[quote="Amaseinyourface" post=315607]Will be interesting to see if Baldwin being their obvious number one offensive weapon this Season, still gets the challenge of guarding Ponds.[/quote]m
Aaron Thompson. We will have plenty of mismatches if that is the case. They would be wise to zone.
[quote="ghostzapper" post=315563]I certainly hope we win at Butler but since they have joined the Big East in the 2013/2014 season we have only beaten them 1 out of 5 times at Hinkle Fieldhouse. In fact after our initial seventeen point victory there in 2014 we have lost four straight times in Indiana and have never come any closer than a twenty point defeat at their place. Hopefully Saturday will be different, but overcoming these negative historical trends are usually difficult.
Won 69-52 in 2014
Lost 85-62 in 2015
Lost 78-58 in 2016
Lost 110-86 in 2017
Lost 70-45 in 2018[/quote] Bring back Lavin
Wouldn't go based off the history...Butler is historically a ranked or at least a top 30 type team. We played them often when they were a very good team and one of the best in the conference. This year they're clearly still rebuilding and while solid, we should beat them on paper. They just killed a bad DePaul team that only beat us because Ponds was out. This is clearly a down year for Butler and we need to be ready. Our athleticism and length will bother them a lot and the only thing I'm concerned about is their 3 PT shooters. Defend them properly and we should win this game. Must balance our attack with going inside by the way...every game we have dominated we have both shot the ball well and also drove enough to get a lot of FT's and induce foul trouble on opponents.
There are zero easy wins in the Big East, especially on the road and especially in a place like Hinkle.
But if we stay out of foul trouble we win this game.
[quote="Mike Zaun" post=315536]Still think we should be able to handle Butler. We just need to make sure our defense is intense. If they have a good 3 pt shooting game we could be in trouble. But we should have more than they do on offense to take the game.[/quot
They have three guys who can hit the threes - Baldwin, Tucker and McDermott. Would imagine Simon takes Baldwin. Be nice if we could pick up fouls off our drives and get to their bench. Going to be very loud at Hinkle. Getting off to a quick start will be important. None of these games are easy..
Zach B
Shamorie Ponds tells me his back still isn't 100 percent, but is getting there. Feels it is improving. #sjubb
Shamorie Ponds on St. John's losing 4 straight at Butler by at least 20 points: "That definitely adds fuel to the fire. It's definitely motivation. They always put it on us. We're going to try to return the favor." #sjubb
[quote="Paultzman" post=315894]St. John's opens as a four-point underdog tomorrow[/quote]
Sounds about right. Is there a fixed number of points the home court is worth? I believe in the NFL it is usually 3 points. I think it should be much more in college BB. Seems like the home team usually gets the close calls. I suspect the proximity of the fans to the action plays a role.
[quote="Paultzman" post=315894]St. John's opens as a four-point underdog tomorrow[/quote]
The conference teams are so evenly matched that few games will have large betting spreads. Tonight's game is about as much of a home favorite as we will see - Villanova -10
[quote="ron " post=315897][quote="Paultzman" post=315894]St. John's opens as a four-point underdog tomorrow[/quote]
Sounds about right. Is there a fixed number of points the home court is worth? I believe in the NFL it is usually 3 points. I think it should be much more in college BB. Seems like the home team usually gets the close calls. I suspect the proximity of the fans to the action plays a role.[/quote]
Yeah I'd like to know too. The lines are weird, we were only 4 points favored at home vs Creighton (right before tip-off when we knew Ponds was playing).
I expected to be 2 point underdogs, but as we've seen the past couple games Vegas doesn't know how to predict the Johnnies anyways.
[quote="Adam" post=315911][quote="ron " post=315897][quote="Paultzman" post=315894]St. John's opens as a four-point underdog tomorrow[/quote]
Sounds about right. Is there a fixed number of points the home court is worth? I believe in the NFL it is usually 3 points. I think it should be much more in college BB. Seems like the home team usually gets the close calls. I suspect the proximity of the fans to the action plays a role.[/quote]
Yeah I'd like to know too. The lines are weird, we were only 4 points favored at home vs Creighton (right before tip-off when we knew Ponds was playing).
I expected to be 2 point underdogs, but as we've seen the past couple games Vegas doesn't know how to predict the Johnnies anyways.[/quote]
Opening lines are usually in-line with a statistical analysis power model. The one from TeamRankings (also available on ESPN if you have insider) is usually very close. Then, things shift from there are lines go live.
Edit: TR has Butler 75.7 SJU 71.9 right now. (These can and do shift with player/ other game info.)
