St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Takes On DePaul Monday at Carnesecca Arena
1/15/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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QUEENS, N.Y. - St. John's returns to Carnesecca Arena for its final on campus game of the 2016-17 campaign when the Johnnies host DePaul (8-10, 1-4) at 4:30 p.m. as part of the BIG EAST Marathon on FS1 on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. FS1 will deliver the national broadcast as the third game of five-straight contests on the network.
FOX Sports announcers Brian Custer and Jim Spanarkel will call the action. The St. John's IMG Radio broadcast can be heard on 970 AM WNYM with announcers John Minko and Brandon Tierney.
St. John's (8-11, 2-4) has won five of its seven games at Carnesecca Arena this season and enters Monday's contest looking to end a four-game slide. The Johnnies are coming off a hard-fought setback to defending national champion Villanova on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. Despite helping force 20 turnovers and holding Wildcat stars Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins to a combined 5-for-23 shooting mark, the Johnnies could not find a way to rally back from a double-digit second half deficit against a veteran Villanova club.
The Johnnies have played particularly well in Queens this season, averaging over 80 points per game with Shamorie Ponds responsible for nearly 25 percent of the scoring. In seven starts at Carnesecca Arena, the 6-foot-1 guard has torched the nets for 19.7 points per game while shooting a blistering 52.6 percent from the field with 20 3-pointers and has made 18-of-19 (94.7 pct) free-throw attempts. Ponds had a pair of career performances earlier this year at Carnesecca Arena by posting a personal best 26 points in wins over Fordham and then-No.13 Butler.
As a team, the Red Storm has also converted its field goal attempts at a higher rate (47.7 FG pct) and average 10.0 3-pointers per game inside Carnesecca Arena this season. Underclassmen Marcus LoVett (17.6 ppg) and Federico Mussini (12.2 ppg) are each shooting over 47.5 percent from the field and have combined for 33 triples in Queens. Defensively, the Johnnies have limited its opposition to 69.0 points in seven games on campus.
DePaul enters the contest having lost six of its last seven games, including the Blue Demons' 83-58 setback at Marquette on Saturday. The Blue Demons are in search of their first win away from home this season as they have dropped all seven contests in road and neutral arenas.
The Blue Demons are led by Eli Cain (16.4 ppg) and Billy Garrett, Jr. (14.9 ppg) who each rank in the top-15 on the BIG EAST's scoring list.
St. John's has owned the series with DePaul of late, as the Johnnies have won 12 of the last 15 contests dating back to 2009. In the first meeting this season, the Red Storm rallied for a 79-73 victory at Allstate Arena on New Year's Day. LoVett scored a game-high 22 points and handed out six assists while Ponds chipped in 15 points and Malik Ellison finished with seven points and eight assists.
The first 5,000 fans to arrive at Carnesecca Arena on Monday will receive a commemorative Felipe Lopez bobblehead. After taking on DePaul, St. John's hits the road for the next two games visiting Seton Hall on Jan. 22 and Providence on Jan. 25.
