St. John's University Athletics
Wednesday, January 16
Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)
6:30 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Creighton
St. John’s Welcomes Creighton to Carnesecca Arena
1/15/2019 4:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Red Storm will look to snap two-game skid against BIG EAST’s top offense
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's basketball team will try to snap a two-game skid when it welcomes Creighton to Carnesecca Arena for a Wednesday night BIG EAST tilt.
The game will tip at 6:30 p.m. and will be carried live nationally on FS1 with Brian Custer and Len Elmore on the call. John Minko and Vin Parise will broadcast the action on 970 AM WNYM.
As of press time, fewer than 100 tickets are available for the contest through the St. John's Ticket Office.
St. John's (14-3, 2-3 BIG EAST), who cracked the rankings at No. 24 last week for the first time in four years, received 12 votes in Monday's newest Associated Press Top 25 poll after suffering consecutive defeats at the hands of Villanova and DePaul. The loss to the defending national champions came on the road at Finneran Pavilion, as the Wildcats, who re-entered the rankings at No. 22 on Monday, erased a five-point deficit in the closing minutes to hold off St. John's. Four days later, the Red Storm fell at home to DePaul without the services of Shamorie Ponds, who missed the contest with a muscle strain in his lower back. Ponds, who ranks third in the BIG EAST in scoring (20.6 ppg) and leads the conference in assists (6.0 apg), steals (2.7 spg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.9-to-1), remains day-to-day.
In the absence of Ponds, LJ Figueroa and Justin Simon rose to the occasion, scoring 23 and 20 points, respectively, on Saturday against the Blue Demons. Figueroa connected on nine of his 14 attempts from the floor, including a 3-for-5 showing from deep, while Simon added a game-high seven assists and shot 10-of-16 from the field. Despite the team's 0-2 record in its last two outings, Figueroa and Simon have put forth stellar efforts during that stretch. A former junior college All-American, Figueroa has connected on seven of his 11 attempts from beyond the arc in his last two games, converting at a 63.6 percent clip after going 0-for-7 from long range in his first three BIG EAST outings. Simon, who finished second in the BIG EAST in assists last season, averaged 16.5 points and 8.0 assists in the Red Storm's stumbles at the hands of Villanova and DePaul.
Marvin Clark II is also coming off a strong outing in the loss to DePaul, registering his second career double-double in the Red Storm's losing effort. The redshirt senior from Kansas City, Mo., tallied 14 points and 12 rebounds, eclipsing his previous career-high of 10 boards set last year against Seton Hall at Madison Square Garden. Clark accounted for more than one-third of the team's rebounding total against DePaul.
A victory over the Bluejays would give the Johnnies their first 3-3 start in BIG EAST play since 2012-13, when the team rattled off five-straight wins after beginning its conference slate with losses in three of its first four outings.
Creighton (10-7, 1-3 BIG EAST) comes to Queens looking for its seven-straight win over the Red Storm. The last time the Johnnies knocked off the Bluejays came on Feb. 7, 2015, an 84-66 victory for St. John's at Madison Square Garden behind a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double from D'Angelo Harrison.
The Bluejays have dropped three-consecutive decisions since opening BIG EAST play with a road win at Providence, falling to Butler in Indianapolis before coming out on the wrong end of home tilts with Marquette and Villanova, both of whom are nationally ranked this week.
After averaging 5.5 points per game and making just one start as a freshman last season, Creighton guard Ty-Shon Alexander is a runaway favorite for the BIG EAST's most improved player, pouring in 17.4 points per contest. Currently ranked seventh in the league in scoring, Alexander leads four Bluejays averaging double figures on the year.
The game will tip at 6:30 p.m. and will be carried live nationally on FS1 with Brian Custer and Len Elmore on the call. John Minko and Vin Parise will broadcast the action on 970 AM WNYM.
As of press time, fewer than 100 tickets are available for the contest through the St. John's Ticket Office.
St. John's (14-3, 2-3 BIG EAST), who cracked the rankings at No. 24 last week for the first time in four years, received 12 votes in Monday's newest Associated Press Top 25 poll after suffering consecutive defeats at the hands of Villanova and DePaul. The loss to the defending national champions came on the road at Finneran Pavilion, as the Wildcats, who re-entered the rankings at No. 22 on Monday, erased a five-point deficit in the closing minutes to hold off St. John's. Four days later, the Red Storm fell at home to DePaul without the services of Shamorie Ponds, who missed the contest with a muscle strain in his lower back. Ponds, who ranks third in the BIG EAST in scoring (20.6 ppg) and leads the conference in assists (6.0 apg), steals (2.7 spg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.9-to-1), remains day-to-day.
In the absence of Ponds, LJ Figueroa and Justin Simon rose to the occasion, scoring 23 and 20 points, respectively, on Saturday against the Blue Demons. Figueroa connected on nine of his 14 attempts from the floor, including a 3-for-5 showing from deep, while Simon added a game-high seven assists and shot 10-of-16 from the field. Despite the team's 0-2 record in its last two outings, Figueroa and Simon have put forth stellar efforts during that stretch. A former junior college All-American, Figueroa has connected on seven of his 11 attempts from beyond the arc in his last two games, converting at a 63.6 percent clip after going 0-for-7 from long range in his first three BIG EAST outings. Simon, who finished second in the BIG EAST in assists last season, averaged 16.5 points and 8.0 assists in the Red Storm's stumbles at the hands of Villanova and DePaul.
Marvin Clark II is also coming off a strong outing in the loss to DePaul, registering his second career double-double in the Red Storm's losing effort. The redshirt senior from Kansas City, Mo., tallied 14 points and 12 rebounds, eclipsing his previous career-high of 10 boards set last year against Seton Hall at Madison Square Garden. Clark accounted for more than one-third of the team's rebounding total against DePaul.
A victory over the Bluejays would give the Johnnies their first 3-3 start in BIG EAST play since 2012-13, when the team rattled off five-straight wins after beginning its conference slate with losses in three of its first four outings.
Creighton (10-7, 1-3 BIG EAST) comes to Queens looking for its seven-straight win over the Red Storm. The last time the Johnnies knocked off the Bluejays came on Feb. 7, 2015, an 84-66 victory for St. John's at Madison Square Garden behind a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double from D'Angelo Harrison.
The Bluejays have dropped three-consecutive decisions since opening BIG EAST play with a road win at Providence, falling to Butler in Indianapolis before coming out on the wrong end of home tilts with Marquette and Villanova, both of whom are nationally ranked this week.
After averaging 5.5 points per game and making just one start as a freshman last season, Creighton guard Ty-Shon Alexander is a runaway favorite for the BIG EAST's most improved player, pouring in 17.4 points per contest. Currently ranked seventh in the league in scoring, Alexander leads four Bluejays averaging double figures on the year.
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard/Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
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