St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, December 1
Miami, Fla. (AmericanAirlines Arena)
12 P.M.
St. John's University
vs
Georgia Tech
St. John’s to Meet Georgia Tech in HoopHall Miami Invitational
11/29/2018 3:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Johnnies and Yellow Jackets to square off on Saturday at 12 p.m. on ESPNU
QUEENS, N.Y. – Off to the program's first 6-0 start since 2009-10, the St. John's men's basketball team will put its undefeated record on the line when it travels to the Hoophall Miami Invitational on Saturday afternoon to take on Georgia Tech at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The contest against the Yellow Jackets, scheduled for a noon tip, will be the first outside the New York Metropolitan Area this season for the Johnnies. Rich Hollenberg and Mark Adams will call the game on ESPNU while John Minko and Vin Parise will deliver the action on 570 AM WMCA.
The Red Storm will look to secure its first 7-0 start since 1994-95 when it takes on ACC foe Georgia Tech at the home of the Miami Heat. Averaging 83.0 points per game in its six 6-0 start, this year's Red Storm is also off to the best start in terms of offensive production since that 94-95 team poured in 83.5 points per outing in its first six appearances.
Leading the way offensively for St. John's is reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week Shamorie Ponds. Despite a relatively quiet four-point showing on Tuesday against Maryland Eastern Shore, the 6-foot-1 guard from Brooklyn still ranks second in the conference in scoring at 20.0 points per game. In addition, Ponds also ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in assists with 5.2 per game and sports the league's top assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.9-to-1. Ponds has excelled in neutral site games so far this season, averaging 33.5 points, 6.0 assists, 4.0 steals and 3.0 rebounds to lead St. John's to its first in-season tournament title since 2010 at last week's Legends Classic.
On Tuesday night against the Hawks, Ponds played the role of facilitator for teammates LJ Figueroa and Mustapha Heron. Figueroa posted his second double-double in his last four tries, going off for 25 points and 13 rebounds, both of which were season highs for the former NJCAA All-American. Figueroa currently leads the team in field goal percentage (57.4%) and three-point field goal percentage (53.6%), the latter of which ranks fourth in the league and 18th nationally through games played on Wednesday. Heron reached the 20-point mark for the third time in six games as a member of the Johnnies, tallying 20 points and nine rebounds against UMES. The former Second Team All-SEC selection ranks second on the team in both scoring (18.2 ppg) and rebounding (6.2 rpg).
Head Coach Chris Mullin will look to remain undefeated against ACC opposition when the Johnnies take on Georgia Tech. The Red Storm defeated Syracuse in each of his first two years at the helm before upending No. 4 Duke last year at Madison Square Garden.
Georgia Tech enters the weekend with a record of 4-2 after seeing a second-half comeback fall just short on the road at Northwestern in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday night. The Yellow Jackets have yet to win away from home this season, falling to then-No. 5 Tennessee, 66-53, on Nov. 13 in their only other road test.
Georgia Tech has proven to be one of the ACC's tougher defensive teams, holding opponents to just 59.0 points per game in their first six outings. Opposing teams are converting at a 36.0 percent clip from the field against the Yellow Jackets, including an anemic 25.7 percent from distance.
Offensively, two Yellow Jackets average double figures, led by Brooklyn native Jose Alvarado at 13.7 points per game. Brandon Alston, who has come off the bench five times in the team's first six outings, is close behind at 11.8 points per contest.
After taking on Georgia Tech in the Sunshine State, the Red Storm will play five-straight games at home to wrap up the non-conference portion of its schedule.
The contest against the Yellow Jackets, scheduled for a noon tip, will be the first outside the New York Metropolitan Area this season for the Johnnies. Rich Hollenberg and Mark Adams will call the game on ESPNU while John Minko and Vin Parise will deliver the action on 570 AM WMCA.
The Red Storm will look to secure its first 7-0 start since 1994-95 when it takes on ACC foe Georgia Tech at the home of the Miami Heat. Averaging 83.0 points per game in its six 6-0 start, this year's Red Storm is also off to the best start in terms of offensive production since that 94-95 team poured in 83.5 points per outing in its first six appearances.
Leading the way offensively for St. John's is reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week Shamorie Ponds. Despite a relatively quiet four-point showing on Tuesday against Maryland Eastern Shore, the 6-foot-1 guard from Brooklyn still ranks second in the conference in scoring at 20.0 points per game. In addition, Ponds also ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in assists with 5.2 per game and sports the league's top assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.9-to-1. Ponds has excelled in neutral site games so far this season, averaging 33.5 points, 6.0 assists, 4.0 steals and 3.0 rebounds to lead St. John's to its first in-season tournament title since 2010 at last week's Legends Classic.
On Tuesday night against the Hawks, Ponds played the role of facilitator for teammates LJ Figueroa and Mustapha Heron. Figueroa posted his second double-double in his last four tries, going off for 25 points and 13 rebounds, both of which were season highs for the former NJCAA All-American. Figueroa currently leads the team in field goal percentage (57.4%) and three-point field goal percentage (53.6%), the latter of which ranks fourth in the league and 18th nationally through games played on Wednesday. Heron reached the 20-point mark for the third time in six games as a member of the Johnnies, tallying 20 points and nine rebounds against UMES. The former Second Team All-SEC selection ranks second on the team in both scoring (18.2 ppg) and rebounding (6.2 rpg).
Head Coach Chris Mullin will look to remain undefeated against ACC opposition when the Johnnies take on Georgia Tech. The Red Storm defeated Syracuse in each of his first two years at the helm before upending No. 4 Duke last year at Madison Square Garden.
Georgia Tech enters the weekend with a record of 4-2 after seeing a second-half comeback fall just short on the road at Northwestern in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday night. The Yellow Jackets have yet to win away from home this season, falling to then-No. 5 Tennessee, 66-53, on Nov. 13 in their only other road test.
Georgia Tech has proven to be one of the ACC's tougher defensive teams, holding opponents to just 59.0 points per game in their first six outings. Opposing teams are converting at a 36.0 percent clip from the field against the Yellow Jackets, including an anemic 25.7 percent from distance.
Offensively, two Yellow Jackets average double figures, led by Brooklyn native Jose Alvarado at 13.7 points per game. Brandon Alston, who has come off the bench five times in the team's first six outings, is close behind at 11.8 points per contest.
After taking on Georgia Tech in the Sunshine State, the Red Storm will play five-straight games at home to wrap up the non-conference portion of its schedule.
Players Mentioned
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