“I’m really proud of our guys,” head coach Jay Wright said about the Wildcats. ” These are just things we’ve got to go through as a team. Playing those games where we play ugly on the road and we find a way to win.”

St. John’s opened the game hot, scoring 6 points on their first two possessions on consecutive 3-pointers from D’Angelo Harrison, who had 28 points in the game.They carried a lead for the first five minutes of the game before the Villanova offense awoke to pull back within 2 points at the under-12 minute timeout.

The game remained close for much of the first half, with the lead changing five times between the 9:12 minute mark and the 7 minute mark. After Darrun Hilliard hit a 2-point jumper to put the ‘Cats ahead 22-21 with 6:59 on the clock, they would hold on for the rest of the half.

That wasn’t the end of the first-half drama, however. On the last Villanova possession of the first half, JayVaughn Pinkston drew some contact while trying to drive the ball inside and the referees called him for a charge. Jay Wright was livid and looked like he was about to run across the floor to yell at the refs before Doug West and another assistant pulled him back.

That foul gave the Johnnies a chance for the last shot of the half, but luckily for the ‘Cats, it was off the mark. The ‘Cats went into the intermission ahead 29-24.

St. John’s came back from the half with a high energy level, and immediately went on a 13-3 run to take a 37-32 lead. The ‘Cats started the second half slow, as they did the first, and St. John’s would extend their lead out to five points in the first six minutes of the period.

Nova took a 43-41 lead again with 13:37 on the clock on a Maalik Wayns jumper after a Sir’Dominic Pointer committed a flagrant foul for St. John’s. Maalik Wayns connected on both shots from the charity stripe to bring the Wildcats within one point and then, after getting the ball back, nailed a trey on a Darrun Hilliard assist for the lead.

The lead didn’t last very long, however, since Wayns was charged with a technical foul after the basket.

“I was just pumped up, trying to talk to my bench, trying to talk to my teammates, get my teammates going,” Wayns told reporters. “I think we went up two on that play and I was trying to get them going, and, you know, it was a technical.”

St. Johns made both free throws and proceeded to build up a 50-43 lead before the next Villanova basket — a steal and a layup by Dominic Cheek with 11:32 left on the clock. That play only slowed the bleeding, because the lead stayed with St. John’s until the two minute mark. The Red Storm lead by as much as 10 points in the second half.

Villanova would tie the game three more times in the last two minutes of regulation including the Wayns jumper that tied things at 67-67 with 30 seconds left. After that Wayns jumper, St. John’s God’sgift Achiuwa turned the ball over to give Villanova one more chance, Wayns took a shot over two defenders and then Cheek and Yarou failed to get the follow-through chances to end regulation tied.

In overtime, three players fouled out of the game, Yarou and Pinkston for Villanova and D’Angelo Harrison for St. John’s.

The Wildcats were ready to overcome, however. Taking a 1 point lead on pair of free throws less than a minute into the period, they held on to take a 3-point victory home, their first road win in the Big East this season. St. John’s had one last chance to tie the game on a 3-pointer, but Pointer overshot the ball and a Maalik Wayns held it in the corner until time expired.

St. John’s missed 5 free throws in the overtime period that would have been crucial to keeping the game close.

“We left the game on the free throw line, it was that simple,” Red Storm assistant head coach Mike Dunlap said. “You can talk about the rebounds and you can talk about the turnovers, but the bottom-line is free throws are easy baskets; and when you miss 11 of those it is real simple, something that you have to do better at.”

In total, there were 9 lead changes and 7 ties during the hotly-contested game.

Villanova outworked the Johnnies on the glass 52 to 36 and on the offensive glass 24 to 8. Two Villanova players finished the game with double-digit rebounding — Mouph Yarou led the way on the glass with 13 rebounds despite a quiet night on offense with just 4 points.

JayVaughn Pinkston had 12 rebounds to go along with 13 points for his second double-double of the season (the other being in his last game). He did turn the ball over 7 times (tied for team-high with Wayns), but had 2 steals and a block as well.

“JayVaughn is getting to be a go-to guy this year, and he’s gaining confidence and we’re gaining confidence in him,” Wright said. “He will be able to be a real go-to guy next year who can make an impact because he’s been through it for a year.”

It seems that the rise of Pinkston has affected the opportunities for Yarou, whose offensive production has notably declined in the last few games.

“I think that has affected that. I think Mouph has gotten a lot better defensively, he had 13 rebounds, he’s really concentrating on that. I do think we need to get him the ball, he never complains about it ever, but we do need to get him the ball.”

Wayns led the Wildcats with 28 points but had just 3 assists.

“He’s really learning how to be aggressive as a scorer and also be a distributor and also a defensive player,” Wright noted. “I’m really proud of him and he’s starting to develop into one of the best players in the country I think.”

Cheek contributed 20 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals, while James Bell contributed 10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 more steals of his own. The Wildcats picked their opponent’s pocket 13 times in total, despite having averaged just 5 per game prior.

“That’s the main thing we focus on is defense, and like I said, we started off slow, but I think our defense kept us in the game,” Cheek said. “It allowed us to get turnovers at the end and just pull away with the victory.”

St. John’s had three players who scored in double digits. In addition to Harrison, who had all 4 of his team’s made 3-point shots, Phil Greene scored 14 points and Moe Harkless had 16. Pointer led the Johnnies with 9 rebounds.

The Wildcats are now 10-10 on the season and 3-5 in Big East play heading into a tough stretch next week with a trip to Louisville on Wednesday and a home game against a ranked Marquette team on Saturday.

Attendance: 11,430

Just as Amir Garrett was finally academically-qualified to join the team this spring, the Red Storm point guard, Nurideen Lindsay decided to transfer — currently to Rider University, though he briefly committed to Arkansas. Lindsay had been the team’s third-leading scorer with 11.8 points per game as well as the assist leader with 2.9.

In addition to losing players, the Red Storm are also missing their coach. Steve Lavin has been cleared of his prostate cancer, but hasn’t been cleared to return to to the bench, yet. He has said that he will return, however, but needs to get his strength back first.

“What helps in dealing with that frustration is knowing that we have a first-rate staff,” Lavin told reporters on a Big East conference call. “Being in communication with them and being in concert with them and getting enough time working with the players both individually and then as a group is the only way we can move our team forward at this point. But I’d say it’s clearly the most challenging experience of my coaching career.”

Through those difficulties, the Johnnies have won 8 games and lost 10, and have a 2-5 record in the Big East. Their conference wins were against Providence and an away game at Cincinnati.

Given the massive turnover, it should be no surprise that 2 of the team’s 3 remaining double-digit scorers are freshmen. Swingman Moe Harkless has averaged 15.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, while guard D’Angelo Harrison contributes 14.6 points, 4 rebounds, and a team-leading 31.1% 3-point percentage.

Junior forward and all-name team nominee, God’sgift Achiuwa, rounds out the top scorers with 11.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest.

The Red Storm have played 7 or fewer players in their last 15 games and have had issues with foul trouble because of it. That lack of depth perhaps has worn the usual players a bit ragged in conference play. They have lost their last three games.

They’ve struggled both offensively and defensively this season, ranking 186th and 179th respectively in those categories. Opponents have scored easily from both outside and inside the paint. Where the Johnnies have performed well, however, is stealing the basketball, getting blocks and being stingy when it comes to opponents getting to the charity stripe. All of which will give them a chance to knock Villanova out of sync.

Since St. Johns has no really reliable outside shooters, Saturday’s game will likely be won at close range. Villanova has succeeded in two games where players drove to the basket more and took fewer long-range jumpshots — against DePaul and Seton Hall. The ‘Cats offense will benefit from going again to that strategy in New York.

The Johnnies will allow them some good looks from outside as well, but the sudden emergence of JayVaughn Pinkston necessitates a new strategy. Both Pinkston and Wayns have proven more than capable of drawing contact and scoring at the charity stripe. Until that strategy fails, Villanova should be driving to the basket as a first priority on offense.

Defensively, the ‘Cats have looked better in man coverage than they have in their 2-3 zone. There are still excellent perimeter looks to be had for opposing teams regardless of system, but at least against St. John’s, there won’t be many players skilled enough to take advantage of them.

Villanova will hope to battle with St. John’s in New York as well as they battled at home on Wednesday. A victory would be the first for the ‘Cats on the road this season, and and important momentum-building going into a difficult stretch of the schedule where they will face #21 Louisville and re-match against #22 Marquette.

The game will tip-off at 1:00pm from Madison Square Garden in New York City and will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.

Five Questions with Rumble In the Garden

When Pico from the St. John’s blog, Rumble In the Garden, asked us to trade questions with him about the game, I dreamed some up to pass along. You can read my responses to his questions over on his site and you can read his responses to my questions right here.

Well… the thing is, it was evident by the beginning of last season that Lavin was targeting a lot of players – as required by the previous staff’s compilation of 2011 graduates – and in targeting players, he went after talent potential. One of the things between those players and their potential, of course, were questions about their academics. Pelle and Sampson and Nurideen had rumors about their academics; Sir`Dominic Pointer had some questions too. So seeing most of those guys go was a surprise but not completely unexpected. Amir Garrett’s academic status was a surprise.

Lindsey’s transfer was a surprise as well – he’s already 21 (and a transfer seems to make no sense if he wants to get to the NBA. Coupled with the reasons he left – not enjoying being asked to play in a different manner – yeah, it’s surprising. Any coach would tell him that he needs to learn how to be a point guard, how to not just drive into the teeth of defenses…

I think talent does a lot of the winning on this level of college basketball. And having a team entirely of newcomers (and a low-impact junior) is a problem in all facets of the game. Lavin’s absence hurts, but the team isn’t wildly affected by it – Lavin’s not worth 20 points per game or 10-20 better possessions. The young’ins have to learn, and only having seven players means that the energy is always a factor. And the kind of players they have is an issue. The style of play they want – pressing and trapping – needs a few more players, and at least one good rebounder, if not a few great rebounders.

D`Angelo Harrison can take his opportunities and, when he has confidence, put up points. He’s due for a good game. Thanks for making me a little more excited about St. John’s chances!!

Offense. The defense is a mix of not having enough bodies, slower rotations, and a need for more strength – and a rebounder.

The offense… needs a lot of help. And more transition chances. And for players to finish their transition chances. There is one player who can create a shot. The team’s point guard play is handled by two guards learning the position. There are few players who can/ should use up more possessions (breakout candidates), and no one on the roster is a reliable three-point shooter. A number of guys need to develop both their consistency and their skills in the offseason. I can see the defense becoming more ferocious, forcing more turnovers.

I think the NIT is more likely in their second season, dependent on the freshmen they can bring in and how they play. The rebounding is simply, truly awful, and needs a hand or three. Incoming transfer Jamal Branch will help with the offensive cohesion at midseason. I can see a few players becoming better shooters.

Amir Garrett won’t be a salve on this season; he’s a good player, will be nice on defense, but not enough to carry the team. A team-wide improvement is necessary.

Corey Stokes led ‘Nova with 20 in the senior’s last home game. Maalik Wayns added 19.

The Wildcats are on the road for their final two games on the season; at #9 Notre Dame and #6 Pittsburgh.

More to come after decompression…

1. What was your reaction to St. John’s busting into the top-25 this week?

It’s about time. I’ve been patiently waiting for this renaissance of St. John’s basketball. The number next to the team’s name just confirms that St. John’s basketball is back and in a big way.

Even prior to the ranking the attendance in games at the Garden has really shown how St. John’s has come back. Four years ago Madison Square Garden had just over 4,000 fans but against Pitt last week there was nearly 15,000 strong. It feels great to see Garden becoming like the Jungle I dreamed it could be.

2. A lot of Villanova fans were watching the ‘Cats play overtime against DePaul on Saturday while the Johnnies were taking care of Pitt at MSG, how did they get the upper hand against the Panthers?

Jamie Dixon quickly dismissed the Garden atmosphere in the post game press conference but there was no way you could ignore the 6th man. St. John’s kept it close and Pitt looked like they were just about to run away with it with 7:00 minutes to go. Dwight Hardy took control of the game. With 3:00 minutes to play St. John’s cut it to 3 and all 15k rose to their feet as St. John’s players waived them up and you just knew that something special was going to happen. Dwight Hardy did his Fred Astaire impression along the baseline with 1.2 seconds left and sank an impossible layup.

3. Your only loss at Madison Square Garden this season was against Syracuse earlier this season. How do you generate that kind of home court advantage in a big NBA arena?

Syracuse has plagued St. John’s fans. They really travel incredibly well and they dominate the arena. You wonder why Georgetown refused to sell them tickets.

For many years St. John’s has really struggled to gain any kind of advantage at MSG which is why they started playing more games at Carnesecca Arena (financial reasons also played a role). If there were big crowds, St. John’s fans were generally out numbered by opponents. The key to creating it is winning. New York wants to back winners and obviously the proof has been in the pudding this season.

4. D.J. Kennedy lead the team in scoring last season but he’s third this year. How has his role in the offense changed?

D.J. Kennedy has been the statistical leader in everything for four years. He’s truly been a bright spot coming to St. John’s as a no name spring signee. He’s struggled at points this season taking a back seat to Dwight Hardy and Justin Brownlee after D.J. thought he was going to be “the man” his senior year.

Earlier in the season he was benched for his demeanor on the court which led to him scoring 20 points and grabbing 6 boards off the bench against Wagner. Problem solved. Since D.J. has been his usual all around self and is quietly having his most efficient season. All of his percentages are career highs while his turnovers are career lows.

5. St. John’s gave Villanova one hell of a fight last season at MSG and looked like they could win it throughout the first half. What are your expectations for the trip to Philadelphia? Can they finish what they started last year?

St. John’s had Villanova beat last season just as they had Duke, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh. All of those games included blown leads in the 2nd half but this season they’ve avenged all of those 2nd half losses. I like the chances to make Villanova the fourth.

I think St. John’s matches up very well in the backcourt against Nova and more so in the front court. I think Brownlee, Burrell, and Evans can pose problems for Yarou and Pena.

6. Are there any NBA prospects on the St. John’s roster? Where do you expect him/them to be drafted?

Justin Brownlee is the best NBA ready player on this team while Justin Burrell has most NBA physicality. I think both players could find a spot in the league given the right situation.

I also think Paris Horne could find a Wes Matthews NBA route because he’s such a hard worker and excellent defender. I don’t think that Dwight Hardy and D.J. Kennedy have NBA ability. I think Hardy can be much like one of your own, Allan Ray, and play in the highest level overseas.

7. How offensive was it to St. John’s fans when Syracuse put ads on NYC cabs declaring themselves to be “New York’s College Team”?

Syracuse is Syracuse’s team but St. John’s is New York’s team. They can claim whatever they want though until St. John’s beats them at the Garden.

8. When Steve Lavin was hired, there was some speculation that he might give Jay Wright and Rick Pitino some competition for best-dressed Big East coach, but he recently lost the tie and started wearing sneakers regularly. I know it started as a Coaches vs. Cancer promotion, but are you disappointed that he hasn’t returned to his former sartorial splendor?

According to Steve Lavin, “Jay Wright is like George Clooney” so he isn’t trying to overtake Jay as the best dressed, however this is Steve Lavin being modest.

The first time I met Lav he was rocking skinny legged jeans, trendy sneakers, and black rimmed glasses. Lavin contends that its easier to demonstrate plays with the white Nike’s and easier to breathe without the tie which has made him a better coach. During this stretch who is to argue?

Thanks again to Dave for participating.

Please be sure to check out my game preview as well as my other Q&A with Rumble in the Garden and get your entries in for Closest to the Pin.

This is a tremendously experienced team, with more senior players than I think I can ever remember seeing on a single basketball team. The team that Rick Pitino picked to win the Big East title this season is 18-9 on the season and ahead of Villanova in the conference this season at 10-5. They Johnnies are also on a five-game winning streak which saw them knock off two top-10 opponents in the Garden and most-recently blow-out DePaul at the tiny Carnesecca Arena.

Dwight Hardy has been key to St. John’s success this season. The senior guard has lead the scoring with 17.3 points per game, including 10 games with 20 points or more. He has been the starting point guard since taking over for Malik Boothe early this season.

The Johnnies’ two other double-digit scorers this season are senior forward Justin Brownlee, who averages 12.1 ppg as well as 5.1 rebounds, and senior (surprise!) forward D.J. Kennedy, who scores 10.5 ppg and adds 5.7 rebounds as well.

While Hardy is the starter at point guard, senior Malik Boothe has had a very strong run over his last four games, accruing 18 assists and only 4 turnovers. Hardy is far more likely to turn it over, particularly in that four-game stretch, where he had 8 assists and 9 turnovers. If the Villanova defense wants to get stops, putting pressure on Hardy might be the way to do it.

This is a strong defensive team that is adept at forcing turnovers and is capable of executing at a high energy level that must be matched or exceeded from tip-off. As Oliver Purnell said in his post-game presser, “Give St. John’s all the credit in the world. They are playing really good basketball and there are no signs of a letup, something I would have liked to see.”

Most of the Johnnies’ most “braggable” wins have come at home. Madison Square Garden has been as good a home-court advantage for St. Johns as Carnesecca Arena itself.

That said, St. Johns has proven that they can beat just about anyone this year. On the flipside, with a home loss to St. Bonaventure  and a loss at local rival Fordham on their record as well, they have also proven that they can lose to just about anyone as well.

If Villanova comes out and plays with an appropriate level of intensity on Saturday afternoon, they should at least be able to count on the defense to keep them in this game. If the ‘Cats want to score a truly big win at home, they will need their shots to fall in on offense. Hopefully the team played some H-O-R-S-E this week, because another night like Monday could prove disastrous for this team’s confidence.

The game will tip-off at 2:00pm from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Television coverage will be available nationally on ESPN.

Please be sure to get your entries in for Closest to the Pin, and check out my Q&A’s with Rumble in the Garden and JohnnyJungle.com.

As is always the case, I also answered a few questions for him over on his blog. Without much more adieu, here are five questions with Pico:

TOTAL

DOMINATION

*cue music*

Only because you asked me kindly for honesty, I’ll say that’s a lie.  I think my expectations were – and with my fingers very crossed – an 8th-9th place finish in the Big East that was highly dependent on a few teams becoming beatable – a few in the Connecticut/ Marquette/ Louisville/ Seton Hall/ Cincinnati grouping. And many of them became beatable, but not in the way I expected. I thought the Red Storm needed a lot of luck and a bump from a new coaching staff to get there.

I didn’t think they would be top-25. It’s a credit to the coaching depth in the Big East that the league is this crazily competitive – St. John’s might STILL only be the 8th place team in the conference if they lose 1-2 games!

In conclusion – the team exceeded my expectations.

The difference between the Johnnies then and now is a combination of confidence and an understanding of what they’re supposed to do on defense.  Everyone has their role now, they transition more fluidly from defense to offense, and to be honest, the rotation’s much different.

Everyone’s shooters have a chance to heat up against St. John’s – it’s part of the design.  Look for St. John’s to force turnovers in the paint, the get back in transition, to make the Wildcats throw skip passes a little quicker than they would like to. The defense isn’t really about getting the other team to miss shots, it’s about forcing turnovers and getting easy opportunities the other way.

But even if Villanova is firing on all cylinders, Dwight Hardy gets a little better every game, and understands how to make opportunity in little cracks.

Keady is the big name in the mix, but Coach Lavin deserves credit, as do his assistants Mike Dunlap (the white-haired fellow you will see in Lavin’s ear) and Rico Hines, who was a player development coach with Golden State.  I think Lavin is the guy who loves this kind of chaotic defense, but the others help make it crisp.

The idea that “these are Norm’s guys” and “oh they’re seniors” is a bit disingenuous to me. It might be a bit of homerism/ Lavinism, but a few points on whether this uptick was inevitable:

• Players generally plateau in their junior and senior years. With little talent coming in, the Red Storm were going to be about the same, maybe a little better, barring injury.
• St. John’s hadn’t held conference opponents under 1 point per possession, despite how “hard” they worked on defense. This year, they’re just over that threshold.
• Coach Roberts played Sean Evans over Justin Brownlee, and Malik Boothe over Dwight Hardy (essentially). Would that have changed? Probably not; Norm Roberts thought defense-first, despite the fact that his defense often got worked over like in the second half of last year’s Villanova game or the second half of the West Virginia game.
• The constant chatter about Norm Roberts’ status (and lack of success, and lack of recruiting success) had to wear on the players as well. They needed an infusion of, to borrow a term, Hope and Change.

Nope.

Nor should they be expected to. The Red Storm will be playing 7-9 freshmen in the rotation next year. Unless 1-4 of them are going to the NBA in the following year, that doesn’t breed 20-win success. It’s not very plausible. They will struggle, and build a new platform of success.

Thanks again to Pico for participating.

Please be sure to check out my game preview, the other Q&A with JohnnyJungle.com, and get your entries in for Closest to the Pin.

Update:  Saturday, February 27 (Game Results).

VUHoops vs. Vegas:  Based on the average predicted scores of the VUHoops Crowd and the posted Vegas line, we would have won $200 by betting ‘St. John’s +6 (win) and the Over (win).  The details follow.  With the double-win, we are now +$500 for the season.

Leader Board After 29 Rounds

Update:  Saturday, February 27 (Game Time). A total of 52 VUHoops  readers posted predictions, six picking the Red Storm to win.  As a group, the readers see ‘Nova winning by a score of 71-67 (a margin of 4.0 points and implied over/under of 138).  The Vegas odds makers are picking ‘Nova to win by 6.0 points and set the over/under at 134.5 points, implying a final score of 70-64.  KenPom.com’s model is predicting Nova to win by 7.0 points by a score of 71-64.

Scatter Plot of Predicted Scores

Window Opening:  Thursday , February 24 (4:00 PM). The window is now open for readers to post their predicted final scores for ‘Nova’s game vs. St. John’s on Saturday at 2:00 PM (Wells Fargo Center) in our Closest to the Pin Contest.  After twenty-eight rounds, regred has jumped into the lead with 25.0 points.  Click here to see our current leader board.  In our VUHoops vs. Vegas competition, VUHoops is up $300 for the season.

The #15 Cats (21-7, 9-6) have an RPI of 27, a SOS of 34, are scoring an average of 73.9 PPG while giving up an average of 64.1.   The #23 Red Storm (18-9, 10-5)  have an RPI of 10, a SOS of 1, and are scoring an average of 69.4 PPG while giving up an average of 66.3.  The margins of victory / defeat for all of St. John’s Big East games so far this season are as follows:

More statistical information about Syracuse is available at Statsheet.com.

KenPom.com’s model is predicting Nova to win by 6.0 points by a score of 70-64.

Be sure to check out Brian’s game preview.

Special Note:  When posting scores, please remember to list your predicted score for Villanova first, followed by the opponent’s score (e.g., ‘Nova 70 – St. John’s 65).

Scottie Reynolds

The 18-1 start includes a 7-0 start in Big East Conference play which has never been accomplished before by the Wildcats.

‘Nova overcame an 11 point deficit late in the first half to be down only 1 point at the intermission. Whatever Jay said to the squad at the half, the team took it to heart. A combination of increased defensive pressure and cold shooting saw St. John’s only shoot 11-38 (29%) from the field in the second 20 minutes.

Corey Fisher added 18 points for ‘Nova and freshman Maalik Wayns contributed 16 with both shooting 5-8 from the floor.

Reynolds also led the team with 4 assists and 3 steals. Along the way he passed Randy Foye and moved in to the #8 spot on Villanova’s All-Time Scoring List.

Villanova next faces Notre Dame on Wednesday at 7p.

Closest to the Pin Results:  With the Cat’s winning 81-71, we congratulate eight VUH readers who took medals in our most competitive contest so far.  Gold Medals: Joe (82-71) and  Paul (80-71), earning 5 points each; Silver Medals: maalik lowry (80-72), Old School (81-69), Squeaky 99 (80-70) and supernova (82-70), earning 3  points each;  Bronze Medals: Brendan D (81-68) and EG’77 (81-74),  earning 1 point each.   For the standings after 15 rounds, see our Leader Board.

[nggallery id=78]