With their NCAA tournament hopes on the line, the St. John’s Red Storm (16-12, 8-8) headed up to Rhode Island to face the Providence Friars (16-12, 8-8.)

The Storm would be without their top scorer D’Angelo Harrison. The sophomore was suspended for the remainder of the season due to conduct detrimental to the team.

With a 6-0 run out of the gate, St. John’s looked to be off to a hot start. The Friars turned right around with a streak of their own, and after 3 minutes the teams were knotted with 6 points apiece.

Marco Bourgault and the Red Storm struggled from beyond the arc, going 0-5 in the first half. One of those opportunities for Bourgault was an open three that could have extended the 19-13 St. John’s lead with 9 to go in the first.

The cold three point shooting proved costly, as it allowed Providence to catchup to the Storm. With the Storm struggling to score, the Friars were able to go on a 9-2 run as the half wound down.

As a result of the poor shooting, neither team was able to pull away during the first 20 minutes of play. St. John’s went into halftime with a minor 27-26 edge.

With the rest of his teammates struggling, JaKarr Sampson was key to the early Storm lead, dropping 11 of his team high 22 points in the first half.

While Sampson was a bight spot for the Storm, he was bettered by Bryce Cotton of the Friars. Cotton hit four three pointers in the second half for 12 of his game high 24 points.

St. John’s did their best to keep pace with the big buckets from Cotton and the Friars. Both teams were even for the majority of the second half, with St. John’s holding a 55-53 lead in the last 4 minutes.

But as he had done so often, Cotton nailed a three to give Providence the one point edge. The Storm had plenty of chances to tie it up, but they went into the last minute of play still trailing by three.

Chris Obekpa was able to get to the line with 40 seconds to go, missing both free throws. St. John’s was able to rebound the second miss and send it out to Jamal Branch, who missed the three.

The misses from three would end up factoring heavily into the final score, with Providence winning it 62-59. The Storm hit just 1-10 three point attempts.

Sir’Dom Pointer recorded his fourth career double double, scoring 13 points while pulling down 10 rebounds. Sampson led the team with his 22 points.

With fading chances of an NCAA tournament bid, St. John’s will look to salvage their hopes when they head out to play the #21 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, a team they have already beaten this season.

St. John’s has had a strange week. From playing a good 20+ minutes against Pittsburgh on Sunday before being outplayed the rest of the second half to Orlando Sanchez gaining his year of eligibility for next year. But nothing was stranger than waking up Friday morning and hearing leading scorer D’Angelo Harrison has been suspended by the team for the rest of the season. Harrison is being suspended because of conduct detrimental to the team an will not play in the rest of the regular or any postseason games this year.

With all that transpiring the Johnnies will head north to Providence where their tournament dreams hang in the balance and will be without their 17.8 points per game scorer.

Last season the young Johnnies put a beating on Providence in their first game of the Big East season at Carnesecca Arena where Moe Harkless broke the Big East scoring record for points in the first conference game at 32. The Johnnies rolled 81-67 to start an up and down year to say the least.

The Red Storm holds the series edge at 57-42 but the Friars have won 12 of the last 16 contests between the teams dating all the way back to 2001.

Game Information
Date: Sunday, March 2nd, 2013
Location: Dunkin’ Donuts Center- Providence, RI
Time: 8:00 PM EST
TV: SNY
Radio: WBBR 1130 AM (John Minko, Brandon Tierney)

Providence Friars  (15-12, 7-8)
Head Coach: Ed Cooley

The Friars come into their lone matchup this season with the Red Storm on a hot streak. The Friars have won four of their last five including big victories over Cincinnati, Notre Dame and at Villanova. After starting the Big East season losing four of five it looked like another down year for the Friars and Ed Cooley. But the Friars have been able to turn their season around and look for another big win against a good team.

Bryce Cotton is the player to watch for the Friars averaging 20.2 points per game in 37 minutes shooting at a 45% clip from the field. Cotton had 22 points in 39 minutes in a win at Rutgers last Saturday. Cotton shoots well from the field and will be a problem for whoever has to clamp down on him defensively. In such a big game like this for both teams it would not surprise anyone if Cotton wants to go off and send the Johnnies packing while putting Providence on the bubble.

As for the front court of the Friars is filled with two big boys, Kadeem Batts and LaDontae Henton. Batts and Henton both score in double figures at 14.8 and 13.7 a game respectively. Henton rebounds a bit better at 8.3 rebounds per game to Batts’ seven per game. Henton and Batts will be a big matchup for the Red Storm forwards to deal with and can cause problems on the glass which has been a Red Storm weakness.

Projected Starting Lineup:
F Kadeem Batts
F LaDontae Henton
G Kris Dunn
G Bryce Cotton
G Vincent Council

St. John’s (16-11, 8-7)
Head Coach: Steve Lavin

The Red Storm is going to need to figure out what kind of team they are and fast when they arrive at Providence. Down their leading scorer it will be important to see who will take over his role in the starting lineups and who will take the shots. Harrison was struggling on the court lately but his presence was still very important to this team.

Jamal Branch returned on Sunday against Pitt but was limited to just three minutes off his MCL injury. It will be important for him if he is 100% to be the new floor general. If Branch has an open shot or a lane to drive it is now in his hands. It is rough to ask that of a kid who has only played 11 games with this team because of injury and transfer rules. But if he is up to the task then he must take the reins of the team.

JaKarr Sampson, the new leading scorer of the team, will probably be taking more shots and teams will be looking more at him defensively. Sampson had a decent outing against Pitt scoring 14 and grabbing six rebounds on 6-11 shooting form the field.

Projected Starting Lineup:
F JaKarr Sampson
F Sir’Dominic Pointer
G Marc-Antoine Bourgault
G Phil Greene
G Jamal Branch

Keys to Victory

•    Battle of the Board: Never Bigger- Providence is a very good rebounding team. At +3 for the season on the boards against opponents the Friars are averaging 37 rebounds a game. The Johnnies are -4 on the glass and are averaging 36 while giving up 40. D’Angelo Harrison was a good rebounding guard so his rebounds will also be missed from here on out. It will be on Chris Obekpa, Sampson and Sir’Dominic Pointer to lead the way.

•    Picking up the Slack- D’Angelo Harrison had been averaging 35 minutes a game this season in 27 games. Those minutes will be distributed elsewhere and whoever is called upon to take those minutes off the bench will have to produce and build an opportunity for themselves down the stretch.

•    Bench– Amir Garrett, Chris Obekpa and others will be looked at as more important now with a player down. Garrett is averaging 5.7 points and 4.4 rebounds a game in 20 minutes. He could see his numbers increase and get a bigger role going forward. If not Garrett it could be Felix Balamou the freshman guard who provided spark off the bench early in the season only to see his minutes and production dwindle.

•    PG4- Phil Greene is also a more important part of this team. Greene had a decent game against Pitt scoring 11 points and shooting 5-13 from the field. Greene can look great in flashes but can also look outplayed in some also. Greene will have to step up and be a leader and get an important road victory that this team sorely
needs.

Final Prediction: Providence Wins, 64-58

The last time St. John’s took the court, it almost produced a result everyone would have loved to forget. Fortunately for the Red Storm and its vast fan base, Texas-Pan American’s attempts to walk away from Queens with a monumental upset of the Johnnies were thwarted by a game-ending 7-0 run from St. John’s. Six days removed from the closest of close calls this team has endured this season, the Red Storm open the 18-game natural selection exhibit known as Big East play when they take on Providence College at home tomorrow night. Below, JohnnyJungle.com gives you all the particulars leading up to the conference opener.

Date: Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Location: Carnesecca Arena; Jamaica, New York
Time: 7:00 PM EST
TV: MSG (Mike Crispino, John Celestand)
Radio: WBBR 1130 AM (John Minko, Tim O’Toole)
Online: WSJURadio.org (Tim Dimas, Jaden Daly)

St. John’s Red Storm (6-5)
Head Coach: Steve Lavin (2nd season at STJ, 27-17; 172-95 overall)

Projected Starting Lineup:
G Phil Greene (6-2 Fr., 6.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 36% FG, 69% FT, 2.2 APG, 1.2 SPG)
G D’Angelo Harrison (6-3 Fr., 14.2 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 36% FG, 34% 3pt, 81% FT, 1.4 APG, 1.5 SPG)
F Sir’Dominic Pointer (6-5 Fr., 6.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 51% FG, 36% 3pt, 47% FT, 1.0 APG, 1.1 SPG)
F God’sgift Achiuwa (6-8 Jr., 12.3 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 57% FG, 50% 3pt, 74% FT, 1.3 BPG)
F Moe Harkless (6-8 Fr., 14.2 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 42% FG, 62% FT, 1.5 APG, 1.7 BPG, 1.6 SPG)

Key Reserves:
G Malik Stith (5-11 Jr., 3.3 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 42% FG, 40% 3pt, 67% FT, 1.4 APG)
F Amir Garrett (6-6 Fr., 3 pts, 2 rebs, 1/2 FG and 1/2 FT in 15 minutes in collegiate debut 12/21 vs. UTPA)

Keys To Victory:
– Take care of the ball. In today’s pregame press conference, interim coach Mike Dunlap remarked about how impressed he was with Phil Greene’s baptism by fire at the point guard position. Since he is matched up with a point guard that has an assist to turnover ratio of greater than 2:1 in Providence’s Vincent Council, Greene will need to make handling the ball his top priority against a deceptively explosive Providence backcourt.

– The higher power. God’sgift Achiuwa comes into tomorrow night’s game off a career-high 22 points against Texas-Pan American last Wednesday, and will face an inexperienced frontcourt in the post. Providence is reintroducing Kadeem Batts to its lineup after a suspension cost him the first eleven games of the season; and although LaDontae Henton has been explosive out of the gate, he is still only a freshman. Achiuwa and Moe Harkless will be able to employ their size advantage early on if Batts comes off the bench as expected.

– Freshman orientation. In addition to the praise that Phil Greene drew earlier today; Amir Garrett was complimented just as much, and it’s easy to see why. Despite being with the team for only a week since being declared eligible, Garrett has demonstrated the ability to be far more mature than an average person his age. The rookie has used this skill to his advantage in practice, as Mike Dunlap noticed that his character has enabled him to embrace the challenges surrounding the Red Storm easier and faster than he would have expected. However, Garrett is still a work in progress, and should get an increased opportunity to prove himself tomorrow night.

Making the trip down Interstate 95 to open their Big East season against the Red Storm for the second time in four years are the Friars of Providence College.

Providence Friars (11-2)
Head Coach: Ed Cooley (1st season at PC, 11-2; 103-71 overall)

Projected Starting Lineup:
G Vincent Council (6-2 Jr., 16.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 42% FG, 60% FT, 6.9 APG, 1.1 SPG)
G Bryce Cotton (6-1 So., 15.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 47% FG, 43% 3pt, 91% FT, 2.0 APG, 1.3 SPG)
G Gerard Coleman (6-4 So., 15.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 47% FG, 72% FT, 2.2 APG, 1.2 SPG)
F LaDontae Henton (6-6 Fr., 13.1 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 45% FG, 34% 3pt, 65% FT, 1.0 APG, 1.1 BPG, 1.3 SPG)
F Ron Giplaye (6-6 So., 1.6 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 54% FG, 37% FT)

Key Reserves:
F Kadeem Batts (6-9 So., 8.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 64% FG, 25% FT)
F Bilal Dixon (6-9 Jr., 2.9 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 52% FG, 89% FT, 1.1 BPG)
F Brice Kofane (6-8 Fr., 2.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 55% FG, 52% FT, 1.8 BPG)

Keys To Victory:
– Conditioning. Ed Cooley is now the beneficiary of a nine-man rotation now that Kadeem Batts is back in the fold, and four of his starters average 35 or more minutes played per game. Not coincidentally, those four players are all averaging at least thirteen points per night as well. Cooley mentioned in an interview earlier today that he has worked on executions inside the last four minutes of every game; so if this one goes down to the wire, the Friars will have a mental edge based on what they have gone through in practice.

– Ball strong and ball quick. Those were Cooley’s words when asked what the keys to victory would be against a defensively gifted team the likes of St. John’s. The coach mentioned that his team could ill afford to turn the ball over (they have only one more assist than turnovers this season as a team) and could not get outrebounded either. Fortunately for the Friars, they have averaged a plus-5 margin on the glass through thirteen games, pulling down 40 boards while yielding just 35. Sophomore guard Gerard Coleman will be a factor here, as he has played more like a swingman by virtue of Providence’s three-guard lineup. Initially starting the season as a reserve, Coleman’s inclusion into the starting lineup has propelled the Friars to their current seven-game winning streak.

– Flashbacks. On paper, the statistics for sophomore shooting guard Bryce Cotton and freshman forward LaDontae Henton are very impressive. When those numbers translate to the court, however, St. John’s fans will recognize shades of former Red Storm legends in each one. With a 43 percent success rate from three-point range and a 91 percent mark from the free throw line to go with averages of two assists and over one steal per game, Cotton draws comparisons to Dwight Hardy; while Henton’s averages of thirteen points and eight rebounds per game coupled with a 34 percent shooting effort from beyond the arc is enough of a reason to liken the freshman from Michigan to former swingman D.J. Kennedy.

So, Who Wins?
Each team has too much to gain and seemingly just as much to lose going into their second Big East contests on Saturday. Providence continues down Interstate 95 to face Georgetown at the Verizon Center, while the Red Storm go into New England for a collision with reigning national champion Connecticut. If St. John’s is to pull this out, it will not come easy given the thin roster they have to work with throughout the season. However, Providence has not been as battle tested as the Red Storm, with a road victory at Fairfield in the second game of the year serving as the Friars’ signature nonconference matchup. Games are not played on paper, though; and in a game that will come down to the final minute just as last year’s installment of the Red Storm-Friars rivalry did, Providence uses their deceptively explosive offense to get up in their conference opener.

Final Score: Providence 72, St. John’s 68