Sir’Dominic Pointer. Photo by: Stacy Podelski/1495 Sports
St. John’s has won eight of its nine games in Queens this season heading Saturday’s Carnesecca Arena finale versus Seton Hall (15-11, 5-9) at noon. The nationally televised contest will air on FOX with announcers Joe Davis and Donny Marshall. St. John’s radio team of John Minko and Brandon Tierney can be heard on 98.7 WEPN-FM.
The Red Storm (17-9, 6-7) is starting to heat up once again under Steve Lavin in the stretch run of the regular-season. The Red Storm has won three of the last four contests, including a spirited road victory at Xavier, 78-70, on Saturday. Sir’Dominic Pointer went for a career-high 24 points (9-of-10 FG) and eight rebounds to hand the Musketeers only their second loss at the Cintas Center in 14 games this season. The 6-foot-6 senior has scored in double-figures 11 straight games and is 33 points shy of becoming the 50th member of the program’s 1,000-point club.
The Johnnies have played some of their best basketball at Carnesecca Arena this season. St. John’s has averaged a 13.8-point margin of victory in its eight wins in Queens, which includes two victories against top-100 teams in the RPI ratings. In the last BIG EAST tilt at Carnesecca Arena on Feb. 11, D’Angelo Harrison went for a season-high 33 points to fuel St. John’s second highest scoring performance of the year against DePaul. The Red Storm shot 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from downtown en route to an 86-78 victory over the Blue Demons.
St. John’s begins a three-game homestand Saturday looking to avenge a 78-67 setback to the Pirates on New Year’s Eve at the Prudential Center. The Johnnies are eager to return to the hardwood after dropping its first game in two weeks on Tuesday at Georgetown.
Things To Know
- St. John’s has a 30-4 (.882) record at Carnesecca Arena over the last four years. The Red Storm has gone 8-1 in Queens this season with its only setback coming against Butler on Jan. 3 playing without the team’s second-leading scorer Rysheed Jordan (13.5 ppg). St. John’s has averaged 72.8 points and held opponents to a 60.9 scoring average at Carnesecca Arena this season. D’Angelo Harrison has led the team with 21.2 points per game, while shooting 42.0 percent (21-50) from 3-point territory in Queens.
- St. John’s has won four-straight BIG EAST home games. During this hot stretch, Rysheed Jordan has averaged 17.3 points, shooting 55.3 percent (21-of-38) from the field and 62.5 (10-of-16) percent from 3-point range. Defensively, the Red Storm has locked down the 3-point line holding opponents to 28.1 percent from downtown.
- D’Angelo Harrison was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s Watch List for the 2015 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award. A national committee comprised of top college basketball personnel selected 16 NCAA Division I candidates. By early March, the list will be narrowed to five players. Harrison is second in the BIG EAST with 18.6 points per game and has scored double-figures in 24 of 26 games with 11 20+ point performances. He is fifth in the BIG EAST with 53 3-pointers and seventh in free-throw shooting (81.6 pct).
- St. John’s has elevated its play in February under Steve Lavin. The Red Storm has won three of its five games this month, and in total has accumulated a 18-9 overall record in February during Lavin’s tenure. The Red Storm went 7-1 in 2010-11 en route to a 21-win season and NCAA Tournament berth. Last year, the Johnnies posted a 6-2 record in February and won eight of the final 10 regular-season contests. Lavin has a 53-29 (.654) career record in February over his 12 seasons as head coach at St. John’s and UCLA.
- The Red Storm’s strength of schedule is rated No. 31 in the nation according to RPIRatings.com on Feb. 19. St. John’s went 11-2 (.846) against non-conference opponents, which is the program’s best mark since going 10-1 (.909) in 1990-91. The BIG EAST has the second highest RPI in the nation and compiled a 94-30 (.758) record against out-of-conference competition. St. John’s contributed to the league’s non-conference success with victories over Minnesota, Saint Mary’s, Long Beach State and Syracuse. All four teams are rated in the top-100 of the RPI. The Red Storm’s 69-57 victory over the Orange on Dec. 6 was the program’s first win at the Carrier Dome in 15 years.
- The 20th St. John’s Hall of Fame induction class will be recognized at halftime on Saturday. Chris Mullin, a three-time BIG EAST Player of the Year and John R. Wooden Award recipient, highlights the Class of 2015. Mullin will be joined by 10-year Major League Baseball veteran and 1994 BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year CJ Nitkowski, PGA Tour member and 2001 BIG EAST individual champion Andrew Svoboda, women’s basketball 1,500-point scorer Kia Wright, 1995 NCAA epee champion Tina Loven, all-time winningest tennis player and 2000 NCAA Championship qualifier Erik Scharf and The Brennan Family, long-time St. John’s Athletics contributors.
About the Series
- St. John’s owns a 57-35 record all-time versus Seton Hall. The programs have met every season since 1963-64.
- St. John’s has won three of the last four meetings with Seton Hall.
- The Red Storm is 20-3 against the Pirates at Carnesecca Arena. St. John’s came away with a 77-76 victory in their last meeting in Queens on Jan. 23, 2014. Five players scored in double-figures, including 16 points apiece from D’Angelo Harrison, JaKarr Sampson and Orlando Sanchez.
For more information on the St. Johns’ Men’s Basketball team fans are encouraged to click on the link seen here: