(3) Wednesday BE Games - 01/25/2017 - SJU@PC, CU@GU, BU@SHU

[SJUBBALL]

With Ellison emerging the way he is, and 5 star transfer Simon coming in, I think we are just 2 tough big men away from being really good.

Zach Brown killed us. He would've been just what the doctor ordered for this roster. Oh well

[billyjack]

Here's what St John's did well:

1. They forced tempo, getting Providence to play the game in the 80's when they wanted to play it in the 60's.

2. They did it by forcing turnovers right from the opening minutes. Providence averages only 12 TOs but committed 19. Cartwright, an excellent PG who averages only 2.8 TOs, faced constant pressure from the 2 quick SJU guards, resulting in 6 Cartwright TOs. Ponds and LoVett combined for 5 steals.

3. By turning the game into a track meet, St John's created numerous easy layup opportunities. Providence also got some easy layups, but in the end it was advantage: St John's.

4. St John's was relentless on the boards - especially Ellison who had 4 offensive rebounds by himself. As a team, St John's was +5 on the offensive boards. Combined with their advantage in turnovers, that netted them 11 extra FG opportunities.

5. Obviously St John's shot ridiculously well - 52% overall and 47% from 3. But it was the extra possessions which maximized the benefit of their hot shooting.

6. LoVett's 3 at the half was insane. That might have been a game changer right there

Hey, thanks for your take on the game Bill. I gave my tickets to my cousins, and was only able to watch the first 8 minutes and last 12 minutes on FS1 in hi-definition of course. I haven't seen the Lovett 3 at the half yet... will it give me agita...? seriously, am I gonna get agita...?

[Bill Marsh]

Here's what St John's did well:

1. They forced tempo, getting Providence to play the game in the 80's when they wanted to play it in the 60's.

2. They did it by forcing turnovers right from the opening minutes. Providence averages only 12 TOs but committed 19. Cartwright, an excellent PG who averages only 2.8 TOs, faced constant pressure from the 2 quick SJU guards, resulting in 6 Cartwright TOs. Ponds and LoVett combined for 5 steals.

3. By turning the game into a track meet, St John's created numerous easy layup opportunities. Providence also got some easy layups, but in the end it was advantage: St John's.

4. St John's was relentless on the boards - especially Ellison who had 4 offensive rebounds by himself. As a team, St John's was +5 on the offensive boards. Combined with their advantage in turnovers, that netted them 11 extra FG opportunities.

5. Obviously St John's shot ridiculously well - 52% overall and 47% from 3. But it was the extra possessions which maximized the benefit of their hot shooting.

6. LoVett's 3 at the half was insane. That might have been a game changer right there

Hey, thanks for your take on the game Bill. I gave my tickets to my cousins, and was only able to watch the first 8 minutes and last 12 minutes on FS1 in hi-definition of course. I haven't seen the Lovett 3 at the half yet... will it give me agita?

Yes.

[NJRedman]

SJ is getting more respectable at 4-5, I know you will all roll your eyes when you read this, but it's true...we have played mostly bottom level teams in the first half of conference play. Half of our wins were against DePaul and to be honest PC just isn't very good this year without Dunn or Bentil. This isn't to say the Butler win didn't count, of course it did...but we need to show we can win here and there against the upper echelon teams as well. Very happy over the win, but if we can steal one against Xavier, Marquette, Creighton, Nova, it will mean a lot more. So glad to see Marquette playing well by the way. Fans must be refreshed.

My main concern is still defense...we allowed PC to shoot 70% FG late in the game. That is not just bad that has to be close to some records. 70% FT shooting is decent. But to do that in FG%? That means no defense is being played and it just really shows how dire our need is for real big men down low. I can't even count how many easy dunks and layups we allow...maybe 30 a game? Teams barely have to work to get a high percentage shot on us. That being said, winning on the road in this conference is very tough so credit the team for being ready to punch back.

I still don't get why Darien Williams isn't playing much more...he actually has offensive moves inside and hits a decent amount. I also don't get why Freudenberg gets any minutes in a close game. He looks completely lost and I'm really souring on foreign players...clearly we aren't Gonzaga in that area developing euro talent. The game just looks way too fast for him. At one point you could see he was about to let a shot off, but the PC defender closed in on him so fast he didn't expect it and then passed the ball since he didn't have enough space. Seems like he needs a while to get a shot off so he should focus on his inside game more.

See, this is why no one takes you seriously. We went from 1 BE win to beating most of the lower level Big East teams now thats not good enough, we need to also beat the big boys. Well yeah no s***, but that would make us a really good team. We're not there yet. We also beat the team tied for first in the conference but you just brush that aside as if it was nothing. If anyone told us before the season started we'd be sitting at 4-5 and alone in 6th place at the half way point of conference play we'd all be very happy.

You are soured on foreign players because a true freshman who is getting used to the US game isn't living up to your standards? Dude, seriously just shut the f up. I never seen someone call themselves a huge fan and then constantly s*** all over the coach, the admin and the players. Go be a huge fan of someone else. Your bi-polar 20 something schtick is tiring.

[SJHooper]

We did hit tough shots but they have been falling all year for the most part. For Ponds and LoVett opponent fans wills laugh at some of their shot selection assuming it won't go in, then a perfect swish. They make those crazy shots a lot actually. This is how they were shooting for much of the season until LoVett's injury slowed him a bit and Ponds had a rough 3 game stretch. Our offense is fun to watch. If only we were able to get more stops and rebounds consistently after bringing in more big men, we'd really be scary. Lavin's teams here were good defensively but not so good offensively. I remember many 30% and below shooting nights from 3. If only we could have the defense from Lav's teams mixed with the offense of Mullin's team this year, we would be a top 25 team. We need to get Derrick Walker. Clark is coming, but we also need someone else. I don't expect Amar to be here next year and I think there's a chance Yakwe transfers. Even Mullin looks like he's had enough of his laziness and lack of aggression. If Yakwe had a motor like Owens, he'd be one of the best big men in the conference. They don't have to be 6'11...I'd settle for 6-7-6'8 guys with serious muscle. Next year's success will also depend heavily on whether or not LoVett stays. If him and Ponds stay and we shore up the bigs, we may finally get some consistency winning.

NJRedman, you are PMSing again. What is your blood pressure?

[NJRedman]

We did hit tough shots but they have been falling all year for the most part. For Ponds and LoVett opponent fans wills laugh at some of their shot selection assuming it won't go in, then a perfect swish. They make those crazy shots a lot actually. This is how they were shooting for much of the season until LoVett's injury slowed him a bit and Ponds had a rough 3 game stretch. Our offense is fun to watch. If only we were able to get more stops and rebounds consistently after bringing in more big men, we'd really be scary. Lavin's teams here were good defensively but not so good offensively. I remember many 30% and below shooting nights from 3. If only we could have the defense from Lav's teams mixed with the offense of Mullin's team this year, we would be a top 25 team. We need to get Derrick Walker. Clark is coming, but we also need someone else. I don't expect Amar to be here next year and I think there's a chance Yakwe transfers. Even Mullin looks like he's had enough of his laziness and lack of aggression. If Yakwe had a motor like Owens, he'd be one of the best big men in the conference. They don't have to be 6'11...I'd settle for 6-7-6'8 guys with serious muscle. Next year's success will also depend heavily on whether or not LoVett stays. If him and Ponds stay and we shore up the bigs, we may finally get some consistency winning.

NJRedman, you are PMSing again. What is your blood pressure?

My blood pressure is 98 over go F yourself.

[Bill Marsh]

We did hit tough shots but they have been falling all year for the most part. For Ponds and LoVett opponent fans wills laugh at some of their shot selection assuming it won't go in, then a perfect swish. They make those crazy shots a lot actually. This is how they were shooting for much of the season until LoVett's injury slowed him a bit and Ponds had a rough 3 game stretch. Our offense is fun to watch. If only we were able to get more stops and rebounds consistently after bringing in more big men, we'd really be scary. Lavin's teams here were good defensively but not so good offensively. I remember many 30% and below shooting nights from 3. If only we could have the defense from Lav's teams mixed with the offense of Mullin's team this year, we would be a top 25 team. We need to get Derrick Walker. Clark is coming, but we also need someone else. I don't expect Amar to be here next year and I think there's a chance Yakwe transfers. Even Mullin looks like he's had enough of his laziness and lack of aggression. If Yakwe had a motor like Owens, he'd be one of the best big men in the conference. They don't have to be 6'11...I'd settle for 6-7-6'8 guys with serious muscle. Next year's success will also depend heavily on whether or not LoVett stays. If him and Ponds stay and we shore up the bigs, we may finally get some consistency.

Walker would help provide a big body. Clark will help toughen things up. Simon will add size to the backcourt.

Despite the shooting %, I actually thought the D was really good last night. If you count the 19 TOs as missed shots, things look much different. Things have to be considered in light of the game plan. Those turnovers are stops, and the rebounding was also good last night.

[Hall2012]

Based on preseason expectation, SJU is arguably the most overachieving team in the league to this point. Maybe 2nd to Butler. Regardless, there's no reason why their fans should be disappointed in how they've fared in league play. They're overachieving and moving in the right direction. If you're frustrated with the Johnnies, look at the 2 teams behind them who had an NCAA tournament appearance as their minimum expectation for this season.

[Bill Marsh]

SJ is getting more respectable at 4-5, I know you will all roll your eyes when you read this, but it's true...we have played mostly bottom level teams in the first half of conference play. Half of our wins were against DePaul and to be honest PC just isn't very good this year without Dunn or Bentil. This isn't to say the Butler win didn't count, of course it did...but we need to show we can win here and there against the upper echelon teams as well. Very happy over the win, but if we can steal one against Xavier, Marquette, Creighton, Nova, it will mean a lot more. So glad to see Marquette playing well by the way. Fans must be refreshed.

My main concern is still defense...we allowed PC to shoot 70% FG late in the game. That is not just bad that has to be close to some records. 70% FT shooting is decent. But to do that in FG%? That means no defense is being played and it just really shows how dire our need is for real big men down low. I can't even count how many easy dunks and layups we allow...maybe 30 a game? Teams barely have to work to get a high percentage shot on us. That being said, winning on the road in this conference is very tough so credit the team for being ready to punch back.

I still don't get why Darien Williams isn't playing much more...he actually has offensive moves inside and hits a decent amount. I also don't get why Freudenberg gets any minutes in a close game. He looks completely lost and I'm really souring on foreign players...clearly we aren't Gonzaga in that area developing euro talent. The game just looks way too fast for him. At one point you could see he was about to let a shot off, but the PC defender closed in on him so fast he didn't expect it and then passed the ball since he didn't have enough space. Seems like he needs a while to get a shot off so he should focus on his inside game more.

See, this is why no one takes you seriously. We went from 1 BE win to beating most of the lower level Big East teams now thats not good enough, we need to also beat the big boys. Well yeah no s***, but that would make us a really good team. We're not there yet. We also beat the team tied for first in the conference but you just brush that aside as if it was nothing. If anyone told us before the season started we'd be sitting at 4-5 and alone in 6th place at the half way point of conference play we'd all be very happy.

You are soured on foreign players because a true freshman who is getting used to the US game isn't living up to your standards? Dude, seriously just shut the f up. I never seen someone call themselves a huge fan and then constantly s*** all over the coach, the admin and the players. Go be a huge fan of someone else. Your bi-polar 20 something schtick is tiring.

I think Hooper is using reverse psychology. By complaining about the team, he provokes responses from other posters telling him all the team's good points. Maybe that's what he's been trying to elicit all along. Let's see what happens if we tell him the sky really is falling.

[BigEast1]

NJRedman & SJhooper, come on, you guys both root for the same team. I personally think that SJhooper gets a little "bi-polar" (using the term affectionately lol) with his posts, but whether you agree with him or not, you have at least admire his passion for St. John's. St. John's fans have reasons to be frustrated, if they beat Delaware St & LIU, they might be in the hunt for an NIT this year. There's still a lot of basketball left to be played, St. John's will lose few more games & they will probably win a few more as well, that's how it goes.

I'm not ready to rule out Seton Hall as an NCAA team just yet. They have a lot of good teams left on their schedule (Villanova, Xavier & Creighton all at home), so they can still get some signature wins. Their last 2 losses were against the #1 team & #11 team in the nation, a tough task for anyone. They key is for them not to suffer any "bad losses" from this point forward, if they do pick up some of those big games coming up.

Not sure what to make of Creighton's situation at this point. The loss of Watson is huge, but they still have plenty of talent & a coach who isn't about to let the season slip away just b/c of the injury. Should be interesting going forward, 2 of their next 4 games are against DePaul, that might help stop the bleeding. They also have a stretch of 4 games in Feb where 3 are at home, that can also help.

Gotta believe that Marquette is probably the team right now is the team on the rise & that Providence might be slipping, but again, plenty of hoops left. Should be a fun February.