STJ Opens BIG EAST Play With West Virginia Wednesday In Morgantown

Dec. 28, 2010

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QUEENS, N.Y. - Similar to the start of its challenging 2010-11 non-conference schedule that saw four of the Red Storm's first five contests played away from home, the Red Storm men's basketball team (7-3) opens BIG EAST play with a daunting slate that includes three out of its first four matchups on the road, beginning Wednesday in Morgantown with West Virginia (8-2). The senior-laden Red Storm faces the Mountaineers -- who are receiving votes in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls -- in a 7 p.m. contest that will be televised in the New York area on SNY, with announcers John Sanders and Bob Wenzel calling the action. The matchup can also be heard live on the official flagship of St. John's Basketball, Bloomberg Radio 1130-AM, and on RedStormSports.com (subscription), with John Minko and analyst Tarik Turner.

First-year head coach Steve Lavin looks to build on a trend he established in seven years as the head man at UCLA -- a 5-2 record in conference openers. St. John's has won only two of its last 10 league debuts (2006-07, DePaul at MSG; 2000-01, Virginia Tech at Carnesecca Arena ).

The Red Storm is 3-2 away from home in the young 2010-11 season, though the clash with West Virginia marks St. John's third true road game of the year. Road warriors early this season, trips to Moraga, Calif., Anchorage, Alaska, saw St. John's cover 12,860 miles via air prior to Dec. 1.

Already champions of the 2010 Great Alaska shootout, last week's 2010 Holiday Festival title gave St. John's two regular-season tournament championships for the first time since the 1990-91 season. Twenty years ago, Lou Carnesecca's Redmen opened the season by claiming the Joe Lapchick Memorial Tournament at St. John's Alumni Hall, and went on to capture the BYU Cougar Classic crown in Provo, Utah.

St. John's is 15-20 against West Virginia all-time in a series that dates back to 1937. The Mountaineers have won the last 10 meetings in the series and the last five in Morgantown, The Red Storm is 5-13 against WVU since the Mountaineers joined the BIG EAST in 1995. St. John's last defeated West Virginia on Jan. 5, 2002, in a 72-53 win at Madison Square Garden. The Red Storm's last road win over West Virginia was an 86-74 win on Jan. 8, 2000, in Wheeling, W.Va. STJ's last victory in Morgantown was an 80-68 win on Feb. 9, 1999. West Virginia won last year's matchup at Madison Square Garden, 79-60, behind a 33-point effort by Da'Sean Butler and in spite of the Red Storm's 33-22 halftime lead. Paris Horne and Justin Burrell led the Red Storm with 12 points each.

Lavin owns a 1-0 career record against Mountaineer mentor Bob Huggins, from when both led different programs. The two coaches squared off on March 17, 2002, in the Second Round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament when Lavin directed his UCLA Bruins to a 105-101, double-overtime victory over Huggins' Cincinnati Bearcats.

Opening Tips

St. John's has been doing an outstanding job taking care of the basketball in 2010-11. The Red Storm is ranked second among all NCAA Division I programs (Dec. 20 report) in turnover margin (+6.3), third in turnovers (10.7 per game), 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.35) and tied for 38th in steals (8.2 per game). St. John's leads the BIG EAST in turnover margin, is seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio and is eighth in steals.

St. John's earned win No. 1,700 in program history by defeating Notre Dame (69-68) on Feb. 14, 2010, won No. 1,701 with a victory at USF (74-58) on Feb. 20, captured No. 1,702 with its triple-overtime thriller over DePaul (90-82) on March 5, and knocked off UConn on March 9 for No. 1,703. Seven wins in 2010-11 make 1,710.

In taking the 33rd Great Alaska Shootout title, the Red Storm became the fifth of six BIG EAST squads to capture a November tournament championship this season. No. 5/5 Pitt topped Maryland and No. 22 Texas to post a 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic victory, while Georgetown downed Coastal Carolina, Wofford and NC State to take the Charleston Classic title and UConn upended Wichita State, No. 2/2 Michigan State and No. 8/9 Kentucky to claim the EA Sports Maui Invitational title. Syracuse won the Legends Classic with victories over Detroit, William & Mary, Michigan and Georgia Tech, while Notre Dame earned the Old Spice Classic title with wins over Georgia, Cal and Wisconsin.

Of the 73 NCAA Division I men's basketball teams in major conferences, only six opened the season with a true road game (with none coming from the Big 12, SEC or ACC). The six squads were: Georgetown at ODU (Nov. 12); Seton Hall at Temple (Nov. 12); Northwestern at Northern Illinois (Nov. 12); Rutgers at Princeton (Nov. 15); St. John's at St. Mary's (Nov. 16) and Arizona State at New Mexico (Nov. 16).

St. John's played its share of close battles last season with 11 of its 16 losses coming by 10 or fewer points. The Red Storm held leads in the second half in seven of its 12 BIG EAST defeats in 2009-10, and led at halftime in six of those losses, including three against ranked opponents. Attaining, playing with and keeping leads -- particularly on the road -- have been major points of emphasis in the 2010-11 preseason.

Scouting West Virginia

West Virginia is 8-2 this season and 4-0 at home. The Mountaineers have averaged 77.2 points per contest while limiting opponents to just 65.4 points per game. WVU's strength defensively has been on the perimeter. The Mountaineers rank 16th in the nation and lead the BIG EAST in 3-point defense, holding opponents to a .270 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. At home, West Virginia is averaging 80.5 points while holding opponents to an average of 58.3 points.

The Mountaineers offense hinges largely on the play of senior guard Casey Mitchell, junior forward Kevin Jones and junior guard Darryl Bryant. Mitchell is enjoying a breakout senior campaign, averaging a team-high 17.5 points per game. He is a very efficient shooter from the field (47.1 percent), 3-point range (34.3 percent) and the free throw line (87.0 percent). Mitchell is a former teammate of St. John's senior forward Justin Brownlee when the two played at Chipola Junior College in Mariana, Fla., during the 2008-09 season. Jones is the team's second-leading scorer and the team's top post option, utilizing his 6-8, 260 frame to average 12.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Bryant is averaging 11.4 points and 3.7 assists per contest. Senior forward John Flowers is the team's top rebounder, hauling down 7.2 boards per game. Flowers also ranks 23rd in the nation and second in the BIG EAST with 2.6 blocks per game. Senior guard Joe Mazzulla plays mostly off the bench and leads WVU with 36 assists.

WVU is riding a three-game winning streak with victories over Robert Morris (Dec. 7), Duquesne (Dec. 12) and Cleveland State (Dec. 18). On Dec. 22, the Mountaineers won an exhibition game against Walsh College, 86-63, at WVU Coliseum. Mitchell and Bryant led the team in scoring with 18 and 17 points, respectively.

The Mountaineers' losses to Minnesota (Nov. 21) and Miami (Dec.4 ) were the only two games this season where the opposing team had four players score in double figures. Over St. John's last three games, four Red Storm players are averaging double-digit scoring: Dwight Hardy (22.0 points), D.J. Kennedy (15.3), Brownlee (13.7) and Justin Burrell (10.3). WVU fell, 74-70, to Minnesota due in large part to Golden Gophers guard Blake Hoffarber's four 3-pointers in the second half. In West Virginia's 79-76 loss to Miami, Hurricanes guard Malcolm Grant reeled off a career-best 26 points, including a 13-of-14 effort from the free throw line.

West Virginia is coming off a historic 2009-10 campaign when the team went 31-7, won its first BIG EAST championship and reached the NCAA Final Four for the first time since 1959. The Mountaineers, who went 13-5 in conference play, ended their season with a 78-57 loss in the national semifinals to eventual national champion Duke. The 2009-10 Mountaineers were led by Lowe's Senior CLASS Award winner and first-team All-American Da'Sean Butler.

West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins has comprised an 88-32 record in his fourth season leading the Mountaineers. Huggins owns a 678-243 career coaching record over 29 seasons as a head coach with stints at Walsh College (1980-83), Akron (1984-89), Cincinnati (1989-2005) and Kansas State (2006-07). Huggins is 4-0 against St. John's.

Storm Tracker

Dynamic senior swingman D.J. Kennedy paced the Red Storm in scoring (15.1 ppg), rebounding (202, 6.1 rpg), assists (102, 3.1 apg), steals (38, 1.2 spg), free throw percentage (.756), 3-point field goal percentage (T-1st, .383) and minutes played (31.4 per game) in 2009-10, and was listed second among St. John's leaders in blocked shots (22). Kennedy -- whose scoring (19th) and rebounding (21st) averages ranked him among conference leaders -- was a six-time BIG EAST Honor Roll member last season and is a two-time first team All-Met selection from the Metropolitan Basketball Writers' Association (2008-09, 2009-10). He is 24th on STJ's all-time scoring list with 1,293 career points, and if he matches last season's point total (497), Kennedy will finish his career in the Top 10 among St. John's all-time scorers -- a list that includes legends Chris Mullin (first, 2,440), Malik Sealy (second, 2,402), Felipe Lopez (third, 1,927) and Tony Jackson (ninth, 1,603).

New York City playground legend Dwight Hardy made quite an impression as a prolific scorer in 2009-10, finishing second on the squad with a 15.1 ppg average. This season Hardy is pacing the Red Storm, hitting at a 15.5 ppg clip and raking ninth among all BIG EAST players. An multi-dimensional athlete with the ability to get into the paint and draw contact, Hardy's .878 free throw percentage (43-of-49) is currently second in the league, and his 1.8 made 3-pointers per game rates 13th.

Lightning-quick and Queens-tough, senior Malik Boothe returns as the incumbent floor general. He currently ranks 16th among all BIG EAST players with a 3.7 assists per game average, and his 2.85 assist to turnover ratio (37 assists, 13 turnovers on the year) ranks third among league leaders. His efforts have helped the Red Storm lead the BIG EAST and rank as high as second nationally in turnover margin (+6.3).

Holiday Festival and Great Alaska Shootout MOP Justin Brownlee has been in the starting lineup for eight games in 2010-11 after making three starts last season. His 14.1 ppg rank 14th in the league, and his .574 field goal percentage are fourth in the BIG EAST and among the Top 30 among all NCAA Division I players.

Rookie forward Dwayne Polee II -- the 2010 Los Angeles City Section and MaxPreps State of California High School Player of the Year -- impressed in the preseason and has made an immediate impact in the first nine games. The athletic newcomer with the 40-inch vertical averaged 8.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in the Holiday Festival, while making 8-of-12 field goals (.667) over 16.5 minutes per game.

Senior guard Paris Horne -- noted as one of STJ's toughest perimeter defenders -- is also on-pace to leave his mark in the Red Storm's offensive career record books. With 129 career 3-point field goals made, Horne currently is third all-time and is only 22 treys short of moving into first place. His 1,009 career points made him St. John's 46th member of the 1,000-point club.

Senior forward Justin Burrell has contributed in all 10 games after missing four weeks in the preseason with a fractured metacarpal (hand). The big man averaged 11.0 ppg during the Holiday Festival on a perfect 7-of-7 effort from the field, and added 8.0 rebounds per contest in 24.0 minutes.

Bruising forward Sean Evans established himself among the Red Storm's most consistent performers in 2009-10. Evans' 10 career double-doubles include a 19-point, 10-rebound effort against UConn in the BIG EAST Tournament. He averaged 15.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg while shooting .765 from the field and 1.000 at the free throw line (5-for-5) in last year's end-of-year conference event.

Imposing big man Dele Coker returns to the post after leading the squad in field goal percentage (.629) and rejections (24, 0.9 bpg, Top 20 in the BIG EAST). He scored buckets vs. St. Bonaventure (Dec. 7) and at Fordham (Dec. 11).

Local guard Malik Stith has seen time at the one and the two after dealing 37 assists and only 22 turnovers as a freshman. He is averaging 5.7 ppg this season, with 18 assists and six turnovers.

On Deck

STJ remains on the road to face Providence on New Year's Day, Saturday at 7 p.m. (SNY), before returning to The Garden for a Jan. 3 Big Monday meeting with Georgetown (7 p.m., ESPN2).

St. John's University Athletics

STJ Opens BIG EAST Play With West Virginia Wednesday In Morgantown

Players Mentioned

Malik Boothe

Justin Brownlee

Justin Burrell

Dele Coker

Sean Evans

Dwight Hardy

Paris Horne

D.J. Kennedy

Dwayne Polee II

Malik Stith

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