John's pregame info, plus a look at #stjbb's second half struggles:
http://sbn.to/XYzEOq”