St. John's University Athletics

St. John’s to Take on Villanova in Thursday’s Quarterfinal
3/10/2022 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Red Storm will look to advance to first BIG EAST Semifinal since 2000
NEW YORK – After disposing of DePaul in the opening round of the BIG EAST Tournament on Wednesday night, the seventh-seeded St. John's men's basketball team will take on second-seeded Villanova on Thursday night in the quarterfinal round.
Tip-off from Madison Square Garden is set for 7 p.m. on FS1 with Gus Johnson, Bill Raftery and Kristina Pink on the call. John Minko and Brandon Tierney will narrate the action on the LEARFIELD Red Storm Sports Network.
Two-time First Team Al-BIG EAST selection Julian Champagnie led the way on Wednesday in a 92-73 win against DePaul, scoring 22 of his game-high 26 points in the opening half. He also grabbed seven boards and tallied a pair of steals.
Stef Smith and Esahia Nyiwe also finished in double figures, logging 13 and 10 points, respectively. Nyiwe recorded a season-high 10 points for the second straight game in addition to pulling down a career-best nine boards.
Posh Alexander, Aaron Wheeler, Joel Soriano and Dylan Addae-Wusu all scored eight points apiece for the Johnnies (17-14). Alexander and Addae-Wusu dished out seven and five assists, respectively. Montez Mathis added seven points for the Red Storm.
St. John's set a BIG EAST Tournament record by committing just two turnovers, eclipsing a tournament mark of three that was set in 1987 by Georgetown against Boston College. The Red Storm also assisted on 22 of its 37 made field goals and recorded 92 points, the program's second-highest total in 39 years of BIG EAST Tournament appearances.
The Red Storm will look to pick up its first win of the season against Villanova, who enters the BIG EAST Tournament with an overall record of 23-7, including a 16-4 mark in conference play. The Wildcats defeated the Johnnies by 11 at Finneran Pavilion on Jan. 29 before surviving a late Red Storm push to win by six inside Madison Square Garden on Feb. 8. In that last game between the teams at "The World's Most Famous Arena," Wheeler dropped a career-high 31 points for the Johnnies.
Tip-off from Madison Square Garden is set for 7 p.m. on FS1 with Gus Johnson, Bill Raftery and Kristina Pink on the call. John Minko and Brandon Tierney will narrate the action on the LEARFIELD Red Storm Sports Network.
Two-time First Team Al-BIG EAST selection Julian Champagnie led the way on Wednesday in a 92-73 win against DePaul, scoring 22 of his game-high 26 points in the opening half. He also grabbed seven boards and tallied a pair of steals.
Stef Smith and Esahia Nyiwe also finished in double figures, logging 13 and 10 points, respectively. Nyiwe recorded a season-high 10 points for the second straight game in addition to pulling down a career-best nine boards.
Posh Alexander, Aaron Wheeler, Joel Soriano and Dylan Addae-Wusu all scored eight points apiece for the Johnnies (17-14). Alexander and Addae-Wusu dished out seven and five assists, respectively. Montez Mathis added seven points for the Red Storm.
St. John's set a BIG EAST Tournament record by committing just two turnovers, eclipsing a tournament mark of three that was set in 1987 by Georgetown against Boston College. The Red Storm also assisted on 22 of its 37 made field goals and recorded 92 points, the program's second-highest total in 39 years of BIG EAST Tournament appearances.
The Red Storm will look to pick up its first win of the season against Villanova, who enters the BIG EAST Tournament with an overall record of 23-7, including a 16-4 mark in conference play. The Wildcats defeated the Johnnies by 11 at Finneran Pavilion on Jan. 29 before surviving a late Red Storm push to win by six inside Madison Square Garden on Feb. 8. In that last game between the teams at "The World's Most Famous Arena," Wheeler dropped a career-high 31 points for the Johnnies.
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