(PRE-GAME) Villanova, Wed., Feb. 3, 9p, CBSSN / 570 AM WMCA

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Billy Don Ferrell" post=416390 said:
https://twitter.com/jonrothstein/status/1356921875796877315?s=21

Huge day for the program, time to be competitive on the National Level.
Allow 1500 fans in for tonight's game.  Wishful thinking....  I know.  
 
MJDinkins" post=416434 said:
Billy Don Ferrell" post=416390 said:
https://twitter.com/jonrothstein/status/1356921875796877315?s=21

Huge day for the program, time to be competitive on the National Level.
Allow 1500 fans in for tonight's game.  Wishful thinking....  I know.  
Would love that. But I'd settle for 500!
 
QUEENS, N.Y. – Victorious in four straight in five of its last six overall, the St. John's men's basketball team will welcome No. 3/3 Villanova to Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday for a 9 p.m. tilt.

The game will air live nationally on CBS Sports Network with Andrew Catalon and Steve Lappas on the call. Fans can also hear the game on 570 AM WMCA with John Minko and Tarik Turner narrating the action live from Queens. The Learfield-IMG College Red Storm Sports Network radio broadcast will also be available through TuneIn Radio as well as SiriusXM.

Accustomed to meeting St. John's at Madison Square Garden during a normal season, Villanova (11-1, 6-0 BIG EAST) will take the floor at Carnesecca Arena for the first time since Jan. 8, 1994.

The Wildcats will be the highest ranked opponent to come to campus in more than 40 years. The last time a top-three team in the Associated Press Poll played at Alumni Hall/Carnesecca Arena. was during the first season of BIG EAST play, when the No. 7 Redmen dropped a 72-71 decision to No. 2 Syracuse on Feb. 16, 1980, on a last-second layup by Louis Orr. St. John's will be looking for its first win on campus against a top three team in more than a half-century, as Sonny Dove scored 28 points and grabbed 24 rebounds in a victory over No. 3 Saint Joseph's on Jan. 19, 1966.

St. John's is no stranger to knocking off highly touted foes, having already picked up three ranked wins in Mike Anderson's two seasons at the helm of the program. The Johnnies last knocked off a top-five team in 2018, defeating No. 4 Duke at MSG and No. 1 Villanova in Philadelphia just three days apart in early February.

The Red Storm (11-7, 5-6 BIG EAST) will look to keep the momentum going from a pair of BIG EAST road wins last week at DePaul and Marquette. Having also knocked off then-No. 23 Connecticut on Martin Luther King Day in Storrs, St. John's has won three straight conference road games for the first time since 2013. A win over the Wildcats would give the Johnnies their first four-game BIG EAST winning streak since the NCAA Tournament season of 2014-15.

Posh Alexander was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the second time in as many opportunities on Monday after averaging 15.0 points, 4.5 steals, 4.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds during the Red Storm's 2-0 week. Alexander has now claimed the honor on three separate occasions this season, tying Marquette's Dawson Garcia, a top-50 recruit and a former McDonald's All-American, for the league lead in that category. On the season, Alexander now ranks second on the team in scoring with 11.0 points per game. The Brooklyn native also leads the squad and ranks sixth in the BIG EAST with 4.4 helpers per outing while pacing the conference and ranking seventh nationally with 2.7 steals per contest.

Julian Champagnie claimed his second MBWA Met Player of the Week Award and was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the second straight week after averaging 19.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in the team's Midwest road victories. The leading scorer in the BIG EAST this season at 19.8 points per game, Champagnie was lethal from beyond the arc, converting on seven of his 12 tries from three-point range in the wins over Marquette and DePaul. In his last six BIG EAST games, Champagnie is shooting 51.2 percent (21-of-41) from distance.

The Red Storm, which has relied on its defense during its recent run of success, will try to contain a Villanova squad that leads the BIG EAST with 78.8 points per game during conference play. In the team's last five BIG EAST games, the Red Storm has allowed no more than 73 points in any one contest. The Johnnies rank third nationally in steals (9.9), but the Wildcats turn the ball over less than any team in the country, coughing up just 8.3 possessions per game on average.

Leading the way in that category for Villanova is senior guard Collin Gillespie, who has 56 assists and just 12 turnovers in 12 appearances this season. Gillespie, who averages a team-high 35.0 minutes per game, is also tied for the team lead in scoring with 15.5 points per game.

Sophomore Jeremiah Robinson-Earl also averages 15.5 points per outing for Villanova while leading the team in rebounding with 6.6 boards per contest. Two other Wildcats are averaging double figures on the season, as sophomore Justin Moore pours in 13.5 per game while Tulane transfer Caleb Daniels adds 11.0 points per outing.

Villanova is the most frequently played opponent in St. John's history, as the two teams have met 122 times in a series dating back to 1909. The Wildcats currently own a 62-60 edge in the series history and have won three of the last five meetings. The Red Storm's last win against the Wildcats came two years ago at Madison Square Garden, as St. John's erased a 19-point deficit in front a sold-out crowd of 19,812 to take down the defending national champions.
 
Tommy O 54" post=416420 said:
Does anyone know what radio station the games on tonight, I'm going out with customers for dinner and want to listen. Thanks in advance....



570 AM WMCA
 
 
Zach B

Big key tonight: Can St. John's turn Villanova over? Wildcats average just 8.3 turnovers per game, lowest in nation. Collin Gillespie has committed 12 turnovers in 12 games. St. John's forces 17.4 turnovers per game -- 14th-most in the country. 

Also, Posh Alexander leads Big East with 2.7 steals and is seventh in nation. Alexander against Gillespie will be fascinating tonight. 
 
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I think we play nova the same way we play everybody else...press and ball pressure...no respect....make them prove how they can beat the press...create contingencies etc...furthermore I think coach is saying the same thing! We win tonight!  Hope when gets his chance he knows to hangout at the rim! Go St. JOHNS!
 
usguard" post=416461 said:
Just make it a good game,if a loss under 10 we did good,if it's 15 or more no real progress
Losing by 15 or more to the #3 team in the country does not, IMHO, automatically translate into we've made no real progress. I'd reserve judgment on whether we made real progress or not by the manner in which we lost. They're #3 for a reason. Just MHO.
 
Don't be suprised if new President Rev. Brian Shanley is at tonight's St. John's basketball game.
 
otis" post=416474 said:
Don't be suprised if new President Rev. Brian Shanley is at tonight's St. John's basketball game.

How many years of eligibility does he have?  I hear he has a nice jub shot... :)
 
johnny redman" post=416468 said:
I think we play nova the same way we play everybody else...press and ball pressure...no respect....make them prove how they can beat the press...create contingencies etc...furthermore I think coach is saying the same thing! We win tonight!  Hope when gets his chance he knows to hangout at the rim! Go St. JOHNS!
TJ was saying the same thing.
 
otis" post=416474 said:
Don't be suprised if new President Rev. Brian Shanley is at tonight's St. John's basketball game.
Except for Covid I'd be shocked if he wasn't there.   THis could be the start of a Lou Gehrig streak, at least for home games.
 
usguard" post=416461 said:
Just make it a good game,if a loss under 10 we did good,if it's 15 or more no real progress

With all due respect, that's a losers' mentality.  Not expecting a win, but I never go into a game satisfied with a "competitive" loss.  Certainly hope CMA and the kids don't have that mentality.
 
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