St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Hosts Seton Hall Saturday at MSG
2/23/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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QUEENS, N.Y. -- Coming off a two-game road swing, the St. John's men's basketball team returns to the comfy confines of "The World's Most Famous Arena" for a Saturday showdown against local rival Seton Hall. FOX will carry the national telecast that goes live from Madison Square Garden at noon.
FOX Sports announcers Gus Johnson and Donny Marshall along with sideline reporter Holly Sonders are on the call for the 99th all-time meeting between the original BIG EAST members. John Minko and Brandon Tierney will narrate the action over the airwaves on St. John's IMG Radio broadcast, which can be heard on 570 AM WMCA or through TuneIn Radio.
The Johnnies enter their matchup with Seton Hall aiming to continue a late-season charge that has captured national headlines after beginning the recent hot stretch with back-to-back victories over top-5 opponents Duke and Villanova. Saturday's contest marks the first for St. John's on its home hardwood in Midtown Manhattan since upending the Blue Devils, 81-77, inside a sold-out MSG on Feb. 3. Now boasting a 4-1 record in February, St. John's (14-14, 3-12) will play two of its final three regular-season games at home over the next week before gearing up for the BIG EAST Tournament.
Shamorie Ponds delivered an epic performance in his last showing at MSG against the Blue Devils, as the sophomore from Brooklyn finished with 33 points, seven rebounds and four steals in a victory that jumpstarted a four-game win streak. A two-time BIG EAST and National Player of the Week honoree this month, Ponds has taken his game to a new level by upping his scoring average over the last five games to 29.6 points to go with 5.2 assists per outing.
Ponds' backcourt mate Justin Simon has also helped quarterback the Red Storm to its recent victories, as the 6-foot-5 sophomore guard has dished out a team-high 5.8 assists to go along with 13.4 points in the last five contests. Simon has scored in double-figures in each of the team's last four games with a pair of double-doubles, highlighted by a 16-point, 11-rebound performance in St. John's last home victory over Marquette, 86-78, on Feb. 10.
Nearly two months have passed since the Johnnies and Pirates first met on Dec. 31 in Newark. Despite playing without Ponds and Marcus LoVett due to injuries, St. John's gave the veteran-laden Pirates (19-9, 8-7) all they could handle on their home court at the Prudential Center. Trailing by as many as 15 in the second half, the Red Storm narrowed its deficit to one in the waning minutes of the contest, but proved unable to complete erase the disadvantage. Four Johnnies recorded double-figures in the first meeting with The Hall, including a career performance from Tariq Owens who finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds, as well as a 15-point, 10-assist double-double from Simon.
Seton Hall enters Saturday's contest riding a two-game win streak, most recently earning an 89-77 road win at Providence. Senior guard Khadeen Carrington scored a game-high 25 points and sophomore guard Myles Powell added 20 points to help the Pirates improve to 3-5 in BIG EAST road games this season.
St. John's holds a 59-39 advantage in the series with Seton Hall that dates back to 1909. In the last meeting at MSG on Feb. 11, 2017, the Johnnies came away with a 78-70 victory behind Ponds' 17-point performance and Owens' double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds).
After facing The Hall, St. John's will play its final home game of the regular-season on Wednesday against Butler at Carnesecca Arena. Game time is scheduled for 9 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
