Busting Brackets
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Big East Basketball: Power ranking the conference (Nov. 22 – Nov. 28)

By Lukas Harkins

CINCINNATI, OH - NOVEMBER 13: Xavier Musketeers players react from the bench in the second half of a game against the Rider Broncs at Cintas Center on November 13, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Xavier won 101-75. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - NOVEMBER 13: Xavier Musketeers players react from the bench in the second half of a game against the Rider Broncs at Cintas Center on November 13, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Xavier won 101-75. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 09: Head coach Mullin of the St. John’s Red Storm looks on from the bench against the Villanova Wildcats during the Big East Basketball Tournament – Quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden on March 9, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 09: Head coach Mullin of the St. John’s Red Storm looks on from the bench against the Villanova Wildcats during the Big East Basketball Tournament – Quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden on March 9, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

This past week, St. John’s spent their time playing in the AdvoCare Invitational. There were times where it was not pretty, but the squad did come away with a solid 2-1 record. Their opening game came against the Oregon State Beavers. In what was a reasonably high-scoring game, the Red Storm relied on their star sophomores from start to finish. Shamorie Ponds led the way with 26 points for the team but Marcus LoVett was not too far behind, chipping in 18 of his own. Despite trailing at halftime, the Red Storm surged ahead in the second half for a five-point victory.

In their next game of the week, the team faced off against Missouri. Although many expected Missouri to struggle without their star player Michael Porter Jr. (who is now out for the season), the Tigers responded well in this game to defeat the Red Storm. Ponds (31 points) and LoVett (14 points) once again were among the leaders for St. John’s, but their defense allowed Missouri to shoot 51.9% from three in the 90-82 loss.

Lastly, the team bounced back with a quality win over Central Florida to end the AdvoCare Invitational. This game was headlined by poor shooting on both ends of the floor. While St. John’s struggled tremendously to get the ball in the basket at 27.1% from the field, UCF was just as bad, connecting on only 26.4% of their shots. In the end, though, St. John’s proved to out-will the Knights for the 46-43 victory. UCF is expected to be one of the top teams in the AAC and this will go down as a very solid win.

Schedule for this week:

  • Sacred Heart (2-4) at St. John’s on Dec. 2
  • Grand Canyon (4-1) vs. St. John’s on Dec. 5 in Phoenix, AZ
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