St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Faces Villanova in the BIG EAST Quarterfinals
3/9/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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QUEENS, N.Y. - After a thrilling one-point victory over Georgetown, the St. John's men's basketball team returns to Madison Square Garden for a BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal showdown with top-seeded No. 2/2 Villanova (28-3) on Thursday at noon. The Johnnies will tip off with the defending national champions nearly 15 hours after knocking off the Hoyas in the first round with a chance to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2000 on the line.
FS1 will carry the national telecast with Justin Kutcher, Jim Jackson and Steve Lavin calling the action from "The World's Most Famous Arena." St. John's IMG Radio Broadcast featuring John Minko and Brandon Tierney can be heard on 970 AM WNYM or through TuneIn Radio.
St. John's underclassmen shined on Wednesday night under the bright lights to help secure the program's first BIG EAST Tournament win since 2011. Shamorie Ponds scored in double-figures for the 30th time this season, as the freshman from Brooklyn finished with a team-high 17 points and grabbed five rebounds. Sophomore guard Malik Ellison was also a bright spot for the Red Storm recording 11 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals in the triumph.
In a game that featured six ties and five lead changes, neither team could open a double-digit advantage in a hard fought contest that had old school BIG EAST flavor. The Red Storm led by as many as eight points in the second half, but the game ultimately came down the final possession and it was a defensive stop by the Johnnies that sealed it.
Now the Johnnies' attentions must shift to the BIG EAST's regular-season champs, who enter Thursday's matchup having won nine of the last 10 games. Villanova swept the two meetings with the Red Storm earlier this year, including a 70-57 victory in their last contest at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 14.
If the young and talented Johnnies are going to flip the script this time around and snap Villanova's 11-game win streak in their series, St. John's (14-18) will need to put together an all-around performance similar to its recent victories in Midtown over Marquette (Feb. 1) and Seton Hall (Feb. 11). In those wins over its potential semifinal opponents, the Red Storm was clicking on both ends of the court as the squad averaged 82.0 points and shot 46.2 percent from the field while also recording 8.5 steals and 8.0 blocks per game.
Thursday's contest marks the 116th all-time meeting between St. John's and its most-frequently played opponent in program history. The Johnnies own a 60-55 advantage in the series that dates back to 1909. St. John's has won four of its seven BIG EAST Tournament meetings against Villanova.
The Wildcats are led by BIG EAST Player of the Year Josh Hart, who averaged 18.6 points and 6.5 rebounds during the regular-season. Villanova went 15-3 in BIG EAST play and owned the conference's top scoring defense, allowing just 62.9 points per game.
The winner of St. John's - Villanova advances to Friday's semifinal at 6:30 p.m. against either No. 4 seed Marquette or No. 5 seed Seton Hall on FS1.
