St. John's University Athletics
St. John's to Face Minnesota on Friday Night
11/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MINNEAPOLIS - Following two convincing wins at Carnesecca Arena to begin the 2016-17 campaign, the Red Storm will hit the road for the first time this season on Friday night, taking on Minnesota (3-0) at 9 p.m.
The game will be televised nationally on BTN and will be broadcast in the New York area on 570 AM WMCA. Jeff Levering and Stephen Bardo will call the action on BTN, while John Minko and Brian Mahoney will handle the announcing duties on the radio.
The contest will mark the Red Storm's participation in the annual Gavitt Tipoff Games, a series of games between the BIG EAST and the Big Ten played in honor of the late Dave Gavitt, the founder of the BIG EAST Conference and a monumental figure in the history of collegiate athletics.
The Red Storm has been successful in its first two contests thanks in large part to the play of its backcourt. Last time out against Binghamton, Marcus LoVett and Shamorie Ponds became the first St. John's freshmen to score 20 or more apiece in the same game since 2011-12, when Moe Harkless exploded for 32 and D'Angelo Harrison added 25 in a 91-67 victory over Providence on Dec. 27. LoVett scored a game-high 23 points against the Bearcats, sinking five three-pointers and dishing out four assists while Ponds registered his first career double-double, pouring in 21 points and grabbing 10 boards.
The Johnnies are off to a 2-0 start for the third-straight year and the fifth time in the last six seasons. Last year, the Red Storm moved to 3-0 on the campaign with a win in the Gavitt Games, erasing a 16-point second half deficit to down Rutgers, 61-59, at Carnesecca Arena.
In addition to their stellar backcourt play, the Johnnies have also dominated the paint so far in 2016-17, leading the BIG EAST in blocks with 7.5 per contest. The Red Storm has had one of its players record five blocks in each of its first two games, as Tariq Owens swatted five shots in his St. John's debut against Bethune-Cookman and Kassoum Yakwe, who led the conference in blocks last season, rejected five Binghamton tries on Monday night.
About the Series with Minnesota
• Friday will be the fourth meeting all-time between St. John's and Minnesota, with the Red Storm looking to even the series at two games apiece.
• The last contest between the two teams came in the 2014 NIT Season Tip-Off, as Harrison scored 19 and Sir'Dominic Pointer grabbed 11 boards to lead the Red Storm past the Golden Gophers at "The World's Most Famous Arena."
• Minnesota claimed victory in each of the first two games between the teams, winning 92-64 at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 30, 1994, and defeating the Red Storm 77-39 in Minneapolis on Dec. 15, 1996.
