Zach thinks that this team is similar to CRP's Louisville Final Four team.
Connecticut (MSG), Sun., Feb. 23, 12 Noon, FOX
- Thread starter Knight
- Start date
- Status
March 13, 1992, The last time a ranked St. John’s played an unranked UConn. The then ‘Redmen’ knocked out the Huskies in BET Quarters, led by Malik Sealy 29pts, 18reb. Lou’s 526th and final win. Our own @Alumni Hall approving the result.
Attachments
A lot has to happen for most teams to make it to the FF, but we have seen very often implausible runs occur where teams get there. I do not think it would be implausible for us to do that if it were to happen, but again, a lot of things go into the mix; matchups; upsets; playing at peak perormance; lucky bounces ...
I just hope initially to make it to the second weekend, and take it form there. But, if we play the D we can, and sustain consistently better offense, anything is possible for this team.
The program was an absolute disaster. I think it is disingenuous to shame fans who did not spend their money to come during those years of perpetually losing.
And just to be clear, this is not unique to SJU. During their time in the AAC, UConn was a middling program with equally middling crowds. This from a program that had very recent success, even winning a title in their first year in the AAC under Kevin Ollie, with BE caliber players that Calhoun recruited.
UConn was not even worth scheduling as an out of conference game at the Garden. At least Syracuse was for a few years following their move to the ACC.
Yes, I sports loathe UConn. Part of it is envy, of course. But part of it is how a state school could transform from a bottom feeder to a national powerhouse under Calhoun by playing loosely with the rules and avoiding punishment.
But that is not important now. Winning on Sunday is all that does.
Last edited:
Agree RMW. For me, winning the Big East regular season and a trip to the Sweet 16 would be a wildly successful season but this team is special enough to realistically hope for more.
Yes, one game at a time, and let's win the game, regular season and BE tourney. Then, we can dream.
As someone who has seen about every home game since 1980 (most in person), I can not blame those who did not as religiously follow the team. For me, this is my favorite sport and team to follow. So, I stood in there (I was jaded by having attended during the Mullin/Berry/Jackson/Wennington years, so I was hooked). Happy to welcome back any and all old and new fans...
Last edited:
montyaloofah
Well-known member
Uconn is going to be a tough out no matter what. If they didnt rally against nova, they would be firmly on the bubble. I think their main problem is production from the center spot. Samson Johnson has been unproductive and Tarris Reed uneven. Their combined rebounds past 3 games are 12,10, and 9. They had 16 against us but Tarris had 15 of them (7 offensive). We need to box them out and close out defensive possessions. Solo Ball killed us in the 1st half and did nothing the 2nd. Have to keep that up. I feel like Mcneely is gonna get his. But we win every other battle and we win.
Need Aaron Scott to stay out of foul trouble and give us 30 minutes+ on the court.
That's not possible. If it was they'd never make it into MSG.Not good Mike. You gave their fans bulletin board material. Now they will come to the Garden even more liquored up and hostile than usual!
+1000
Bounce back game.
Beast , as always excellent comments .
One opinion , many of us here on Redfans have Retired and escaped NY .
We were game going fans for a number of years and I had Season tickets back in the Mullin , Berry , Jackson years .
I suspect many fans in my approximate age bracket , who were also game attenders but ,are also NY long goners .
After all , NY is not exactly a destination for those of us Retiring .
And , as you mentioned us Seniors haven’t been replaced by a equal number of new fans over the last 2 Decades .
The team had less than mediocre teams for much of that time . In NY , that’s a long drought .
UCONN, on the other hand , as you indicated , along with Villanova to a extent , had become among the BB elite and a dominate force in the BE.
Their fans are rabid ,and getting to MSG a few times a year wasn’t a hardship .
This year , we are currently in the Drivers seat and NY fans , alums or not , have caught Redmen fever .
Clearly a function of Pitino and his team
We can hope for a long run tournament wise this year and more years of being Competitive or better each year
Best those Huskies !
CRP's mantra...... good one Beasts
I think UConn is great for the conference, and I think it's great that their fans love MSG. It's very healthy to have 25% of the Garden filled with the fans of the opposition IMO. Obviously you don't want a 50/50 situation to completely squander the home court advantage. 75/25 makes for a very lively event and give us a chance to overcome some adversity.
Some good points. Now that we are drawing bjg crowds to MSG, obviously it is an advantage for us to have a healthy majority of fans. When we couldn’t draw I accepted the fact that the Dukes, UConns of world would have a solid presence. I prefer that to a half empty arena.
Last edited:
Except when uconn jumps out by 12, holds the lead and 5000 uconn fans sound like 50,000 and our fans act like they are in a library. Give me 90-10 w uconn in the 400s
I disagree with having 25 percent UConn fans at the Garden “makes for a very lively event and gives us a chance to overcome some adversity”?
First off, having a sold out Garden last week that was basically a sea of red, was as lively as I can remember. I want more of that. Pitino even said at his post game presser, that was a Knicks crowd.
Secondly, road games are meant to give teams a chance to overcome adversity.
I do not believe we need UConn fans at the Garden in any way, shape, matter, or form to have a great event.
Typical of that team - one of the most frustrating of all time.
Relying on Malik to score half the points, grab the rebounds, defend the best wing player and sell popcorn at halftime.
Werdann got hurt. Buchanan regressed. And Chucky was still scared of his own shadow.
Garden had minimal Marquette fans and the atmosphere was great. Wasn't there for Creighton but second half sounded the same way. This year, the split won't be as good as it should be. But moving forward, hopefully it's similar to those games because of an increase in season ticket holders + students getting tickets in advance, etc.
I'd agree with Marillac in the pre-Pitino era because a lot of our crowds skewed older/less energy. But we've had a raucous energy with a younger crowd this month and think that should be the expectation/standard moving forward.
We won at Uconn this month with like 200 fans present. If we are good team, we will draw like crazy and we won't have to worry about % of the seats are taken up by opposing fans. I want the Garden filled every game as my top priority. #2 is getting that 90%+ St. John's. #3 is all of our fans wearing red.
You don't play home games in the NCAA tournament. If we can't overcome a 1:4 opposing fan ratio at MSG, we have bigger issues.
- Status