Game 22: St. John's University (13-9)
Feb. 2, 1:00 pm (EST)
New York, NY
Madison Sq. Garden (19,591)
Tickets? Available
Media:
TV: CBS
GU Radio: WTEM-980
SJU Radio: WNYM-970
Game Notes: Georgetown
Game Notes: St. John's
About the Redmen:
Location: New York, NY
Enrollment: 16,440
Conference: Big East
2018-19 Record: 21-13
Record vs. Georgetown: 54-20
Meet The Coach:
Mike Anderson
(Tulsa '82)
1st season, 13-9
Career: 382-209
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Expected Starters |
Name |
Ht. |
Pts. |
Rasheem Dunn |
6-2 |
12.6 |
Nick Rutherford |
6-3 |
4.80 |
Mustapha Heron |
6-5 |
13.7 |
L.J. Figueroa |
6-7 |
15.1 |
Josh Roberts |
6-9 |
6.7 |
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Team Stats: |
Points/Game: |
74.8 |
Points Allowed: |
69.5 |
FG Shooting: |
41.0 |
FG Defense |
39.5 |
3FG Shooting: |
30.2 |
FT Shooting: |
70.1 |
Rebounds/Game |
40.0 |
Assists/Game |
14.5 |
Turnovers/Game |
12.2 |
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Last 5 Games (1-4) |
01/15: PC 63, SJU 58
01/18: Seton Hall 82, SJU 79
01/21: Marquette 82, SJU 68
01/25: SJU 79, SJU 66
01/28: Villanova 79, SJU 59
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Game Notes
- This is the 115th meeting between the schools, most of any Georgetown opponent.
- This is Georgetown's 175th game all-time at Madison Square Garden. The Hoyas have met St. John's at the Garden consecutively since 1982, most of any Big East opponent.
- St. John's was picked 9th in the Big East pre-season poll.
- Georgetown is 11-10 in games played on February 2 in its history, with two losses at St. John's on two games held this date: a 82-66 St. John's win at Alumni Hall on Feb. 2, 1977, and a 67-65 win at the Garden on Feb. 2, 1987.
Preview
The CBS schedule makers must have had higher hopes for this game, placed so as to draw interest from the millions of fans who don't need five hours of Super Bowl pre-game coverage. Instead, they're getting two struggling teams with a combined Big East record of 4-13, with a likely third meeting due them in the Wednesday round of the Big East Tournament, where St. John's has bounced Georgetown in two of the past three years.
On loan from Fox, Bill Raftery will be courtside to remind viewers that this was one a big rivalry. Sadly, the two teams have not entered this game together in the Top 25 in 28 years, while Georgetown's last appearance in the Top 25 versus St. John's was on Jan. 12, 2013.
St. John's could not have played worse than they did in Washington on Jan. 16, falling behind by 29 at the half en route to a 87-66 defeat. A lineup change from that game has been a major step forward for the Redmen, even if the results haven't (yet) shown it.
In the Jan. 16 game, coach Mike Anderson benched starter Julian Champagnie at halftime for junior college transfer Rasheed Dunn, and it has paid off in the interim. Per the St. John's media notes; "In the team's most recent outing against Villanova on Tuesday, Rasheem Dunn put forth the latest in a string of standout performances at [Madison Square garden]. The Brooklyn native poured in a season-high 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting in addition to tallying team-highs of five rebounds and four assists. In four games at MSG, the St. Francis Brooklyn and Cleveland State transfer is averaging a team-high 16.0 points and 4.3 assists per outing." Dunn averages just under 14 points a game in Big East play but his 27 percent three point shooting is indicative of poor shooting across the board, as St. John's is averaging 28 percent from outside. Outside a 13 for 32 game versus DePaul, that team number drops to 26 percent.
But as Georgetown is generous in offering opposing players a chance to put up big numbers, Dunn is as good a candidate as any to make his mark Sunday.
The remainder of the St. John's starting lineup is fraught with inconsistency. Grad transfer Nick Rutherford is just 3 for 17 in his last five games and hasn't made a three point shot in calendar year 2020, and is 4 for 24 this season. Rutherford had four points and five steals versus Villanova last week but needs more offense to be impactful. Up front, forwards Mustapha Heron and L.J. Figueroa are emblematic of the recruits St. John's has signed over the past decade--huge potential, but not enough to win the games when they count. Heron is coming off a 1 for 7, three point effort versus Villanova after a 20 point effort versus DePaul. Heron was just 2 for 10 versus Georgetown back in January, and his shooting is essential for the Redmen to contend. Figueroa had a season high 28 in the win over DePaul but slumped to 12 in the Villanova loss, and was the primary scorer for St. John's versus Georgetown last month. A more disciplined effort from each is a requirement for St. John's to win games like this, but neither have been on target in conference play.
St. John's has been underwhelming inside, averaging under 35 rebounds in Big East play. Josh Roberts has led most of the efforts with an 6.2 rebounds per game average for the season, but now averages less than three rebounds a game in conference play. A net deficit of over seven rebounds a game must be addressed by St. John's, who don't have any help inside and it's something Georgetown needs to exploit.
St. John's has more of an active bench than Georgetown, but not by much. Champagnie (8.2 ppg) and 6-6 forward Marcus Earlington (8.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg) will each get 20 or more minutes of action but are averaging a combined 6.5 points per game in their last three games. Coach Mike Anderson likely needs this to be 12 or more points for the Redmen to take full advantage of their time on the floor.
The Redmen have just two Big East wins this season, both against DePaul. St. John's is last in the conference in scoring, but facing the worst rated defense in the conference, so any uptick in the St. John's offense could pay dividends. For its part, GU still has no consistent scoring option if Mac McClung or Omer Yurtseven is contained, and teams know this. St. John's allowed these two Georgetown starters a combined 34 points and 17 rebounds last month, and GU needs more from each of them to end Georgetown's three game losing streak.
Some keys to the game:
Sixth Man?: We've said it before: Georgetown needs more out of Jahvon Blair in this game.
DePaul, Part 3: Can St. John's get hot from the outside as they did versus the Demons? It's rare for this team, but teams can often make a run against the weak Gerogetown perimeter defense.
Rebounds: St. John's has been outrebounded in all nine Big east games to date.
Home Court: St. John's has lost its last two at MSG.
With five home games in its final nine, can St. John's start a turnaround this Sunday? For that matter, can Georgetown?