PREVIEW
With the bulk of the Big East conference race ahead of the Georgetown Hoyas, games like St. John's are opportunities to survive and advance. At 10-6, facing a winless team in the conference, it's a necessity.
With just six Division I wins this season, Chris Mullin's rebuilding effort will be a long one at St. John's, where nearly the entire team and all but one member of the coaching staff turned over from Steve Lavin's 20-12 season in 2014-15. When the Redmen are good they can be very good, as was the case in a 12 point win over Syracuse. This has also been a team routed by Incarnate Word and who lost badly to NJIT, yet has defeated Georgetown in each of the last two seasons at the Garden. It's a game both teams need, for many different reasons.
The Redmen will play small ball in this game following the injury to center Yankuba Sima, the Big East's leader in blocked shots. Guards Federico Mussini and Felix Balamou figure to take plenty of shots, but the scoring is more likely from reserve guards Durand Johnson and Malik Ellison. Johnson, a fifth year transfer from Pitt, led the Redmen with 18 in its loss to Marquette, while Ellison had eight points and six rebounds in 18 minutes of action in that game. Both figure to focus on defense, an area where St. John's has been deficient much of the season.
A number of unfamiliar faces await the Hoyas in the frontcourt. Forwards Ron Mvouika and Kassoum Yakwe have been inconsistent in recent games, though Mvouika has scored in double figures in each of the prior two games. Although SJU is not expected to start anyone over 6-7, sophomore forward Amar Alibegovic (6-9) needs a big game--he has been invisible on the boards in recent games, with just six rebounds in Big East play.
Georgetown's grinding inconsistency in games this year continues to confound coaches and fans alike. Isaac Copeland has struggled of late, while L.J. Peak is best while coming off the bench. D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera averages 15.3 points a game but just 3.6 points in the first half over the last three games. St. John's offers the opportunity for the Hoyas to put points on the board against the Big East's lowest ranked offense, but it has not shown an ability to do so.
KEYS TO THE GAME:
Bench Points: Georgetown has a sizable advantage from its bench, and it must use it.
Inside Play: can St. John's successfully defend a taller Georgetown group inside?
Turnovers: St. John's is a surprising third in turnover margin, Georgetown eighth.
Local Kids: It's unusual that St. John's does not have a single New York area product on its roster. A pair of local products, Queens area product Jessie Govan and New Jersey's Reggie Cameron, stand ready to step it up.
Georgetown stumbled in this series before and a win over the Hoyas, whether 16-0 or 10-6, will make waves in the New York market and be seen as validation for Mullin's rebuilding efforts. Those wins may come later this season, but Georgetown must do what it can to win the games is is supposed to, as the tougher games loom on the schedule.
--hoyasaxa
With the bulk of the Big East conference race ahead of the Georgetown Hoyas, games like St. John's are opportunities to survive and advance. At 10-6, facing a winless team in the conference, it's a necessity.
With just six Division I wins this season, Chris Mullin's rebuilding effort will be a long one at St. John's, where nearly the entire team and all but one member of the coaching staff turned over from Steve Lavin's 20-12 season in 2014-15. When the Redmen are good they can be very good, as was the case in a 12 point win over Syracuse. This has also been a team routed by Incarnate Word and who lost badly to NJIT, yet has defeated Georgetown in each of the last two seasons at the Garden. It's a game both teams need, for many different reasons.
The Redmen will play small ball in this game following the injury to center Yankuba Sima, the Big East's leader in blocked shots. Guards Federico Mussini and Felix Balamou figure to take plenty of shots, but the scoring is more likely from reserve guards Durand Johnson and Malik Ellison. Johnson, a fifth year transfer from Pitt, led the Redmen with 18 in its loss to Marquette, while Ellison had eight points and six rebounds in 18 minutes of action in that game. Both figure to focus on defense, an area where St. John's has been deficient much of the season.
A number of unfamiliar faces await the Hoyas in the frontcourt. Forwards Ron Mvouika and Kassoum Yakwe have been inconsistent in recent games, though Mvouika has scored in double figures in each of the prior two games. Although SJU is not expected to start anyone over 6-7, sophomore forward Amar Alibegovic (6-9) needs a big game--he has been invisible on the boards in recent games, with just six rebounds in Big East play.
Georgetown's grinding inconsistency in games this year continues to confound coaches and fans alike. Isaac Copeland has struggled of late, while L.J. Peak is best while coming off the bench. D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera averages 15.3 points a game but just 3.6 points in the first half over the last three games. St. John's offers the opportunity for the Hoyas to put points on the board against the Big East's lowest ranked offense, but it has not shown an ability to do so.
KEYS TO THE GAME:
Bench Points: Georgetown has a sizable advantage from its bench, and it must use it.
Inside Play: can St. John's successfully defend a taller Georgetown group inside?
Turnovers: St. John's is a surprising third in turnover margin, Georgetown eighth.
Local Kids: It's unusual that St. John's does not have a single New York area product on its roster. A pair of local products, Queens area product Jessie Govan and New Jersey's Reggie Cameron, stand ready to step it up.
Georgetown stumbled in this series before and a win over the Hoyas, whether 16-0 or 10-6, will make waves in the New York market and be seen as validation for Mullin's rebuilding efforts. Those wins may come later this season, but Georgetown must do what it can to win the games is is supposed to, as the tougher games loom on the schedule.
--hoyasaxa
