Game 19: St. John's University (10-9)
Jan. 20, 12:00 pm (EST)
Washington DCY
Capital One Arena (20,500)
Tickets? Yes
Media:
TV: Fox Sports 1
GU Radio: WDCH-99.1
SJU Radio: WMCA-570
Game Notes: Georgetown
Game Notes: St. john's
About the Redmen:
Location: New York, NY
Enrollment: 21,000
Conference: Big East
2016-17 Record: 14-18
Record vs. Georgetown: 57-52
Meet The Coach:
Chris Mullin
(St. John's '85)
3rd season, 32-51
Career: Same
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Expected Starters |
Name |
Ht. |
Pts. |
Justin Simon |
6-5 |
11.7 |
Shamorie Ponds |
6-1 |
20.0 |
Bashir Ahmed |
6-7 |
11.7 |
Marvin Clark |
6-7 |
11.4 |
Tariq Owens |
6-11 |
7.8 |
|
Team Stats: |
Points/Game: |
73.5 |
Points Allowed: |
69.8 |
FG Shooting: |
42.6 |
FG Defense |
41.0 |
3FG Shooting: |
32.1 |
FT Shooting: |
75.1 |
Rebounds/Game |
34.5 |
Assists/Game |
13.1 |
Turnovers/Game |
11.5 |
|
Last 5 Games (0-5) |
01/03: Creighton 78, SJ 71
01/06: DePaul 91, SJ 74
01/09: Georgetown 69, SJ 66
01/13: Villanova 78, SJ 71
01/16: Xavier 88, SJ 82
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Preview
When last we met St. John's, a poor performance by the Redmen was enough for Georgetown to sneak out of Madison Square Garden with a narrow 69-66 win. Since then, St. John's has dropped two more and sits at 0-7 in the conference, but lost to two Top 20 teams by a total of 11 points.
By contrast, Georgetown lost to two Top 20 teams by a total of 45 points, so this game won't as easy as some might think.
The Jan. 9 game between the teams was a poor effort across the board, and a low point for the Redmen. St.John's has rebounded, so to speak,with a much better effort in a 78-71 loss to Villanova and a 88-82 loss to Xavier. The Redmen got 28 points from Justin Simon in the Xavier loss and 18 from Shamorie Ponds, who combined for half of SJU's 66 points against the Hoyas on Jan.9. In both games, St.John's has played with more intensity and kept its games close, two things Georgetown has been unable to do its most recent two games.
What can the Hoyas learn from its last two games? Guard play will be vital in Saturday's game, and on both sides of the ball. The Hoyas' lax defense hurt it in both the Seton Hall and Villanova games, and St. John's may finally be ready to take advantage.
Much like Simon and Ponds, Jessie Govan and Marcus Derrickson dominated the Georgetown stat sheet from Jan. 9. Georgetown will need a third option Saturday, and it's unclear who can step up. Without some extended point production from the likes of a Jamarko Pickett or a Kaleb Johnson, St. John's is likely to force pressure on Govan and limit the Hoyas' ability to defend down low. Both teams are not deep enough if either team can exert pressure on its respective lading scorers.
Keys to the game follow that from Jan. 9:
1. Jessie Govan: The junior center had a big game against St. John's in the middle, but must avoid early fouls in the return game.
2. Bashir Ahmed: Ahmed represents a tough defensive assignment for Georgetown's guards, who have been ineffective throughout conference play, but he was even less effective in the last meeting. If Ahmed picks it up Saturday, Georgetown may be in some trouble.
3. Matchup defenses: The ability of St. John's to lay in waiting on defense needs to be a concern for Georgetown, whose passing is suspect. Turnovers remain a problem, but passing into the corners doesn't help, either. Good spacing in offensive sets provides opportunities for Georgetown that can negate St. John's, particularly when Govan can establish low-post presence. Unfortunately for St. John's, they didn't put this together in any means versus Georgetown. Do they have the disclipline to do it Saturday?