St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, January 29
Villlanova, Pa. (Finneran Pavilion)
4:30 p.m.
St. John's University
at
No. 14/12 Villanova
St. John’s Travels to No. 14/12 Villanova for Saturday Showdown on FOX
1/28/2022 10:37:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Red Storm men’s basketball team will look to pick up its second straight road win
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's basketball team will look to register its second consecutive road victory on Saturday when it takes on No. 14/12 Villanova at Finneran Pavilion.
Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. on FOX with Aaron Goldsmith and Donny Marshall on the call. Fans can also tune in to the LEARFIELD Red Storm Sports Network broadcast with John Minko and Tarik Turner, which can be found on the Varsity Network app, TuneIn Radio, XM Radio channel 388 and channel 978 in the SXM app, RedStormSports.com and the St. John's Red Storm mobile app.
St. John's (11-7, 3-4 BIG EAST) enters the contest following its first road win of the season, a dominant 84-63 effort on Monday against Seton Hall at Walsh Gymnasium. In the first BIG EAST contest played at the Pirates' on-campus home since 1985, the Red Storm jumped ahead by 21 in the first half before moving in front by as many as 27 in the second stanza. St. John's, which tallied 12 steals, 11 blocks and 20 assists on 32 made baskets, held the Pirates to 30.6 percent shooting from the floor and forced Seton Hall into more turnovers (20) than made field goals (19).
Posh Alexander, who came off the bench for the second time this season, scored a game-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting in addition to tallying seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. A recent selection to the 15-man watch list for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award, Alexander leads the BIG EAST and ranks sixth nationally with 2.5 steals per game. The reigning BIG EAST Defensive Player and Freshman of the Year, Alexander also sits among the conference leaders in a number of offensive categories, ranking ninth with 15.0 points per game and placing second with 4.9 assists per contest. The Brooklyn native also ranks fourth in field goal percentage (49.7%) and, despite a relative lack of size compared to his counterparts in this category, sixth in offensive rebounds per game (2.9).
While Alexander led the Johnnies in the scoring column, it was Aaron Wheeler who once again anchored the Red Storm on Monday. The Purdue transfer registered his first double-double as a Johnnie, scoring a career-high 17 points and grabbing 10 boards. After averaging just 4.5 points per game during non-conference play, Wheeler has flipped a switch in January, posting 12.7 points per outing during league action. The Stamford, Conn, native, who has reached double figures in six straight, is shooting 48.3 percent from downtown against BIG EAST opponents.
Montez Mathis logged 10 points against the Pirates, including a critical second-half sequence that saw him drain a 3-pointer, come up with a steal and throw down a fast-break dunk after the Pirates cut the deficit to eight. Seton Hall would get no closer than 13 the rest of the way. The Rutgers transfer has been a catalyst for the Red Storm this season, as the team is 9-0 in games where Mathis reaches double figures.
After recording 10 or more points in 40 straight games dating back to the start of his sophomore campaign, Julian Champagnie failed to reach double figures in either of the Red Storm's outings against Seton Hall. Despite scoring five points on 2-of-10 shooting in Monday's win, Champagnie affected the game in a number of other ways, tallying eight rebounds, three steals, five assists and four blocks, the last two of which matched a career-high for the Brooklyn native.
St. John's will look to grab its first win of the season against a ranked foe, as the Red Storm lost a pair of top-25 games earlier this season against Kansas and Providence. St. John's has beaten two ranked teams in each of Mike Anderson's first two years at the helm of the program, including last February's win over the No. 3 Wildcats.
Villanova (15-5, 8-2 BIG EAST) welcomes the Red Storm on the heels of back-to-back wins over Georgetown and DePaul. Those victories followed a 57-54 loss to Marquette on Jan. 19, the Wildcats' first falter at Finneran Pavilion since Nov. 17, 2018.
The Wildcats are led by graduate student Collin Gillespie, an Associated Press Preseason First Team All-American who averages 17.2 points and 3.2 assists per game. Gillespie, the third leading scorer in the conference, paces the BIG EAST in 3-point field goal percentage (42.6%) while ranking second in the league and 12th nationally shooting 91.4 percent from the charity stripe.
Two other Wildcats, Justin Moore (15.9) and Jermaine Samuels (10.5), are averaging double-figures on the season.
Villanova, which has seen four of its five losses this season come against teams currently ranked inside the top 25, including three against the top-seven, ranks fifth in Division I with just 9.2 turnovers per contest. The Wildcats rank second in the BIG EAST in turnover margin (+3.1) trailing only St. John's (+4.8) in that category. Villanova leads the country in free throw percentage, converting on 82.3 percent of its tries from the charity stripe.
St. John's will face Villanova, the most frequently played opponent in program history, for the 125th time on Saturday afternoon. The teams have split their regular season series in three of the last four years.
The Red Storm has won on the road at Villanova as recently as 2018, but has not emerged victorious at Finneran Pavilion since 1993, a string of 12 consecutive on-campus losses.
Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. on FOX with Aaron Goldsmith and Donny Marshall on the call. Fans can also tune in to the LEARFIELD Red Storm Sports Network broadcast with John Minko and Tarik Turner, which can be found on the Varsity Network app, TuneIn Radio, XM Radio channel 388 and channel 978 in the SXM app, RedStormSports.com and the St. John's Red Storm mobile app.
St. John's (11-7, 3-4 BIG EAST) enters the contest following its first road win of the season, a dominant 84-63 effort on Monday against Seton Hall at Walsh Gymnasium. In the first BIG EAST contest played at the Pirates' on-campus home since 1985, the Red Storm jumped ahead by 21 in the first half before moving in front by as many as 27 in the second stanza. St. John's, which tallied 12 steals, 11 blocks and 20 assists on 32 made baskets, held the Pirates to 30.6 percent shooting from the floor and forced Seton Hall into more turnovers (20) than made field goals (19).
Posh Alexander, who came off the bench for the second time this season, scored a game-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting in addition to tallying seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. A recent selection to the 15-man watch list for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award, Alexander leads the BIG EAST and ranks sixth nationally with 2.5 steals per game. The reigning BIG EAST Defensive Player and Freshman of the Year, Alexander also sits among the conference leaders in a number of offensive categories, ranking ninth with 15.0 points per game and placing second with 4.9 assists per contest. The Brooklyn native also ranks fourth in field goal percentage (49.7%) and, despite a relative lack of size compared to his counterparts in this category, sixth in offensive rebounds per game (2.9).
While Alexander led the Johnnies in the scoring column, it was Aaron Wheeler who once again anchored the Red Storm on Monday. The Purdue transfer registered his first double-double as a Johnnie, scoring a career-high 17 points and grabbing 10 boards. After averaging just 4.5 points per game during non-conference play, Wheeler has flipped a switch in January, posting 12.7 points per outing during league action. The Stamford, Conn, native, who has reached double figures in six straight, is shooting 48.3 percent from downtown against BIG EAST opponents.
Montez Mathis logged 10 points against the Pirates, including a critical second-half sequence that saw him drain a 3-pointer, come up with a steal and throw down a fast-break dunk after the Pirates cut the deficit to eight. Seton Hall would get no closer than 13 the rest of the way. The Rutgers transfer has been a catalyst for the Red Storm this season, as the team is 9-0 in games where Mathis reaches double figures.
After recording 10 or more points in 40 straight games dating back to the start of his sophomore campaign, Julian Champagnie failed to reach double figures in either of the Red Storm's outings against Seton Hall. Despite scoring five points on 2-of-10 shooting in Monday's win, Champagnie affected the game in a number of other ways, tallying eight rebounds, three steals, five assists and four blocks, the last two of which matched a career-high for the Brooklyn native.
St. John's will look to grab its first win of the season against a ranked foe, as the Red Storm lost a pair of top-25 games earlier this season against Kansas and Providence. St. John's has beaten two ranked teams in each of Mike Anderson's first two years at the helm of the program, including last February's win over the No. 3 Wildcats.
Villanova (15-5, 8-2 BIG EAST) welcomes the Red Storm on the heels of back-to-back wins over Georgetown and DePaul. Those victories followed a 57-54 loss to Marquette on Jan. 19, the Wildcats' first falter at Finneran Pavilion since Nov. 17, 2018.
The Wildcats are led by graduate student Collin Gillespie, an Associated Press Preseason First Team All-American who averages 17.2 points and 3.2 assists per game. Gillespie, the third leading scorer in the conference, paces the BIG EAST in 3-point field goal percentage (42.6%) while ranking second in the league and 12th nationally shooting 91.4 percent from the charity stripe.
Two other Wildcats, Justin Moore (15.9) and Jermaine Samuels (10.5), are averaging double-figures on the season.
Villanova, which has seen four of its five losses this season come against teams currently ranked inside the top 25, including three against the top-seven, ranks fifth in Division I with just 9.2 turnovers per contest. The Wildcats rank second in the BIG EAST in turnover margin (+3.1) trailing only St. John's (+4.8) in that category. Villanova leads the country in free throw percentage, converting on 82.3 percent of its tries from the charity stripe.
St. John's will face Villanova, the most frequently played opponent in program history, for the 125th time on Saturday afternoon. The teams have split their regular season series in three of the last four years.
The Red Storm has won on the road at Villanova as recently as 2018, but has not emerged victorious at Finneran Pavilion since 1993, a string of 12 consecutive on-campus losses.
Players Mentioned
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