St. John’s had a successful non-conference, but now is battling tough teams and injuries with the start of Big East play. Can the Red Storm pull it together against a ranked Seton Hall team?
TV schedule: Sunday, Dec. 31, 5:00 p.m. ET. FS1
Arena: Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey
Although conference action is just getting started, St. John’s 10-3 (0-1) is in big trouble right now. The Red Storm has been playing without its second-leading scorer Marcus LoVett for over a month with a knee injury. They’ve been staying afloat since until the Big East opener against a Providence team that’s been battling injuries of their own as of late.
The Friars defeated St. John’s, 94-72, thanks to a 53-point second half breakout. Not only was it a blowout loss at home, but Shamorie Ponds, who 16 points in the loss, injured his knee in the game and is now listed day-to-day. When healthy, Ponds and LoVett form one of the better backcourts in the country, but now there’s a legit chance neither player will be available for this game.
That puts St. John’s head coach Chris Mullins and his team at a severe disadvantage against the No. 23 ranked Seton Hall Pirates 12-2 (1-0), who were coming off a big win against No. 25 ranked Creighton, 90-84.
The first half didn’t start well defensively for the Pirates, which has been a staple of head coach’s Kevin Willard’s programs. The team gave up 53 first-half points and trailed by double-digits. But the tide turned in the second half, led by the upperclassmen of Desi Rodriquez (23 points), Khadeen Carrington (18 points), and Angel Delgado (18 points and 14 rebounds), Seton Hall allowed just 31 points to the Blue Jays and scored a bunch of their own in the comeback win. Sophomore Miles Powell also chipped in with 17. The four combined for 76 of the team’s 90 total points.
Without potentially both Ponds and LoVett, the scoring responsibilities for St. John’s will fall upon Bashir Ahmed and Arizona transfer Justin Simon, as well as Marvin Clark who led the team with 20 points in the last game.
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This game isn’t a guaranteed loss for the Red Storm, as the Pirates can go on offensive droughts of their own. The key is to get the game into the 60s for St. John’s to have any chance of winning. It’s possible, but Delgado will likely be too much for the opposing frontcourt to endure. The Pirates should go 2-0 to start league play.
Prediction: Seton Hall 78 – St. John’s 63