Julian Champagni described St. John’s situation well on Saturday night.
“The next game we play is Villanova on the road, which we have to win now,” said the Sampdor star.
This is why the ugly loss to DePaul at home has led to the Johnnies now losing their NCAA tournament hopes. Losing to the worst team in the Big East put them in an incredibly difficult position, facing a one-win game on the road against the dominant team in the conference.
A win Tuesday (8 pm; TV: CBSSN; Radio: WNYM 970 AM) gets him back into the mix in Philadelphia. Anything less, and St. John’s are likely to win the Big East tournament or at least reach the title game. Getting upset will not be easy. It is an 11-point underdog against the eighth-ranked Wildcats, who will be out for revenge after being defeated by St. John’s on February 11 on February 3.
He said, “They have responded throughout the year, so I hope they answer correctly.” [again], “Said coach Mike Anderson.” It’s a great opportunity, it’s a big challenge. We’ll find out a little more about our basketball team. ”
According to sources, for a few hours on Monday afternoon, there was some doubt as to whether the game would also be played. A member of St. John’s athletic department tested positive and was followed by contact tracing. Luckily, all were cleared and traveled.
After St. John’s (14-9, 8-8) was pressed into the paint by DePaul, the focus would need to be placed at the defensive end, and allowed the Blue Demons to shoot 63 percent from the field. During the Red Storm’s five-week strong performance before that loss, in which they won eight of 10 games, the defense pushed them forward.
In the win over Villanova, St. John’s held the Wildcats to 32.3 percent shooting from the field and forced 17 turnovers. Star point guard Colin Gillespie committed a season-high six turnovers and scored a season-low four points. He was turned down by Big East Freshman of the Year front-pornor Alexander, who, like many of his peers, struggled fiercely against DePaul.
Senior guard Rashim Dunn said, “We have to come out with the right mindset.” “We got away from our identity, which is defense, and DePaul attacked us. We can’t dwell on it. That game is over.
“I hope we can go there and play with our identity, just the total opposite of what we were doing on Saturday.”
According to Anderson, junior guard Greg Williams Jr., whose back injury flared up against DePaul and was confined for 10 minutes, is expected to play against Villanova. He has fully practiced in the last two days.
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