jerseyshorejohnny
Well-known member
From today's Wall Street Journal (Greater New York Section):
Red Storm Need a Spring Surge
St. John's Begins Its Weeklong Fight For an NCAA Bid
By DAVE CALDWELL
March 6, 2014 8:45 p.m. ET
D'Angelo Harrison and St. John's need to win at least two or three more games to make the NCAA Tournament. Associated Press
St. John's will play its final regular-season men's basketball game Saturday at Marquette. The winner will finish fifth in the Big East Conference standings.
That might not sound like a whole lot to play for, but the game will mark the start of a frantic one-week push for the Red Storm to add to their dossier and earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
"This one will keep our season alive," said junior guard Phil Greene IV Thursday at a news conference on St. John's Queens campus.
The team's portfolio includes 19 victories—including 10 in its last 13 games—but the prognosticators known as "bracketologists" who are paid to crunch the numbers say that won't be good enough.
Marquette is 12-3 at home, and the Red Storm appear to need a win on Saturday and two more in the Big East Tournament next week at Madison Square Garden, their home floor, to get into the NCAAs.
After Wednesday's games, ESPN.com projected St. John's as the sixth team left out of the 68-team NCAA bracket, and CBSsports.com had St. John's as one of six teams "probably out."
But St. John's can still work its way into the tournament for the first time in three years. The best way: winning the Big East Tournament and earning an automatic NCAA berth.
"Everybody knows what time it is," sophomore forward Chris Obekpa said. "It's time to take care of business."
Winning Saturday's game will help St. John's, somewhat, because the Red Storm would then play the No. 4 seed, most likely Providence, on Thursday. St. John's lost at home in double overtime Jan. 16 to the Friars, but they beat Providence on the road Feb. 4, 86-76.
Losing Saturday would pose much more of a problem. The Red Storm could wind up facing Xavier in the tournament opener on Thursday, and they have lost twice to Xavier, including a demoralizing 65-53 loss Feb. 25 at the Garden.
Three days before that loss, St. John's lost by three on the road to Villanova, whose ratings percentage index (RPI) is among the top five nationally. Xavier is 19-10, but the Musketeers' RPI is in the mid-40s, while St. John's is in the low-60s.
The Red Storm lost their first five Big East games this season, then won their next nine and popped into ESPN.com's tournament projections as a No. 12 regional seed for the first time on Feb. 17. They were a No. 11 regional seed the day before the second game against Xavier. The loss pushed them out.
So St. John's would have to beat either Providence or Xavier in its first Big East tournament game—then most likely Villanova or Creighton, the top two seeds in the tournament, in the second game.
St. John's played one of its best games against Creighton at the Garden on Feb. 9, using an outstanding defensive effort to slow Doug McDermott, a candidate for national player of the year, to post a 70-65 victory just 12 days after McDermott beat them on a last-second shot.
That victory avenged St. John's only loss in a 10-game stretch that spanned 32 days, and the team rolled into the Villanova game on Feb. 22 riding a six-game winning streak.
But St. John's lost that game, then fell apart in the second half to lose again to Xavier, and has been trying to make up for lost ground ever since. The Red Storm beat DePaul in their last game on Sunday, but only after blowing most of a 20-point second-half lead.
Still, coach Steve Lavin said Thursday, "I'm impressed with their character, their chemistry, the way they like one another, the way we're playing."
Rysheed Jordan, the talented freshman, was held out of the DePaul game because he was mourning the death of his aunt, who was shot and killed in his hometown of Philadelphia. She was one of five loved ones lost by team members in a 48-hour span, Lavin said.
"The big picture, whether it's being on the bubble, or dealing with the tragedies, or dealing with the tough start in conference play, or the injuries we've had, I just admire the group's resolve and ability to continue to get better," Lavin said. "That's all a coach can ask for, is to get better."
Red Storm Need a Spring Surge
St. John's Begins Its Weeklong Fight For an NCAA Bid
By DAVE CALDWELL
March 6, 2014 8:45 p.m. ET
D'Angelo Harrison and St. John's need to win at least two or three more games to make the NCAA Tournament. Associated Press
St. John's will play its final regular-season men's basketball game Saturday at Marquette. The winner will finish fifth in the Big East Conference standings.
That might not sound like a whole lot to play for, but the game will mark the start of a frantic one-week push for the Red Storm to add to their dossier and earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
"This one will keep our season alive," said junior guard Phil Greene IV Thursday at a news conference on St. John's Queens campus.
The team's portfolio includes 19 victories—including 10 in its last 13 games—but the prognosticators known as "bracketologists" who are paid to crunch the numbers say that won't be good enough.
Marquette is 12-3 at home, and the Red Storm appear to need a win on Saturday and two more in the Big East Tournament next week at Madison Square Garden, their home floor, to get into the NCAAs.
After Wednesday's games, ESPN.com projected St. John's as the sixth team left out of the 68-team NCAA bracket, and CBSsports.com had St. John's as one of six teams "probably out."
But St. John's can still work its way into the tournament for the first time in three years. The best way: winning the Big East Tournament and earning an automatic NCAA berth.
"Everybody knows what time it is," sophomore forward Chris Obekpa said. "It's time to take care of business."
Winning Saturday's game will help St. John's, somewhat, because the Red Storm would then play the No. 4 seed, most likely Providence, on Thursday. St. John's lost at home in double overtime Jan. 16 to the Friars, but they beat Providence on the road Feb. 4, 86-76.
Losing Saturday would pose much more of a problem. The Red Storm could wind up facing Xavier in the tournament opener on Thursday, and they have lost twice to Xavier, including a demoralizing 65-53 loss Feb. 25 at the Garden.
Three days before that loss, St. John's lost by three on the road to Villanova, whose ratings percentage index (RPI) is among the top five nationally. Xavier is 19-10, but the Musketeers' RPI is in the mid-40s, while St. John's is in the low-60s.
The Red Storm lost their first five Big East games this season, then won their next nine and popped into ESPN.com's tournament projections as a No. 12 regional seed for the first time on Feb. 17. They were a No. 11 regional seed the day before the second game against Xavier. The loss pushed them out.
So St. John's would have to beat either Providence or Xavier in its first Big East tournament game—then most likely Villanova or Creighton, the top two seeds in the tournament, in the second game.
St. John's played one of its best games against Creighton at the Garden on Feb. 9, using an outstanding defensive effort to slow Doug McDermott, a candidate for national player of the year, to post a 70-65 victory just 12 days after McDermott beat them on a last-second shot.
That victory avenged St. John's only loss in a 10-game stretch that spanned 32 days, and the team rolled into the Villanova game on Feb. 22 riding a six-game winning streak.
But St. John's lost that game, then fell apart in the second half to lose again to Xavier, and has been trying to make up for lost ground ever since. The Red Storm beat DePaul in their last game on Sunday, but only after blowing most of a 20-point second-half lead.
Still, coach Steve Lavin said Thursday, "I'm impressed with their character, their chemistry, the way they like one another, the way we're playing."
Rysheed Jordan, the talented freshman, was held out of the DePaul game because he was mourning the death of his aunt, who was shot and killed in his hometown of Philadelphia. She was one of five loved ones lost by team members in a 48-hour span, Lavin said.
"The big picture, whether it's being on the bubble, or dealing with the tragedies, or dealing with the tough start in conference play, or the injuries we've had, I just admire the group's resolve and ability to continue to get better," Lavin said. "That's all a coach can ask for, is to get better."
