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.

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

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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.

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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.