St. John's University Athletics
Sunday, December 9
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
1 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Princeton
St. John’s to Make MSG Debut against Princeton on Sunday
12/7/2018 7:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Red Storm will make its 52nd appearance in the MSG Holiday Festival
QUEENS, N.Y. – Off to its best start in nearly three decades, the St. John's men's basketball team will make its 2018-19 debut at "The World's Most Famous Arena" on Sunday afternoon when the Johnnies face Princeton in the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival.
Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. on FS1 and 970 AM WNYM. Brian Custer and Sarah Kustok will lead the broadcast on FS1 while John Minko and Vin Parise will call the action on the radio.
The Johnnies enter the contest with a record of 8-0, signaling just the 17th time in program history and the first since 1990-91 that the mark has been reached. That year, St. John's, led by Malik Sealy, rattled off a perfect 9-0 non-conference record before losing its BIG EAST opener in overtime at No. 3 Syracuse on Jan. 2. Paced by Sealy's 22.1 points per game, that team went on to register an appearance in the Elite Eight after rising as high as no. 5 in the Associated Press Poll during the regular season.
Currently, St. John's is one of 11 unbeaten teams remaining in the nation. That number is assured to drop by at least one before the Johnnies tip off on Sunday, as No. 6 Nevada (8-0) and No. 20 Arizona State (7-0) are set to meet Friday night in Los Angeles. The Red Storm is the only undefeated team remaining in the BIG EAST.
Sunday will mark the Red Storm's 52nd appearance all-time in the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival, a December staple in the New York college basketball scene. The Red Storm owns a 74-39 record all-time in the event, which spanned two days until 2011. Dating back to 2010, the Johnnies are 7-1 at the Holiday Festival, including a win over local foe Iona last season. St. John's boasted a 2-0 record last year in non-conference play at "The Mecca," following up that Iona win with an 81-77 victory over No. 4 Duke on Feb. 3.
On Wednesday night against Mount St. Mary's, the Red Storm won its eighth-straight game, 85-71, thanks to the team's most efficient shooting performance of the year. The Johnnies drained a season-high 57.4 percent of their field goal tries, led by Marvin Clark II's 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including a 4-for-6 showing from downtown.
After finishing ninth in the BIG EAST in scoring offense a season ago, the Johnnies have seen their production rise dramatically in 2018-19. St. John's currently ranks second in the league at 82.4 points per game, trailing only historically hot-handed Creighton (84.6 ppg) in that category. The last time a St. John's team averaged more through eight games than the current Red Storm squad was in 1979-80. That year, St. John's went 24-5 during the inaugural season of BIG EAST play, including a 5-1 record in conference action to win the league's first-ever regular season title.
All five of the Red Storm's starters are averaging 9.9 points per game or better, led by Shamorie Ponds at 21.0 points per contest. The Brooklyn native ranks third in the league in scoring, second in assists (4.9 apg), first in steals (2.6 spg) and first in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.5-to-1.
A pair of first-year Johnnies is averaging better than 15 points per game apiece, as Mustapha Heron is pouring in 16.8 and LJ Figueroa is registering 15.1 on a team-best 54.2 percent shooting. Heron, a Second Team All-SEC selection last year at Auburn, also ranks second on the team in rebounding at 5.9 boards per contest. On Wednesday night, Figueroa recorded his third double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Princeton (4-3) and St. John's will square off for the 17th time in program history and the first since Dec. 18, 1982. Head Coach Chris Mullin twice laced them up against the Tigers as a player, recording two wins and scoring a game-high 18 points in the last meeting between the teams during his sophomore season.
The Tigers had won each of their last three decisions before suffering a 92-82 setback at the hands of Saint Joseph's at home on Wednesday night. Senior guard Devin Cannady scored a game-high 23 points in the loss.
Cannady leads the team with a scoring average of 21.8 points per game heading into the weekend. Senior backcourt mate Myles Stephens is the only other Princeton player in double figures on the year, pouring in 14.9 points per game to go along with a team-high 6.1 boards per contest.
Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. on FS1 and 970 AM WNYM. Brian Custer and Sarah Kustok will lead the broadcast on FS1 while John Minko and Vin Parise will call the action on the radio.
The Johnnies enter the contest with a record of 8-0, signaling just the 17th time in program history and the first since 1990-91 that the mark has been reached. That year, St. John's, led by Malik Sealy, rattled off a perfect 9-0 non-conference record before losing its BIG EAST opener in overtime at No. 3 Syracuse on Jan. 2. Paced by Sealy's 22.1 points per game, that team went on to register an appearance in the Elite Eight after rising as high as no. 5 in the Associated Press Poll during the regular season.
Currently, St. John's is one of 11 unbeaten teams remaining in the nation. That number is assured to drop by at least one before the Johnnies tip off on Sunday, as No. 6 Nevada (8-0) and No. 20 Arizona State (7-0) are set to meet Friday night in Los Angeles. The Red Storm is the only undefeated team remaining in the BIG EAST.
Sunday will mark the Red Storm's 52nd appearance all-time in the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival, a December staple in the New York college basketball scene. The Red Storm owns a 74-39 record all-time in the event, which spanned two days until 2011. Dating back to 2010, the Johnnies are 7-1 at the Holiday Festival, including a win over local foe Iona last season. St. John's boasted a 2-0 record last year in non-conference play at "The Mecca," following up that Iona win with an 81-77 victory over No. 4 Duke on Feb. 3.
On Wednesday night against Mount St. Mary's, the Red Storm won its eighth-straight game, 85-71, thanks to the team's most efficient shooting performance of the year. The Johnnies drained a season-high 57.4 percent of their field goal tries, led by Marvin Clark II's 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including a 4-for-6 showing from downtown.
After finishing ninth in the BIG EAST in scoring offense a season ago, the Johnnies have seen their production rise dramatically in 2018-19. St. John's currently ranks second in the league at 82.4 points per game, trailing only historically hot-handed Creighton (84.6 ppg) in that category. The last time a St. John's team averaged more through eight games than the current Red Storm squad was in 1979-80. That year, St. John's went 24-5 during the inaugural season of BIG EAST play, including a 5-1 record in conference action to win the league's first-ever regular season title.
All five of the Red Storm's starters are averaging 9.9 points per game or better, led by Shamorie Ponds at 21.0 points per contest. The Brooklyn native ranks third in the league in scoring, second in assists (4.9 apg), first in steals (2.6 spg) and first in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.5-to-1.
A pair of first-year Johnnies is averaging better than 15 points per game apiece, as Mustapha Heron is pouring in 16.8 and LJ Figueroa is registering 15.1 on a team-best 54.2 percent shooting. Heron, a Second Team All-SEC selection last year at Auburn, also ranks second on the team in rebounding at 5.9 boards per contest. On Wednesday night, Figueroa recorded his third double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Princeton (4-3) and St. John's will square off for the 17th time in program history and the first since Dec. 18, 1982. Head Coach Chris Mullin twice laced them up against the Tigers as a player, recording two wins and scoring a game-high 18 points in the last meeting between the teams during his sophomore season.
The Tigers had won each of their last three decisions before suffering a 92-82 setback at the hands of Saint Joseph's at home on Wednesday night. Senior guard Devin Cannady scored a game-high 23 points in the loss.
Cannady leads the team with a scoring average of 21.8 points per game heading into the weekend. Senior backcourt mate Myles Stephens is the only other Princeton player in double figures on the year, pouring in 14.9 points per game to go along with a team-high 6.1 boards per contest.
Players Mentioned
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