BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: St. John's @ Pittsburgh

January 27, 2007



The St. John's Redstorm had quite a week with wins over Syracuse and Notre Dame at Madison Square Garden. Now they look to take their run on the road by travelling to Pittsburgh to meet the 1st place Panthers.

Pitt rebounded from their first conference loss against Marquette last Sunday by turning back Cincinnati, 67-51, as the Panthers showed off their conference leading touch from beyond the arc.

St. John's has had some recent success against Pittsburgh, beating Pitt at home the last two seasons. The Redstorm can be a difficult match-up for the Panthers as they are a team that has some solid athletes and do not mind playing a low-scoring game. St. John's can be physical on the perimeter, but they do not have the same depth inside as Pittsburgh.

In the past, St. John's also had very good success when zoning the Panthers and watching them shoot blanks from the perimeter. This year's Pitt team moves the ball extremely well and shoots the ball better than anyone in the conference from beyond the arc. They will need that shooting touch in this game to hold off the pesky 'Storm.

St. John's will look to use Lamaont Hamilton to take Aaron Gray away from the basket. Hamilton is comfortable in facing the basket and his play last year was the difference in the game as SJU held off a Panther rally to win at Madison Square Garden. Like Pitt, the SJU guards are not the quickest of foot, but Pitt will have to make sure Avery Patterson and Larry Wright do not get hot from the perimeter, because when they do, St. John's will be very dangerous.

I expect this game to be closer than many predict as St. John's is playing with some added confidence. However, this Pittsburgh team spends less time watching someone dribble and more time moving the ball and finding the open man and making shots. As long as they make shots, they will win this game.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Pittsburgh 71 St. John's 62

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Notre Dame @ St. John's

January 23, 2007


Notre Dame hits the road tonight and heads East to New York City to face the St. John's Redstorm. The Redstorm were nearly left for dead last week, but their stirring upset victory over Syracuse has re-energized Norm Roberts' team. They have won two games in the conference, both at Madison Square Garden, and will look to make it #3 tonight. Notre Dame is 4-2 in the conference this year, good enough to be in a tie for 2nd place with Marquette, Syracuse and Louisville, but they have yet to win a game on the road in the conference, losing so far to Georgetown and Villanova in games they fell behind early and lost by at least 15 points each.


Irish Need Fast Start in NYC (South Bend Tribune)
Things Bouncing SJU's Way (NY Daily News)
Storm Wary of a Letdown (NY Post)
Irish Seek Comfort on Enemy Turf (Chicago Tribune)

Both teams will look to get out of the gate fast. Notre Dame will look to avoid digging an early hole, like they did against both Villanova and Georgetown, and St. John's will look to build more confidence by getting off to a quick start, like they did against Syracuse on Sunday, racing to a 13-2 lead out of the gate.

The Redstorm has been quite an enigma this year. Expected to show overall improvement, the St. John's offense has been downright offensive at times. They score very little in the paint and their perimeter shooting continues to me more cold than hot. Avery Patterson was supposed to give them a lift from the perimeter, but he has struggled shooting the ball at just 31% in Big East play (19-61) from the floor and 33% from beyond the arc (13-39) which most of the production coming against DePaul (5-9 from 3-pt range) and in a key 7-pt burst in 30 seconds late in their win over Syracuse. The Redstorm will need him to hit from the outside as it gives more room to their gang of slashers to attack the basket. Anthony Mason and Eugene Lawrence can also connect from long range, but it is not really their strength. Inside, they will need Lamont Hamilton to put pressure on the Notre Dame frontline with his ability to score and Aaron Spears needs to give them good minutes against Luke Harangody inside.

St. John's s not always very pretty on the offensive end, but they can play defense and tend to work very hard on that end of the floor. The young point guard tandem for the Irish, Tory Jackson and Jonathan Peoples, will have to take care of the ball against the physical Lawrence and ultra-quick Larry Wright and Daryll Hill (not the threat he used to be). On the wings Russell Carter will attack the basket and keep you honest while knocking in shots from deep and Colin Falls is still there to be accounted for because of his 3-pt marksmenship. Inside is where I see the biggest advantage for the Irish as Rob Kurz and Harangody will always give a consistent and smart effort in the post. Kurz is an excellent passer and rebounder who can step away and make you pay. The Irish can also come with Luke Zeller and Zack Hillesland to shake it up.

The Irish have gotten use to playing without sophomore Kyle McAlarney, a NY Native, but th enews that he has been expelled from Notre Dame ends any hope of him returning this season. Not sure if the final decision will cause any distraction to the team.

The Irish are a 5-pt favorite according to the oddsmakers. I think St. John's brings another solid effort, but in the end, too much shooting from Falls and inside play will get the Irish over the hump for their first conference road win, but it will not be easy!

NBE Blogger Prediction: Notre Dame 65 St. John's 62

BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: ST. JOHN'S

January 22, 2007


COMMITMENT ALERT: Mike Cavataio, (G/F) St. Francis Prep (NYC)


Projected 2007-2008 Roster:


SENIORS: Eugene Lawrence (G), Avery Patterson (SG)
JUNIORS: Anthony Mason (F), Ricky Torres (SG), Tomas Jasiulionis F/C)
SOPHOMRES: Larry Wright (G), Qa'rraan Calhoun (F)
FRESHMEN: Justin Burrell (PF), Malik Boothe (PG), Rob Thomas (F), Ayodele Coker (C), Mike Cavataio (G/F)




After spending Sunday afternoon watching the St. John's Redstorm upset the Syracuse Orange at Madison Square Garden, the leading scorer in the CHSAA Mike Cavataio Commits to St. John's.

-
Read More...Click 'Read More' Below!!!

-


A native of the Forest Hills neighborhood in Queens, former Christ the King player Mike Cavataio has chosen to play his college ball for Norm Roberts and the St. John's Redstorm. Cavataio is back on the court this season after sitting out last year following his transfer from Christ the King to St. Francis Prep. Cavataio is making up for lost time leading NYC's CHSAA in scoring at 25.3 PPG. Cavataio had been offerd scholarships by Hofstra, Lehigh, Boston U and Manhattan, but St. John's has swooped in and got a commitment from the 6'5 G/F that is best described as a basketball player. He does a little bit of everything well on the court and gives added versatility to the Redstorm.



The Redstorm now have a five-member freshmen class for 2007-2008 with the addition of Cavataio along with previous commitments from Ayodele Coker, Malik Boothe and Justin Burrell. The Redstorm will also add the services of Rob Thomas whi is sitting out this season and should be eligible to play by second semester next season. The Redstorm have one more scholarship currently open for the 2007-2008 class and I think they would be rather wise to find a strong post presence that will rebound and give them some points. Coker and Tomas Jasiulionis are the lone post players on the roster with several combo forwards, so adding some depth to the frontline willing to bang down low would be a wise move in balancing the talent on the club.

We will continue to follow the Redstorm in their pursuit of a player for the final scholarship, but if one is not found, having three to offer in 2008 is not a bad plan either.

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: St. John's @ DePaul

January 16, 2007

In a rematch of the conference opener for both teams, won at Madison Square Garden by St. John's, DePaul looks for revenge in a game that still stings a little bit. Tonight they have the reeling Redstorm at home as St. John's looks to break their three game losing streak since their win over the Blue Demons.

I know New York City and Chicago are major league sports towns all the way, but doing a quick search this morning, I found VERY little interest in this game among any of their local newspapers.

Depaul is coming off a win at Rutgers where their athletic teams used a smothering defense to limit offensively-challeneger Rutgers to 37 points. St. John's is nearly as offensively defecient as RU, but the Redstorm does bring some solid athletes and a toughness on the defensive end that usually makes the game a bit closer.

DePaul will have the two best players on the floor in Sammy Mejia and Wilson Chandler, both will be looking to redeem themselves after the conference opening performance against SJU. They also have some depth in the frontcourt that does make them a formidable challenger in the Big East as the season goes and if one of their three potential point guards would finally take the reigns of this team, they might reach their potential.

St. John's, just a frustrating team to figure out, but maybe they just are not really good at all, again. They still struggle shooting the ball or playing defense inside. They have some athletes, but sometimes play some basketball that is tough to watch, especially when they have the ball. Not a very good recipe for success on the road.

The oddsmakers have made DePaul a 12-pt favorite and Pomeroy predicts the outcome in DePaul's favor by 13-pts. It should be as easy, but I think the Redstorm put up a fight tonight.

NBE Blogger Prediction: DePaul 67 St. John's 59

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: St. John's @ Seton Hall

January 11, 2007


St. John's and Seton Hall meet at Continental Airlines Arena in the Meadowlands with both teams entering play with 1-1 conference records. Both teams got off to a good start in the conference, winning their opening games at home (SHU over Rutgers and SJU over DePaul) but found the road a little less to their liking last weekend when the Redstorm were thrashed at West Virginia and Seton Hall lost by 22 at Providence.

Here are a couple pregame articles:


SHU/SJU Scouting Report (Courier News)
Seton Steamroll Still Haunts SJU (NY Post)


Although this game is played on Seton Hall's home court, the home court advantage will be negligible as the Pirates have not been drawing many fans to come out and see Bobby Gonzalez's initial SHU squad. With the Redstorm making the short trip across the river, there should be no travel difficulties getting them out of their routine.

Last year when these two teams met in this venue, St. John's was cruising with a 20-pt lead with under 10 minutes to play, but the Pirates roared back and won the game in overtime.

St. John's definitely has the height advantage against the smaller Pirates and will look to take advantage, especially with Lamont Hamilton inside. Seton Hall will look to use pressure and zone defenses to force SJU to hurry up and shoot from the outside. The 'Storm shoot an awful 35% from the floor as a team, but they do hold opponents to 33%, which is impressive. They will have to locate Jamar Nutter and hope he doesn't get his shooting touch back. If he is hitting, it should create room for Eugene Harvey and Brian Laing to do their damage. St. John's does match-up fairly well defensively here and should be able to use their size advantage to control the boards and get some easy baskets.

Seton Hall will try to push tempo and avoid, at all costs, anything resembling a halfcourt game. Coming off the bench with Paul Gause and Larry Davis, the Pirates are likely to go small often. They will have to be hitting their perimeter shots, because they wont score much inside.

A big game for both treams. I think St. John's, despite being 3.5-pt underdogs, is a little deeper as a whole and will hold on to their lead this time.

NBE Blogger Prediction: St. John's 66 Seton Hall 64

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: St. John's @ West Virginia

January 6, 2007


The Mountaineers wrap up their six game homestand in a match-up of conference unbeatens when they host St. John's Saturday afternoon. The redstorm are coming off a surprising 9-point home win over DePaul, while the Mountaineers are the talk of the conference by opening conference play by beaing Connecticut and Villanova.

St. John's is an interesting case study. In their win over DePaul, 10 players scored, but nobody had more than nine points. Aaron Spears returned from a suspension for violating team rules to score some key baskets and senior Daryll Hill hit some key baskets down the stretch. The Redstorm is athletic and physical and will look to disrupt the flow of the fluid WVU offense.

The Mountaineers have been riding the hot-shooting of Frank Young, the only returning starter for WVU scored 47 pts in the first two league contests and hit eight of 13 3-pt shots in their win over Villanova earlier this week. In that game, the Mountaineers attempted 44 shots in the game, 37 of them were behind the arc.

This Mountaineer team still does not hit the boards much and is a little more prone to turning it over than before. They still utilize the 3-pt shot often and have a bunch of shooters and their 1-3-1 still causes all kinds of confusion. St. John's will scrap with you,but they are prone to poor shooting efforts and turnovers, playing right into the hands of WVU and coach John Beilein.

I think this will be a tight game, as it was last year when they met at Madison Square Garden, but the Coliseum is a tough place to play and WVU heads to the road with another shot of confidence.

NBE Blogger Prediction: West Virginia 63 St. John's 58

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: DePaul @ St. John's

January 3, 2006


It is only January 3rd and here is a game that both teams MUST have in order to get their seasons pointed in a healthy direction. DePaul has recovered from a slow start to win some good games, all of which have been at home. Now they travel to Madison Square garden for a game they should win. St. John's was supposed to be improved this year, but they have not been impressive in their pre-conference schedule, which included a double-digit loss to Hofstra at Madison Square Garden in their last game.

Here are some pre-game stories:


Storm Moves Due East (Daily News)
Storm Begins Big East Play (NY Post)
Conference Play Serves a Midseason Reprieve (Newsday)
Demons Turnaround Impresses Wainwright (Sun Times)
Demons Streak Into 2nd Big East Season (Chicago Tribune)

Sammy Mejia, along with other native New Yorkers Karron Clarke and Cliff Clinkscales, return to New York City to play in the Garden for the first time in Big East play. Last year they faces St. John's at Carnesecca Arena and failed to make the Big East tournament. Mejia should be coming off a confidence booster after scoring 40 pts, 27 inthe first half, as DePaul pulled away in the second half to demolish Northwestern State. The Blue Demons boast a talented duo in Mejia and Wilson Chandler that has the potential to be the the best pair in the conference. Mejia does it all for Jerry Wainwright's squad, leading them in scoring (16 PPG), rebounding (7/game), assists (2.9) and even turnovers. Chandler, the high-potential soph, chips in 15.7 PPG, 6.4 rebounds and a team high 1.5 blocks/game. The Blue Demons are still a little soft inside and are still looking for a consistent third scoring option to develop a mentality to step-up and assist their top two on a reliable basis.

St. John's is still a mystery to many observers as they can go through long stretches just looking BAD. Led by Lamont Hamilton (14 PPG and 8 rebounds) and JUCO transfer Avery Patterson (13.8 PPG and 38% 3-pt shooting), the Redstorm have had their share of awful games offensively. With Daryll Hill still struggling with injuries, they do not have that breakdown offensive threat from the perimeter. Eugene Lawrence runs the point, but turns it over too much for a point guard that does not score as much to make up for it. Anthony Mason has shown signs (11 PPG), but can be nowhere to be found for loing stretches as well.

I do think St. John's will put it together at times this year, but right now they are certainly struggling and have already seen Aaron Spears (suspended) and Derwin Kitchen (left school) sap some of their depth and the failure of Hill to round back into form has been detrimental to their chances. Right now, DePaul has the confidence and as a road favorite (3.5 in Vegas and projected 8-pt winner by Pomeroy), they should be too much for the Redstorm tonight.

NBE Blogger Prediction: DePaul 68 St. John's 62