BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: CINCINNATI @ ST. JOHN'S

January 5, 2008


Talk about a team whose fortunes have turned around in a big way! Cincinnati looked like they were headed to another abysmal Big East campaign under Mick Cronin, mired in a 5-game losing streak and sitting at 4-7 on the season. They had shown some improvement against a very tough schedule, but even a win over Miami (OH) did not erase the opinion that the Bearcats were likely headed to a finish amongst the bottom two of the conference.

Then, under the radar of many New Year's day plans, the Bearcats go to Louisville and knock off one of the two preseason conference favorites, 58-57.

Now, Cincinnati heads to St. John's looking for a second straight road win and with four of their next five at home, maybe the tide can turn for UC.

The game will not be easy, despite the feel good win over Louisville, they will be facing a mad Redstorn squad who have lost six of their last eight games. Like UC, SJU is full of freshmen, but getting home could be the elixir for what ails SJU as five of their last eight have been away from home and two others were at Madison Square Garden in the Aeropostale Holiday Festival.

While on a trip to Hawaii, SJU did get the serviced of Anthony Mason Jr back, who had missed most of the OOC schedule with an injured ankle and Rob Thomas became eligible and provides the potential for more depth and scoring bunch in the front court.

SJU does have some experience with Mason, a junior, and senior Eugene Lawrence running the point. Sophomore Larry Wright was expected to have a breakout season, but he has struggled thus far and has seen his playign time cut considerably recently. After that, the team relies on freshmen, including Justin Burrell and DJ Kennedy who have been playing very well early in their careers.

SJU has some tough defenders with good athleticism and solid frames. They need to be more skilled with the ball offensively and Wright's struggles and Mason's injury has limited their scoring ability.

There was nothing pretty about Cincinnati's win over Louisville if you were not a Bearcat fan. Cincinnati turned the ball over 16 times, attempted just six free throws, they were outrebounded, but they did play defense. Louisville shot just 36% from the field and made just 3-23 from beyond the 3-pt arc. They got just enough offense and hit an uncharacteristic 57% (8-14) of their 3-pt shots. They got solid play from their veterans (Jamual Warren, John Williamson and Deonta Vaughn) and a pair of freshmen, Anthony McClain and Rashad Bishop, provided big contributions on both ends of the floor.

Although the contest is on ESPN Classic Saturday night, a classic is probably not what we will get. With both teams not being the best at shooting the ball, but strong defensively, a new dorm could be built in Queens with the bricks we will see. On their home floor, I do think St. John's finds enough offense to pull out a very close and tough win.

NBE Blogger Prediction: St. John's 63 Cincinnati 58