ESPNs Big East Preview

Marquette finishing 3rd is a stretch. I guess anything's possible, but seems unlikely. If it does I think it will be because SJU or Nova challenges for the top two spots and one of GTown/Creighton finishes ahead of Quette. I can't see both of them - with Georgetown minus Porter and the crticial injury, and Creighton coming to a new league - besting a team with that much size, talent, and success under Buzz.
 
I think the middle of the pack pre season predictions are reasonable and gives the team the opportunity to prove them wrong.
 
Espn loves creigton sooo much I hate that, funny part is that there gonna flop there 1st year in the big east . With no inside presence what so ever , with the scheduale facing good openents ever night in league play I say they will be at 500. Butler will be at the bottom of the league as well. Nova 4th ? Please we had them beat in their own building last year but Amir garret commited a stupid foul on the 3 point line with 40 seconds left to go. There another team with no inside presence. Everyone is sleeping on providence but I think there gonna be one heck of a team . They have great Guards and have a lot of talent coming back . There also probably one of the biggest teams in the nation they are long and have a lot of big bodies I see them finishing around 4. Marquette is the team to beat I can see them being number 1 but we have a shot to take the big east crown . I think at worst we tie for 2 nd with gtown.
 
If someone has espn insider can you copy and paste what they had to say about St. John's for us non having insider people.
 
"With a block percentage that ranked second in the nation (18.4) -- led by one-man SWAT team Chris Obekpa (15.8) -- the 2012-13 Red Storm were extremely adept at keeping the ball out of the basket. Unfortunately that prowess also extended to their offensive game as well.

If you're betting on the Johnnies to finish in the top half of the Big East in 2013-14, you're betting on head coach Steve Lavin making a big-time course correction when his team has the ball. In 2012-13, Lavin's first season on the sidelines after recovering from prostate cancer, the Red Storm produced at just a 0.98-points-per-possession clip, well below the Division I average of 1.00.

If there were a case study to be done in inefficient offense, SJU would be a prime candidate. The Johnnies have talented players (Jakarr Sampson and D'Angelo Harrison to name two), but they have yet to form a consistent offensive threat. St. John's finished No. 2 in the nation in point distribution from 2-point range, but that's not a figure showing how adept the Red Storm were at scoring inside the arc. Rather, it's a testament to how infrequently they got to the foul line (28.9 FTA/FGA, No. 327 nationally) and how poorly they shot when they did find their way to the stripe (64.0 percent, No. 317). And if you think that horror show is grizzly, you may want to avert your eyes when St. John's shoots from behind the arc. Only four teams in the nation shot worse than the Johnnies' 27.1 percent from long distance.
http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-col...-college-basketball-preview-st-john-red-storm
 
"On the positive side, St. John's seldom turned the ball over, boasting the No. 17 offensive turnover rate in the land last season. Of course, the Red Storm's ability to protect the rock only allowed them to chuck it at the basket, which all too often resulted in the same net result as a turnover.

The Storm seemed to settle for shots rather than dictating to the defense last season. As a team, St. John's spotted up for a jumper on 497 possessions last season, per Synergy Sports Technologies. Of Harrison's 290 shot attempts, 239 of them were either jumpers or runners. Even the taller Sampson took jumpers on 172 of his 361 shot attempts. So St. John's two most used offensive options were taking jumpers or runners on 68.5 percent of their shot attempts, and they hit just 20 percent of them.

The key for the Johnnies in 2013-14 won't be to improve their shooting percentages so much as it will be to get to the foul line with aggressive drives to the basket. In 2010-11 the Red Storm posted a free throw rate of 44.2, the 38th-best mark in Division I. They converted 71 percent of those shots and rode a 21-win season into the NCAA tournament. To that end, with the ball in their hands, Sampson and Harrison need to play less like Marcus Hatten and Anthony Mason and more like Dwight Hardy (41.8 FT rate in 2011-12) and D.J. Kennedy (59.2). Sampson upping his 64 percent foul shooting wouldn't hurt, either.

St. John's was a young, young team last season -- only Northern Illinois, Dartmouth and Texas had less experienced rosters -- and increased maturity and decision-making could go a long way in the campaign ahead. So too could the return of God'sgift Achiuwa (9 points, 5.6 rebounds per game in 2011-12) from last season's redshirt year, and the debut of 6-9 forward Orlando Sanchez, who won his eligibility battle with the NCAA.

Also helping the Johnnies in their get-to-the rim endeavor will be stud freshman Rysheed Jordan, the No. 3 point guard in the 2013 recruiting class and No. 17 prospect overall in the ESPN 100. While he likely won't reverse the Red Storm's recent shooting trends from distance, he has the speed and the frame to get to the rack and absorb contact, something St. John's badly needs if it wants to do more than merely weather its first season in the new Big East."
http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-col...-college-basketball-preview-st-john-red-storm
 
#14 Villanova 0-0 -- 7-0
Providence 0-0 -- 7-2
Butler 0-0 -- 5-2
Creighton 0-0 -- 5-2
St. John's 0-0 -- 5-2
Georgetown 0-0 -- 4-2
Marquette 0-0 -- 5-3
Xavier 0-0 -- 5-3
DePaul 0-0 -- 4-3
Seton Hall 0-0 -- 4-3

as of today. up side down except Mr.Whitehead's team
 
#14 Villanova 0-0 -- 7-0
Providence 0-0 -- 7-2
Butler 0-0 -- 5-2
Creighton 0-0 -- 5-2
St. John's 0-0 -- 5-2
Georgetown 0-0 -- 4-2
Marquette 0-0 -- 5-3
Xavier 0-0 -- 5-3
DePaul 0-0 -- 4-3
Seton Hall 0-0 -- 4-3

as of today. up side down except Mr.Whitehead's team
Click to expand...

Actually right now we are all 0-0 in conference which is what the standings are about. There are better and worse losses on that list.
 
Has anyone watched Nova play? IMO they won big games because they can hit the three. They beat Kansas because of they hit 9 threes and KU hit 2, then Nova took down Iowa because they hit 14 threes, but I think almost all of them were in the second half/OT. I missed the KU game but saw the Iowa game, and saw Nova getting thoroughly beaten by 11, then this guy Bell on Nova hits 3 straight threes and its a two point game.

I am NOT denying Villanova is a good team, what I'm stating here is how far the three ball can take you. If we can really get Hooper going some more and maybe Harrison can find his stroke, we could be a dangerous team if we combine that with the press and transition offense.
 
the espn analysts nailed it. there's no way we can win hoping hooper gets hot every game. no one else should be allowed to take a three.

it's hard to imagine how awful this team is until you read it from professionals.
 
Has anyone watched Nova play? IMO they won big games because they can hit the three. They beat Kansas because of they hit 9 threes and KU hit 2, then Nova took down Iowa because they hit 14 threes, but I think almost all of them were in the second half/OT. I missed the KU game but saw the Iowa game, and saw Nova getting thoroughly beaten by 11, then this guy Bell on Nova hits 3 straight threes and its a two point game.

I am NOT denying Villanova is a good team, what I'm stating here is how far the three ball can take you. If we can really get Hooper going some more and maybe Harrison can find his stroke, we could be a dangerous team if we combine that with the press and transition offense.
Click to expand...

Villanova has benefited from well-timed threes for sure, but they've shot it terribly from beyond the arc overall, 31.4% which is almost SJU bad.

Nova has excelled thus far because they do most everything well from a team perspective. 10th in the country in rebounds, 30th in assists, 50th in PPG. When you look at the fact that they are averaging a full 11 PPG more than us, and there are 49 teams scoring it better than them, it's not difficult to put into context how far we have to go offensively.

Biggest thing for Nova thus far has been what they are getting from Bell and Hilliard. Seasoned upperclassmen who defend at a high level, are shot-makers, and provide a lot of energy and leadership.
 
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