St. John's University Athletics
Sunday, February 17
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
5:00 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Villanova
St. John’s Closes Out Homestand with No. 13/13 Villanova
2/15/2019 5:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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Red Storm seeks third ranked win of the year against the defending national champions
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's basketball team will look to conclude a three-game homestand with its third ranked win of the season when the Red Storm welcomes No. 13/13 Villanova to Madison Square Garden on Sunday evening.
Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. on FS1 and 570 AM WMCA. Joe Davis and Jim Spanarkel will the call the action live from "The Mecca of Basketball," as will John Minko and Brandon Tierney over the airwaves.
Limited tickets are still available for Sunday's game at RedStormTix.com or the Madison Square Garden box office.
Sunday's contest is a part of a single admission doubleheader with the St. John's women's basketball team. Joe Tartamella's squad will host DePaul for a 1 p.m. tip at "The World's Most Famous Arena."
The Red Storm (18-7, 6-6 BIG EAST) enters the weekend tied for third in the BIG EAST standings after outlasting Butler in overtime, 77-73, on Tuesday night at Carnesecca Arena. St. John's did not trail until there were 17 seconds left on the clock against the Bulldogs, but Shamorie Ponds registered a 1-for-2 trip from the line to force overtime before the Johnnies went 7-for-7 from the charity in the extra period to help put away Butler for the third-straight year in Queens.
Mustapha Heron, who had missed the Red Storm's outing against Providence just three days prior with a bruised right knee, returned to the lineup and posted a season-high 28 points to lead St. John's past Butler. The junior guard sank eight of his 15 tries from the field and 10 of his 12 attempts from the free throw line. Marvin Clark II tallied 18 points to move within just two points of 1,000 for his collegiate career while Ponds added 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals, snapping a streak of nine consecutive BIG EAST outings with 20 points or more.
Ponds is just 16 points away from tying Glen Williams (1973-77) for ninth on the program's all-time scoring list and nine points away from becoming just the third player in St. John's history and the first in nearly 60 years to start a St. John's career with three straight seasons of 500-plus points. Fellow Thomas Jefferson High School product Tony Jackson was the last to do it from 1958-61, while Bob Zawoluk also accomplished the feat from 1949-52.
As a team, the Red Storm connected on 10 3-pointers against Butler, marking just the second time in nine tries that the Johnnies have sank 10 or more triples in a game. St. John's will look to snap a string of subpar performances from beyond the arc at MSG, as the Johnnies have hit no more than seven treys in a game at The Mecca this year, including a season-worst 2-for-12 showing against Providence last Saturday. That loss to the Friars came without the services of Heron, the team's most consistent three-point threat who is converting at a 43 percent clip from deep this season.
Villanova (20-5, 11-1 BIG EAST) heads to The Garden after pulling away from Providence at Finneran Pavilion on Wednesday night. The Friars led by a pair with nine minutes to play before the Wildcats closed the game on a 30-10 run. Just a few days before its triumph over Providence, Villanova suffered its first loss in conference play, as Marquette secured a one-point win against the Wildcats at Fiserv Forum last Saturday. St. John's is the only BIG EAST team to top Marquette this season and the only team in the country to beat the Golden Eagles at home.
The Wildcats are led by the veteran duo of Phil Booth and Eric Paschall, a pair of fifth year players that average 18.5 and 17.6 points per game, respectively.
St. John's will look to improve to 2-1 against Villanova in the last three meetings between the teams. The Red Storm topped the No. 1 Wildcats last February in Philadelphia before surrendering a late five-point lead earlier this season at Finneran Pavilion.
Over the last two seasons, Ponds is averaging 28.7 points per game against Villanova.
Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. on FS1 and 570 AM WMCA. Joe Davis and Jim Spanarkel will the call the action live from "The Mecca of Basketball," as will John Minko and Brandon Tierney over the airwaves.
Limited tickets are still available for Sunday's game at RedStormTix.com or the Madison Square Garden box office.
Sunday's contest is a part of a single admission doubleheader with the St. John's women's basketball team. Joe Tartamella's squad will host DePaul for a 1 p.m. tip at "The World's Most Famous Arena."
The Red Storm (18-7, 6-6 BIG EAST) enters the weekend tied for third in the BIG EAST standings after outlasting Butler in overtime, 77-73, on Tuesday night at Carnesecca Arena. St. John's did not trail until there were 17 seconds left on the clock against the Bulldogs, but Shamorie Ponds registered a 1-for-2 trip from the line to force overtime before the Johnnies went 7-for-7 from the charity in the extra period to help put away Butler for the third-straight year in Queens.
Mustapha Heron, who had missed the Red Storm's outing against Providence just three days prior with a bruised right knee, returned to the lineup and posted a season-high 28 points to lead St. John's past Butler. The junior guard sank eight of his 15 tries from the field and 10 of his 12 attempts from the free throw line. Marvin Clark II tallied 18 points to move within just two points of 1,000 for his collegiate career while Ponds added 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals, snapping a streak of nine consecutive BIG EAST outings with 20 points or more.
Ponds is just 16 points away from tying Glen Williams (1973-77) for ninth on the program's all-time scoring list and nine points away from becoming just the third player in St. John's history and the first in nearly 60 years to start a St. John's career with three straight seasons of 500-plus points. Fellow Thomas Jefferson High School product Tony Jackson was the last to do it from 1958-61, while Bob Zawoluk also accomplished the feat from 1949-52.
As a team, the Red Storm connected on 10 3-pointers against Butler, marking just the second time in nine tries that the Johnnies have sank 10 or more triples in a game. St. John's will look to snap a string of subpar performances from beyond the arc at MSG, as the Johnnies have hit no more than seven treys in a game at The Mecca this year, including a season-worst 2-for-12 showing against Providence last Saturday. That loss to the Friars came without the services of Heron, the team's most consistent three-point threat who is converting at a 43 percent clip from deep this season.
Villanova (20-5, 11-1 BIG EAST) heads to The Garden after pulling away from Providence at Finneran Pavilion on Wednesday night. The Friars led by a pair with nine minutes to play before the Wildcats closed the game on a 30-10 run. Just a few days before its triumph over Providence, Villanova suffered its first loss in conference play, as Marquette secured a one-point win against the Wildcats at Fiserv Forum last Saturday. St. John's is the only BIG EAST team to top Marquette this season and the only team in the country to beat the Golden Eagles at home.
The Wildcats are led by the veteran duo of Phil Booth and Eric Paschall, a pair of fifth year players that average 18.5 and 17.6 points per game, respectively.
St. John's will look to improve to 2-1 against Villanova in the last three meetings between the teams. The Red Storm topped the No. 1 Wildcats last February in Philadelphia before surrendering a late five-point lead earlier this season at Finneran Pavilion.
Over the last two seasons, Ponds is averaging 28.7 points per game against Villanova.
Players Mentioned
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