St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, November 16
Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)
4 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Vermont
St. John’s to Welcome RV Vermont on Saturday afternoon
11/15/2019 2:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Reigning America East Champions set to provide toughest test to date of Mike Anderson Era
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's basketball team will continue its season-opening homestand on Saturday afternoon when it welcomes Vermont to Carnesecca Arena for a 4 p.m. tip.
The game will air live nationally on FS2 with Pat O'Keefe and Jim Spanarkel on the call. Fans can also hear the game on the Red Storm Sports Network from Learfield IMG College featuring the call of John Minko and Brandon Tierney on 570 AM WMCA. The radio broadcast will also be available on the TuneIn app and Sirius XM.
Vermont, the reigning America East Champions who return seven of their top eight scorers from a team that won 27 games a year ago, will provide the Red Storm with its toughest test to date of the Mike Anderson Era. The Catamounts come to Carnesecca Arena with a record of 3-0, having received a vote in this past Monday's Associated Press Top 25 poll after defeating St. Bonaventure and Bucknell on the road. Vermont also picked up a 62-47 win over Boston University in the team's home opener on Wednesday. Sporting a KenPom ranking of 79 through games played on Thursday, Vermont will be the first non-conference opponent slated inside the top 80 to play in Carnesecca Arena since no. 75 Bucknell on Nov. 19, 2013.
The Johnnies will look to improve to 4-0 for the third straight year following double-digit victories to open the year against Mercer, Central Connecticut State and New Hampshire. The wins over Mercer and CCSU were both by 30 points, marking just the fourth time since 1970 that St. John's won back-to-back games by 30 or more.
Leading the way offensively is the Red Storm's pair of Preseason All-BIG EAST selections, as Mustapha Heron and LJ Figueroa are averaging 20.0 points apiece entering the weekend. Last time out against UNH, Figueroa matched a career-high with 25 points in addition to grabbing eight boards and coming away with five steals. Although he equaled a career-low with five points on 2-of-12 shooting in the team's most recent outing, Heron began the campaign with efforts of 25 and 30 points, respectively, in wins over Mercer and CCSU. Through games played on Thursday, Heron and Figueroa are two of just four players in the BIG EAST averaging 20.0 or more points per game in the early going of the campaign alongside reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year Markus Howard and Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year Myles Powell.
After the Red Storm featured a perimeter-oriented lineup a year ago, the underclassmen duo of Josh Roberts and Julian Champagnie has provided St. John's with an increased interior presence in 2019-20. Entering Saturday's matchup with the Catamounts, Champagnie is averaging 9.7 points and a team-best 8.3 boards per contest while Roberts has chipped in 8.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per outing. Another big man, sophomore Marcellus Earlington, is posting 10.0 points per game for the Johnnies thanks in large part to a 17-point outburst in the season opener. The Red Storm is averaging 43.7 rebounds per game on the campaign, more than 10 rebounds per game higher than a year ago.
The Catamounts will count on 2019 Honorable Mention All-American Anthony Lamb, the reigning America East Player of the Year who averaged 21.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game a season ago. Before the start of the 2019-20 campaign, he earned a spot on the preseason watch list for the Julius Erving Award alongside Figueroa, his Saturday counterpart. Through his first three outings this season, Lamb is currently averaging 16.7 points on 39.0 percent shooting, including a 1-of-14 showing from three-point range, to go along with 9.7 rebounds per game.
As a team, Vermont has shot just 18.5 percent (12-of-65) from three-point range in 2019-20.
After taking on the Catamounts, St. John's will close out its season-opening five-game homestand with a Wednesday showdown against inter-borough foe Columbia. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Carnesecca Arena. The Red Storm will then travel to Mohegan Sun for the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament, where the team will take on Arizona State in a rematch of last year's NCAA Tournament bout before squaring off with either defending national champion Virginia or UMass the following day.
The game will air live nationally on FS2 with Pat O'Keefe and Jim Spanarkel on the call. Fans can also hear the game on the Red Storm Sports Network from Learfield IMG College featuring the call of John Minko and Brandon Tierney on 570 AM WMCA. The radio broadcast will also be available on the TuneIn app and Sirius XM.
Vermont, the reigning America East Champions who return seven of their top eight scorers from a team that won 27 games a year ago, will provide the Red Storm with its toughest test to date of the Mike Anderson Era. The Catamounts come to Carnesecca Arena with a record of 3-0, having received a vote in this past Monday's Associated Press Top 25 poll after defeating St. Bonaventure and Bucknell on the road. Vermont also picked up a 62-47 win over Boston University in the team's home opener on Wednesday. Sporting a KenPom ranking of 79 through games played on Thursday, Vermont will be the first non-conference opponent slated inside the top 80 to play in Carnesecca Arena since no. 75 Bucknell on Nov. 19, 2013.
The Johnnies will look to improve to 4-0 for the third straight year following double-digit victories to open the year against Mercer, Central Connecticut State and New Hampshire. The wins over Mercer and CCSU were both by 30 points, marking just the fourth time since 1970 that St. John's won back-to-back games by 30 or more.
Leading the way offensively is the Red Storm's pair of Preseason All-BIG EAST selections, as Mustapha Heron and LJ Figueroa are averaging 20.0 points apiece entering the weekend. Last time out against UNH, Figueroa matched a career-high with 25 points in addition to grabbing eight boards and coming away with five steals. Although he equaled a career-low with five points on 2-of-12 shooting in the team's most recent outing, Heron began the campaign with efforts of 25 and 30 points, respectively, in wins over Mercer and CCSU. Through games played on Thursday, Heron and Figueroa are two of just four players in the BIG EAST averaging 20.0 or more points per game in the early going of the campaign alongside reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year Markus Howard and Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year Myles Powell.
After the Red Storm featured a perimeter-oriented lineup a year ago, the underclassmen duo of Josh Roberts and Julian Champagnie has provided St. John's with an increased interior presence in 2019-20. Entering Saturday's matchup with the Catamounts, Champagnie is averaging 9.7 points and a team-best 8.3 boards per contest while Roberts has chipped in 8.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per outing. Another big man, sophomore Marcellus Earlington, is posting 10.0 points per game for the Johnnies thanks in large part to a 17-point outburst in the season opener. The Red Storm is averaging 43.7 rebounds per game on the campaign, more than 10 rebounds per game higher than a year ago.
The Catamounts will count on 2019 Honorable Mention All-American Anthony Lamb, the reigning America East Player of the Year who averaged 21.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game a season ago. Before the start of the 2019-20 campaign, he earned a spot on the preseason watch list for the Julius Erving Award alongside Figueroa, his Saturday counterpart. Through his first three outings this season, Lamb is currently averaging 16.7 points on 39.0 percent shooting, including a 1-of-14 showing from three-point range, to go along with 9.7 rebounds per game.
As a team, Vermont has shot just 18.5 percent (12-of-65) from three-point range in 2019-20.
After taking on the Catamounts, St. John's will close out its season-opening five-game homestand with a Wednesday showdown against inter-borough foe Columbia. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Carnesecca Arena. The Red Storm will then travel to Mohegan Sun for the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament, where the team will take on Arizona State in a rematch of last year's NCAA Tournament bout before squaring off with either defending national champion Virginia or UMass the following day.
Players Mentioned
Guard/Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard/Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
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