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College basketball in the last weekend of February is all about finishing strong, and it's on the minds of Georgetown and St. John's heading into the 103rd meeting of the classic Big East schools.
Georgetown holds a narrow lead in the race for a second seed in the upcoming Big East tournament, and holds no tiebreakers on the likes of Xavier and Providence. A strong finish keeps the Hoyas out of the bracket with #5-ranked Villanova, who has only won the Big East tournament once in its entire history (1997) but enters March as strong as any recent team.
But the Hoyas also remember a bitter 82-60 walloping at the hands of St. John's last season, reversing a convincing Georgetown win at Verizon Center.
A similar scenario is the hope for St. John's, which has fought its way back into the NCAA discussion and needs one more win to guarantee itself a Big East record of at least .500--in most years, a favorable argument for any at-large bid.
The Redmen have won five of six and are enjoying its best record since the 1999-2000 team that won the Big East title. Its only loss since Feb. 7 was to Georgetown, and revenge is no small factor in this game.
Let's get one thing straight: this is not the St. John's team that laid an egg at Verizon Center last week. The cloud that followed D'Angelo Harrison over three years at 7th and G, shooting a combined 2 for 30, is not there at the home away from home for the Redmen. Harrison has averaged 16 points per game in the last two games, shooting just under 50 percent from the field and 44 percent from three. Harrison's shooting is absolutely essential for St. John's to win, even with four scorers that can each take over a game.
St. John's got its best efforts in that game from guard Phil greene and forward Sir Dominic Pointer, accounting for 34 of St. John's 57 points. Pointer has been especially strong of late, averaging 19.5 points and 9.5 rebounds over his last two games since the Georgetown tilt. Any outside shooting from Pointer is an absolute gift--he is shooting 9 percent from behind the arc this season (2-21).
Another player needing to step up is guard Rysheed Jordan. Jordan's efforts, particularly in ball control sets, is vital for the Big east's top team in turnover margin. Where St. John's has struggled all season is rebounds, where a rotation of big men has been largely ineffective all season. Forward Amar Alibegovic, who had five points in the Georgetown game, gets his third start since that game but has not scored in the previous two games. Even more telling: just two rebounds in 15 total minutes of play.
Georgetown is coming off another one week layover, and must be ready to play at the start. The substitution patterns have been more effective of late, although GU remains vulnerable to mid-game scoring droughts. A strong inside game, from Josh Smith and Mikael Hopkins, would be a potent combination that St. John's would be unable to answer.
Some other keys:
- Freshmen No More: As Isaac Copeland has risen, freshmen L.J. peak and paul White are in need of a second wind. Georgetown needs better results from both in this game.
- Chris Obekpa:: Obekpa's star has dimmed somewhat this season, and his 5.0 points per game average is not reflective of his potential. He is capable of a big game on the Garden floor.
- Offensive Rebounds: St. John's is at a net -61 on offensive rebounds during Big East play. Can the hoyas protect the glass?
- The Big Stage: The CBS broadcast will reach many more fans (and AP voters) than most Fox Sports 1 broadcasts. Both teams can make a strong case for their NCAA placement on the national stage.
Georgetown enters the game as an underdog of sorts--this is a "nice to have" gave against a "must have" for the Redmen. A Georgetown win would be a big win at the right time, but it's not the deal breaker it would be across the aisle. For a St. John's fan base that hasn't seen a big game in this series since they were facing Kevin Braswell and Anthony Perry, Saturday's game is a gut-check on the Steve Lavin era and a worthy test of its reach for just its second NCAA bid in the past 13 years.
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