St. John's University Athletics
Wednesday, March 9
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
7 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
DePaul
St. John’s to Begin BIG EAST Tournament Play on Wednesday Night
3/8/2022 1:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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Seventh-seeded Red Storm to meet DePaul at 7 p.m. on FS1
QUEENS, N.Y. – The seventh-seeded St. John's men's basketball team will begin BIG EAST Tournament play on Wednesday night when it takes on 10th-seeded DePaul in the championship's opening round at Madison Square Garden.
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on FS1 with Tim Brando and Bill Raftery on the call. Kristina Pink will serve as the tournament's sideline reporter. Fans can also catch the LEARFIELD Red Storm Sports Network broadcast with John Minko and Brandon Tierney on the Varsity Network app, TuneIn Radio, Sirius Channel 138, XM Radio channel 206, channel 969 in the SXM app, RedStormSports.com and the St. John's Red Storm mobile app.
St. John's will take the floor at Madison Square Garden following a regular season that saw the Red Storm go 16-14 overall with an 8-11 record against conference foes. The Johnnies will face off against DePaul (15-15, 6-14 BIG EAST), a team that won three of its last four heading into the postseason.
2022 will mark just the second time in 39 all-time appearances that St. John's will enter the BIG EAST Tournament as the no. 7 seed. In 2019, the seventh-seeded Red Storm defeated 10th-seeded DePaul behind 18-point performances from Shamorie Ponds, Mustapha Heron and Justin Simon. That game was the only meeting between the two teams in the BIG EAST Tournament.
St. John's and DePaul split their regular season series with each team holding serve on its home court.
Two members of the Red Storm were honored by the BIG EAST on Sunday, as Julian Champagnie earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team and Posh Alexander garnered Honorable Mention All-BIG EAST accolades.
Champagnie received his second First Team All-BIG EAST accolade in as many seasons, becoming just the seventh player in program history to earn First Team All-BIG EAST honors more than once. He joins an esteemed fraternity in that regard that includes only Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson, Malik Sealy, Marcus Hatten, D'Angelo Harrison and Shamorie Ponds. The Brooklyn native enters the postseason ranked second in the league in scoring at 18.9 points per game, reaching double figures 24 times in 24 appearances with 13 efforts of 20-plus points and three 30-point performances. In addition to ranking among the league's top scorers, Champagnie also sits second in the BIG EAST in steals per game (1.9), leads the team in rebounding with 6.6 boards per contest and ranks 10th in the BIG EAST in blocks per game (1.2).
In two games this season against the Blue Demons, Champagnie averaged 30.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks, shooting 44.9 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from deep.
Alexander, the 2021 BIG EAST Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year, garnered his BIG EAST recognition after finishing the regular season ranked 11th in the league in scoring (14.1 ppg) and second in assists (5.4 apg). The sophomore is one of only two players to rank inside the top 11 in the league in both categories, joining UConn's R.J. Cole, a First Team All-BIG EAST selection. For the second consecutive season, Alexander also led the BIG EAST in steals, as the Brooklyn native currently ranks 10th in the country and first among high-major players with 2.3 steals per game. As a freshman, Alexander's 2.6 thefts per contest ranked sixth nationally, as he became just the fourth freshman in conference history to be named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year.
Winners of three straight before dropping their regular season finale, DePaul enters the BIG EAST Tournament with a .500 record for the first time since 2019.
The Blue Demons are led by Javon Freeman-Liberty, who averaged 21.9 points per game during the regular season to lead the conference and rank sixth in the nation. The last time he faced the Johnnies on Feb. 27, Freeman-Liberty posted a career-high 39 points on just 21 field goal attempts in a 99-94 DePaul victory.
Sophomore forward David Jones, ranks second on the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game and is the team's leading rebounder with 7.4 boards per contest. In his last game against the Johnnies in Chicago, Jones tallied a 24-point, 10-rebound double-double, his fifth of the season.
St. John's and DePaul have met 50 times in a series history that dates back to 1932. The Blue Demons have won two of their last three meetings with the Red Storm after the Johnnies won four straight beginning with the 2019 BIG EAST Tournament.
St. John's is 29-34 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament play with three championships (1983, 1986, 2000) and a pair of runner-up finishes (1985, 1999). The Red Storm has appeared in five consecutive BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals, has not advanced past the quarterfinal round since winning it all in 2000.
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on FS1 with Tim Brando and Bill Raftery on the call. Kristina Pink will serve as the tournament's sideline reporter. Fans can also catch the LEARFIELD Red Storm Sports Network broadcast with John Minko and Brandon Tierney on the Varsity Network app, TuneIn Radio, Sirius Channel 138, XM Radio channel 206, channel 969 in the SXM app, RedStormSports.com and the St. John's Red Storm mobile app.
St. John's will take the floor at Madison Square Garden following a regular season that saw the Red Storm go 16-14 overall with an 8-11 record against conference foes. The Johnnies will face off against DePaul (15-15, 6-14 BIG EAST), a team that won three of its last four heading into the postseason.
2022 will mark just the second time in 39 all-time appearances that St. John's will enter the BIG EAST Tournament as the no. 7 seed. In 2019, the seventh-seeded Red Storm defeated 10th-seeded DePaul behind 18-point performances from Shamorie Ponds, Mustapha Heron and Justin Simon. That game was the only meeting between the two teams in the BIG EAST Tournament.
St. John's and DePaul split their regular season series with each team holding serve on its home court.
Two members of the Red Storm were honored by the BIG EAST on Sunday, as Julian Champagnie earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team and Posh Alexander garnered Honorable Mention All-BIG EAST accolades.
Champagnie received his second First Team All-BIG EAST accolade in as many seasons, becoming just the seventh player in program history to earn First Team All-BIG EAST honors more than once. He joins an esteemed fraternity in that regard that includes only Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson, Malik Sealy, Marcus Hatten, D'Angelo Harrison and Shamorie Ponds. The Brooklyn native enters the postseason ranked second in the league in scoring at 18.9 points per game, reaching double figures 24 times in 24 appearances with 13 efforts of 20-plus points and three 30-point performances. In addition to ranking among the league's top scorers, Champagnie also sits second in the BIG EAST in steals per game (1.9), leads the team in rebounding with 6.6 boards per contest and ranks 10th in the BIG EAST in blocks per game (1.2).
In two games this season against the Blue Demons, Champagnie averaged 30.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks, shooting 44.9 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from deep.
Alexander, the 2021 BIG EAST Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year, garnered his BIG EAST recognition after finishing the regular season ranked 11th in the league in scoring (14.1 ppg) and second in assists (5.4 apg). The sophomore is one of only two players to rank inside the top 11 in the league in both categories, joining UConn's R.J. Cole, a First Team All-BIG EAST selection. For the second consecutive season, Alexander also led the BIG EAST in steals, as the Brooklyn native currently ranks 10th in the country and first among high-major players with 2.3 steals per game. As a freshman, Alexander's 2.6 thefts per contest ranked sixth nationally, as he became just the fourth freshman in conference history to be named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year.
Winners of three straight before dropping their regular season finale, DePaul enters the BIG EAST Tournament with a .500 record for the first time since 2019.
The Blue Demons are led by Javon Freeman-Liberty, who averaged 21.9 points per game during the regular season to lead the conference and rank sixth in the nation. The last time he faced the Johnnies on Feb. 27, Freeman-Liberty posted a career-high 39 points on just 21 field goal attempts in a 99-94 DePaul victory.
Sophomore forward David Jones, ranks second on the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game and is the team's leading rebounder with 7.4 boards per contest. In his last game against the Johnnies in Chicago, Jones tallied a 24-point, 10-rebound double-double, his fifth of the season.
St. John's and DePaul have met 50 times in a series history that dates back to 1932. The Blue Demons have won two of their last three meetings with the Red Storm after the Johnnies won four straight beginning with the 2019 BIG EAST Tournament.
St. John's is 29-34 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament play with three championships (1983, 1986, 2000) and a pair of runner-up finishes (1985, 1999). The Red Storm has appeared in five consecutive BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals, has not advanced past the quarterfinal round since winning it all in 2000.
Players Mentioned
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