St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, January 12
Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)
6:00 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
DePaul
No. 24/23 St. John’s Returns Home to Host DePaul
1/11/2019 1:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Red Storm will look to remain perfect at home on the campaign
QUEENS, N.Y. – After seeing a late lead slip away against the defending national champions on Tuesday night at Villanova, the No. 23/24 St. John's men's basketball team will return to the friendly confines of Carnesecca Arena this weekend, playing host to DePaul on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network with Tom McCarthy and Jim Spanarkel on the call. John Minko will handle the play by play duties and Brandon Tierney will deliver color commentary on 570 AM WMCA in the New York Metropolitan Area.
St. John's returns home to Queens following a two-game road swing that included an overtime win at Georgetown followed by a closely contested loss to the Wildcats in Philadelphia. That victory over the Hoyas marked the first for the Johnnies in D.C. since 2003, snapping a streak of 13-straight defeats against Georgetown in the nation's capital.
After scoring 37 points in that overtime triumph, Shamorie Ponds was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week for the second time this season on Monday. Averaging 31.5 points, 5.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals in wins over the Hoyas and No. 16 Marquette, Ponds also garnered national player of the week recognition from several outlets, including NCAA.com, the United States Basketball Writers Association and the Citizen Naismith Trophy. On the season, Ponds ranks third in the BIG EAST in scoring at 20.6 points per game while leading the league in assists (6.0 per game) and steals (2.7 per game). He also currently places second in the conference with a 2.9-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Led by Ponds' 26 points, the Red Storm dominated No. 16 Marquette, 89-69, in its last outing at Carnesecca Arena on New Year's Day. Ponds scored 20 of his points in the opening half before the Johnnies expanded their lead to as many as 21 in the latter stanza. Five Johnnies finished in double figures during that win over the Golden Eagles, but arguably the most impressive effort of the night came on the defensive end of the floor. Anchored by Justin Simon, St. John's limited Markus Howard, the BIG EAST's leading scorer to a season-low eight points on 2-of-15 shooting. Eight days later, Howard broke the conference single-game scoring record with 53 points in an overtime win at Creighton.
The Red Storm will look to remain perfect on the year at home, as the Johnnies have won all nine of their home contests, eight of which have been played at Carnesecca Arena. In those eight victories, the Red Storm is averaging 85.2 points per game on 50.1 percent shooting and outscoring opponents by an average 18.9 points per outing. Mustapha Heron has been the team's top scorer in Queens this year, averaging 16.9 points in games contested at Carnesecca Arena.
Despite cooling off late from beyond the arc against Villanova on Tuesday night, the Red Storm still ranks in 10th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage through games played on Wednesday. Should the Red Storm maintain this pace for the rest of the campaign, the team would shatter the program record of 38.6 percent set in 1986-87, the first year of the standardized three-point line in college basketball. The game has changed quite a bit since then, as the 1986-87 Johnnies went 56-of-145 from distance over the span of 30 contests. Through 16 games, this year's Red Storm has already attempted 373 treys with 150 of those finding the bottom of the bucket.
DePaul (9-5, 1-2 BIG EAST) comes to Queens on the heels of its first conference win of the campaign, knocking off Seton Hall, 75-74, on Sunday in Chicago. The Blue Demons led by as many as 15 in that game before the Pirates cut into their deficit late before ultimately falling short. Max Strus, the fifth leading scorer in the BIG EAST at 18.8 points per contest, netted a game-high 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including a 5-of-7 showing from three-point range.
Strus leads three Blue Demons averaging double figures on the season, as Eli Cain records 13.7 points and a team-best 4.2 helpers per game while Long Island product Femi Olujobi chips in 10.3 per contest.
St. John's and DePaul split their season series in 2017-18, as each team captured a victory on its opponent's home floor. The Red Storm owns a 23-18 all-time advantage in a series that dates back to 1932, including a 15-7 against the Blue Demons are BIG EAST foes.
Saturday's game will mark the first of two-straight at home for St. John's, as Creighton will pay a visit to Carnesecca Arena on Jan. 16 at 6:30 p.m.
The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network with Tom McCarthy and Jim Spanarkel on the call. John Minko will handle the play by play duties and Brandon Tierney will deliver color commentary on 570 AM WMCA in the New York Metropolitan Area.
St. John's returns home to Queens following a two-game road swing that included an overtime win at Georgetown followed by a closely contested loss to the Wildcats in Philadelphia. That victory over the Hoyas marked the first for the Johnnies in D.C. since 2003, snapping a streak of 13-straight defeats against Georgetown in the nation's capital.
After scoring 37 points in that overtime triumph, Shamorie Ponds was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week for the second time this season on Monday. Averaging 31.5 points, 5.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals in wins over the Hoyas and No. 16 Marquette, Ponds also garnered national player of the week recognition from several outlets, including NCAA.com, the United States Basketball Writers Association and the Citizen Naismith Trophy. On the season, Ponds ranks third in the BIG EAST in scoring at 20.6 points per game while leading the league in assists (6.0 per game) and steals (2.7 per game). He also currently places second in the conference with a 2.9-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Led by Ponds' 26 points, the Red Storm dominated No. 16 Marquette, 89-69, in its last outing at Carnesecca Arena on New Year's Day. Ponds scored 20 of his points in the opening half before the Johnnies expanded their lead to as many as 21 in the latter stanza. Five Johnnies finished in double figures during that win over the Golden Eagles, but arguably the most impressive effort of the night came on the defensive end of the floor. Anchored by Justin Simon, St. John's limited Markus Howard, the BIG EAST's leading scorer to a season-low eight points on 2-of-15 shooting. Eight days later, Howard broke the conference single-game scoring record with 53 points in an overtime win at Creighton.
The Red Storm will look to remain perfect on the year at home, as the Johnnies have won all nine of their home contests, eight of which have been played at Carnesecca Arena. In those eight victories, the Red Storm is averaging 85.2 points per game on 50.1 percent shooting and outscoring opponents by an average 18.9 points per outing. Mustapha Heron has been the team's top scorer in Queens this year, averaging 16.9 points in games contested at Carnesecca Arena.
Despite cooling off late from beyond the arc against Villanova on Tuesday night, the Red Storm still ranks in 10th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage through games played on Wednesday. Should the Red Storm maintain this pace for the rest of the campaign, the team would shatter the program record of 38.6 percent set in 1986-87, the first year of the standardized three-point line in college basketball. The game has changed quite a bit since then, as the 1986-87 Johnnies went 56-of-145 from distance over the span of 30 contests. Through 16 games, this year's Red Storm has already attempted 373 treys with 150 of those finding the bottom of the bucket.
DePaul (9-5, 1-2 BIG EAST) comes to Queens on the heels of its first conference win of the campaign, knocking off Seton Hall, 75-74, on Sunday in Chicago. The Blue Demons led by as many as 15 in that game before the Pirates cut into their deficit late before ultimately falling short. Max Strus, the fifth leading scorer in the BIG EAST at 18.8 points per contest, netted a game-high 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including a 5-of-7 showing from three-point range.
Strus leads three Blue Demons averaging double figures on the season, as Eli Cain records 13.7 points and a team-best 4.2 helpers per game while Long Island product Femi Olujobi chips in 10.3 per contest.
St. John's and DePaul split their season series in 2017-18, as each team captured a victory on its opponent's home floor. The Red Storm owns a 23-18 all-time advantage in a series that dates back to 1932, including a 15-7 against the Blue Demons are BIG EAST foes.
Saturday's game will mark the first of two-straight at home for St. John's, as Creighton will pay a visit to Carnesecca Arena on Jan. 16 at 6:30 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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