BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: South Florida @ St. John's

February 7, 2007


The fact that only 12 of the 16 teams in the Big East conference qualify for the conference tournament at Madison Square Garden has been a point of controversy since the league exanded to 16 teams. However, one of the reasons I like that is because this otherwise meaningless game has a lot riding on it. South Florida and St. John's, along with Seton Hall and UConn, are the teams battling for the last two spots at the year-end conference party. Tonight, two of them go head to head as South Florida tries to catch St. John's and make their move.


Here are the pregame stories and previews we have found on the internet this morning:

USF Center Has Big Presence, Big Heart (St. Petersburg Times)
USF Has No Room for Error (Tampa Tribune)
It's a Big One for Storm (NY Daily News)
Johnnies Need Mase's Muscle (NY Post)



Click below for our brief preview and prediction on this game and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section.

READ REST OF PREVIEW...CLICK "Read More" BELOW



South Florida has definitely shown some improvement. They have won three conference games after winning just once last year in the Big East. The Bulls are coming off a home win over a ranked Notre Dame club after narrowly missing an upset against Marquette in their previous outing. The addition of big Kentrell Gransberry to the line-up mid-year has given the Bulls an added dimension in the middle and the return to health of point guard Chirs Howard has helped stabilize the most important positions on the floor. This allows McHugh Mattis and Melvin Buckley to do what they do best and they have more depth with Jesus Verdejo, Solomon Bozeman, Melvyn Richardson, Ade Saaka and Chris Capko rounding out the rotation, giving coach Robert McCullum his deepest rotation since joining the Big East. The Bulls are at 3-6 and are still looking for their first road conference win in their short Big East history.

St. John's has won three of their last five to inch upwards in the standings and currently sit at 4-6 in the conference. The Redstorm also owns a home win over Notre Dame, as well as Syracuse, and is coming off a road win at Cincinnati. The emergence of freshman Qa'rron Calhoun has added a little moe versatility to their frontcourt, but they will hope to have Anthony Mason healthy for this one. The athletic sophomore suffered a painful finger injury in the win over Cincinnati, but will give it a go tonight. The Redstorm hopes will likely depend on senior Lamont Hamilton. When he is on the floor and active, the Redstorm will have the advantage tonight. If he is limited by foul trouble, St. John's will have a tough time tonight.

Until the Bulls win their first conference road game, I can't pick them with any confidence away from home. The fact this is a true road game and being played at Carnesecca Arena also makes things a little tougher for the 3.5-pt underdog Bulls.

NBE Blogger Prediction: St. John's 65 South Florida 60