St. John's University Athletics
Tuesday, January 1
Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)
7:00 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Marquette
St. John’s Heads to Georgetown for Saturday Tilt on CBS
1/3/2019 5:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Johnnies will look for 14th win of the season against their longtime conference rival
QUEENS, N.Y. – St. John's and Georgetown will meet for the 112th time in their long and storied rivalry on Saturday afternoon, as the Johnnies are set to take on the Hoyas in a 1 p.m. showdown at Capital One Arena.
The Red Storm (13-1, 1-1 BIG EAST) will make their 2018-19 network television debut against the Hoyas (11-3, 1-0 BIG EAST), as the two teams will square off at 1 p.m. on CBS. Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery and Jon Rothstein will comprise the CBS broadcast team, while John Minko and Tarik Turner will call the action on 570 AM WMCA.
St. John's heads to the nation's capital on the heels of a statement victory on New Year's Day at Carnesecca Arena, dominating No. 16/18 Marquette, 89-69, in front of a sold-out crowd. The Golden Eagles saw their eight-game winning streak, which included three wins against ranked opponents, snapped at the hands of the Johnnies, who are now 3-0 in their last three regular season games against top 25 foes.
Led by 26 points from Shamorie Ponds, the Red Storm shot 53.6 percent from the floor and 45.8 percent from beyond the arc on Tuesday night. Entering the game, Marquette led the BIG EAST and ranked 27th nationally in field goal percentage defense (38.7%). Only Indiana (35-of-55, 63.6%) during a 23-point victory in the Gavitt Tipoff Games has converted at a higher clip from the floor this season against the Golden Eagles. The only team to shoot better than St. John's from downtown against Marquette was No. 2 Kansas (5-of-10, 50%) in a semifinal victory during the NIT Season Tip-Off at Barclays Center.
Ponds, the third leading scorer in the BIG EAST at 19.2 points per game, influenced the Red Storm in a number of other ways as well during the team's triumph over the Golden Eagles. The sharpshooting southpaw, who scored 20 of his 26 points before halftime, also grabbed seven boards, dished out a game-high five assists and swiped two steals. Ponds currently leads the BIG EAST in assists (6.0 per game) and steals (2.6 per game). Despite a highly uncharacteristic 10 turnovers over the course of his last two outings, Ponds still ranks second in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.9-to-1. During the team's final three games before the start of BIG EAST play, Ponds dished out 28 assists and coughed up just three turnovers.
Ponds led five St. John's scorers in double figures against Marquette, marking the fourth time in the team's last seven games that five Johnnies finished with 10 or more points. Marvin Clark II tallied 22 points and seven rebounds for his second 20-point effort in his last three outings. Over his last seven games, the redshirt senior from Kansas City, Mo., is shooting 64.4 percent from the floor, including a 57.5 percent effort from three-point range, and averaging a team-best 17.3 points per contest.
Mustapha Heron, the team's second leading scorer at 15.9 points per game, netted all 16 of his points in the second half of Tuesday's win in addition to grabbing a game-high eight boards. On the year, Heron is shooting 49.1 percent from three-point range, good enough for third in the BIG EAST. As a team, the Johnnies rank second in the league and 12th nationally through games played on Tuesday with a three-point success rate of 40.2 percent.
With a series history dating back to 1909, St. John's and Georgetown boast one of college basketball's most storied rivalries. Of the 111 games played between the two programs, none are more memorable than the four games played during the 1984-85 season, a year that saw both teams reach the Final Four. The stars of those squads, Chris Mullin and Patrick Ewing, are currently in their fourth and second years, respectively, as the head coaches of their alma maters.
St. John's will look to snap a Washington winless streak that dates back 16 years. The Johnnies have lost 13-straight games to Georgetown contested in the nation's capital, with the Red Storm's last victory in D.C. coming behind a 34-point performance from Marcus Hatten on Jan. 18, 2003. St. John's would later go on to beat that same Georgetown team in the Championship Game of the 2003 NIT at Madison Square Garden.
Last season, Georgetown swept the regular season series from St. John's, including a double overtime win at Capital One Arena on Jan. 20. The Johnnies enacted their revenge in the postseason, bouncing Georgetown from the BIG EAST Tournament for the second-straight year.
The Hoyas will host their BIG EAST home opener on the heels of a convincing victory at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Wednesday night, downing Butler 84-76. Greg Malinowski led the way for Georgetown in one of the conference's most hostile road environments, sinking 10 of his 12 field goal attempts, including a 6-of-7 showing from three-point range, en route to a career-high 26 points. Jessie Govan added 17 points for the Hoyas while freshmen Josh LeBlanc and James Akinjo chipped in 12 apiece.
The Red Storm will remain on the road following its matchup with the Hoyas, traveling to Villanova for a Tuesday night tilt with the defending national champions at the newly renovated Finneran Pavilion.
The Red Storm (13-1, 1-1 BIG EAST) will make their 2018-19 network television debut against the Hoyas (11-3, 1-0 BIG EAST), as the two teams will square off at 1 p.m. on CBS. Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery and Jon Rothstein will comprise the CBS broadcast team, while John Minko and Tarik Turner will call the action on 570 AM WMCA.
St. John's heads to the nation's capital on the heels of a statement victory on New Year's Day at Carnesecca Arena, dominating No. 16/18 Marquette, 89-69, in front of a sold-out crowd. The Golden Eagles saw their eight-game winning streak, which included three wins against ranked opponents, snapped at the hands of the Johnnies, who are now 3-0 in their last three regular season games against top 25 foes.
Led by 26 points from Shamorie Ponds, the Red Storm shot 53.6 percent from the floor and 45.8 percent from beyond the arc on Tuesday night. Entering the game, Marquette led the BIG EAST and ranked 27th nationally in field goal percentage defense (38.7%). Only Indiana (35-of-55, 63.6%) during a 23-point victory in the Gavitt Tipoff Games has converted at a higher clip from the floor this season against the Golden Eagles. The only team to shoot better than St. John's from downtown against Marquette was No. 2 Kansas (5-of-10, 50%) in a semifinal victory during the NIT Season Tip-Off at Barclays Center.
Ponds, the third leading scorer in the BIG EAST at 19.2 points per game, influenced the Red Storm in a number of other ways as well during the team's triumph over the Golden Eagles. The sharpshooting southpaw, who scored 20 of his 26 points before halftime, also grabbed seven boards, dished out a game-high five assists and swiped two steals. Ponds currently leads the BIG EAST in assists (6.0 per game) and steals (2.6 per game). Despite a highly uncharacteristic 10 turnovers over the course of his last two outings, Ponds still ranks second in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.9-to-1. During the team's final three games before the start of BIG EAST play, Ponds dished out 28 assists and coughed up just three turnovers.
Ponds led five St. John's scorers in double figures against Marquette, marking the fourth time in the team's last seven games that five Johnnies finished with 10 or more points. Marvin Clark II tallied 22 points and seven rebounds for his second 20-point effort in his last three outings. Over his last seven games, the redshirt senior from Kansas City, Mo., is shooting 64.4 percent from the floor, including a 57.5 percent effort from three-point range, and averaging a team-best 17.3 points per contest.
Mustapha Heron, the team's second leading scorer at 15.9 points per game, netted all 16 of his points in the second half of Tuesday's win in addition to grabbing a game-high eight boards. On the year, Heron is shooting 49.1 percent from three-point range, good enough for third in the BIG EAST. As a team, the Johnnies rank second in the league and 12th nationally through games played on Tuesday with a three-point success rate of 40.2 percent.
With a series history dating back to 1909, St. John's and Georgetown boast one of college basketball's most storied rivalries. Of the 111 games played between the two programs, none are more memorable than the four games played during the 1984-85 season, a year that saw both teams reach the Final Four. The stars of those squads, Chris Mullin and Patrick Ewing, are currently in their fourth and second years, respectively, as the head coaches of their alma maters.
St. John's will look to snap a Washington winless streak that dates back 16 years. The Johnnies have lost 13-straight games to Georgetown contested in the nation's capital, with the Red Storm's last victory in D.C. coming behind a 34-point performance from Marcus Hatten on Jan. 18, 2003. St. John's would later go on to beat that same Georgetown team in the Championship Game of the 2003 NIT at Madison Square Garden.
Last season, Georgetown swept the regular season series from St. John's, including a double overtime win at Capital One Arena on Jan. 20. The Johnnies enacted their revenge in the postseason, bouncing Georgetown from the BIG EAST Tournament for the second-straight year.
The Hoyas will host their BIG EAST home opener on the heels of a convincing victory at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Wednesday night, downing Butler 84-76. Greg Malinowski led the way for Georgetown in one of the conference's most hostile road environments, sinking 10 of his 12 field goal attempts, including a 6-of-7 showing from three-point range, en route to a career-high 26 points. Jessie Govan added 17 points for the Hoyas while freshmen Josh LeBlanc and James Akinjo chipped in 12 apiece.
The Red Storm will remain on the road following its matchup with the Hoyas, traveling to Villanova for a Tuesday night tilt with the defending national champions at the newly renovated Finneran Pavilion.
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