Preview
February in the Big East is no time for on the job training, but that's what the St. John's Redmen must endure as the grind of the season takes its toll on an all-freshman starting lineup and just seven eligible scholarship athletes.
When the teams met on Jan. 15, St. John's was showing signs of life, with a .500 record and a two point win over Cincinnati to show progress. Since Jan. 15, however, St. John's has lost four of six, falling by an average of 21 points in its three Big East road games. No Big East game is to be taken lightly, however, as was the case when West Virginia lost to St. John's by 16 at Madison Square Garden. But on the road, and without its head coach on the sidelines, St. John's presents an opportunity for Georgetown to regain momentum heading into a two game road trip that could set itself up for a a strong finish and seeding for the Big East tournament.
Almost all of St. John's scoring will come from six freshmen--the remainder of the bench averages just four points a game. Point guard Phil Greene has picked up his scoring in the last three games, averaging 12 points a game with a 41 percent shooting average, up from 30 percent a month ago. Greene must help control turnovers for a St. John's lineup that is near the bottom of the conference in turnover margin. Shooting guard D'Angelo Harrison has taken over the scoring mantle for St. John's, averaging 22.5 points a game over his last six games, particularly from outside, where he has been shooting at a 53.3% rate. Harrison was held to a woeful 1-12 from the field by Jason Clark, and Georgetown fans shouldn't expect a repeat, but a strong defensive effort is essential.
Up front, St. John's struggles with size and ball control. Forward Moe Harkless may be in line for Big East freshman of the year, but he's a forward playing center and it's taken some wind out of his scoring in recent games, shooting 2-8 in the loss to a taller Cincinnati team. Forwards Sir Dominic Pointer (6-5) and Amir Garrett (6-6) were a combined 6-17 vs. Cincinnati and have to be counted upon to do better, but will be facing taller Georgetown lines to do it. 6-8 God'sGift Achiuwa has become a sixth man after starting 18 games--capable of big games, he has not been effective creating shots and has been more effective on defense.
Georgetown needs to shake off the disappointment of the Syracuse game and get back to work.
Keys to the game follow those from the Jan. 15 game:
Turnover Margin: St. John's has a negative turnover margin and good defense will open the door for Georgetown to pull away.
Height And Might: Go inside.
Free Throws: St. John's continues to pick up a number of points at the line. Avoiding the inside fouls can lessen free throws as a potential factor late.
Jason Clark: Clark's defense against Harrison was superb last month--another strong effort would be a great step forward for GU to establish an early and consistent lead.
Moe Harkless: Containing Harkless limits second chance possessions for St. John's and with it, keep the Redmen from gaining hope for an upset.
February in the Big East is no time for on the job training, but that's what the St. John's Redmen must endure as the grind of the season takes its toll on an all-freshman starting lineup and just seven eligible scholarship athletes.
When the teams met on Jan. 15, St. John's was showing signs of life, with a .500 record and a two point win over Cincinnati to show progress. Since Jan. 15, however, St. John's has lost four of six, falling by an average of 21 points in its three Big East road games. No Big East game is to be taken lightly, however, as was the case when West Virginia lost to St. John's by 16 at Madison Square Garden. But on the road, and without its head coach on the sidelines, St. John's presents an opportunity for Georgetown to regain momentum heading into a two game road trip that could set itself up for a a strong finish and seeding for the Big East tournament.
Almost all of St. John's scoring will come from six freshmen--the remainder of the bench averages just four points a game. Point guard Phil Greene has picked up his scoring in the last three games, averaging 12 points a game with a 41 percent shooting average, up from 30 percent a month ago. Greene must help control turnovers for a St. John's lineup that is near the bottom of the conference in turnover margin. Shooting guard D'Angelo Harrison has taken over the scoring mantle for St. John's, averaging 22.5 points a game over his last six games, particularly from outside, where he has been shooting at a 53.3% rate. Harrison was held to a woeful 1-12 from the field by Jason Clark, and Georgetown fans shouldn't expect a repeat, but a strong defensive effort is essential.
Up front, St. John's struggles with size and ball control. Forward Moe Harkless may be in line for Big East freshman of the year, but he's a forward playing center and it's taken some wind out of his scoring in recent games, shooting 2-8 in the loss to a taller Cincinnati team. Forwards Sir Dominic Pointer (6-5) and Amir Garrett (6-6) were a combined 6-17 vs. Cincinnati and have to be counted upon to do better, but will be facing taller Georgetown lines to do it. 6-8 God'sGift Achiuwa has become a sixth man after starting 18 games--capable of big games, he has not been effective creating shots and has been more effective on defense.
Georgetown needs to shake off the disappointment of the Syracuse game and get back to work.
Keys to the game follow those from the Jan. 15 game:
Turnover Margin: St. John's has a negative turnover margin and good defense will open the door for Georgetown to pull away.
Height And Might: Go inside.
Free Throws: St. John's continues to pick up a number of points at the line. Avoiding the inside fouls can lessen free throws as a potential factor late.
Jason Clark: Clark's defense against Harrison was superb last month--another strong effort would be a great step forward for GU to establish an early and consistent lead.
Moe Harkless: Containing Harkless limits second chance possessions for St. John's and with it, keep the Redmen from gaining hope for an upset.
