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

January 26, 2008


Hopefully for Norm Roberts and his young St. John's Redstrom, Wednesday night will be the low water mark of the season. The Redstorm, playing their first Big East game at Madison Square Garden, were pounded by Pittsburgh 81-57 in front of a crowd that barely filled 25% of the season.

Louisville has been playing well and bounced back from a tough loss at Seton Hall with a dominating win over South Florida on the road. The Cardinals seem to have their injury woes behind them and are moving forward. Not quite in a stright-line, but progress is evident.

Prior to the Pitt debacle, St. John's played West Virginia tough in Morgantown and there seemed to be some hope. Against the Panthers the only bright spot was Anthony Mason's 29-pt performance. The rest of the team combined for 28 as a colelctive group.

Now the 'Storm travels to Freedom Hall and you do feel a little but of pity towards the young group. Louisville looks to have a clear advantage at every position on the floor and if you went with a 2nd five from Louisville against the SJU top 5, you would be hard pressed to find more than one SJU advantage.

But, the play the games for a reason. St. John's does have some athletes that can get up and down the floor and defend with vigor. If they find anyone willing to consistently knock down a few shots, they would improve greatly. The best candidate seems to be sophomore Larry Wright, but he seems to have falled out of favor with the SJU staff.

Louisville needs to play to their strengths, get the ball in deep to their post players and take advantage of some excellent passers for players at non-guard positions. Louisville has a mix of experience and as much raw talent as anyone in the conference, but they also need to show a maturation in managing the game with consistent effort and shot selection. There are times when they can be downright dominating defensively and others when they allow poor play to snowball. At home against the young Redstorm, I look for a dominating defensive performance and will likely get it.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Louisville 73 St. John's 52