1/6/15 Big East Games

[SJHooper]

Great atmosphere at MSG! Loud SJU and Nova fans just how it should be! Great game so far. It's a must win for us but I would not be surprised in the least if we lose this one. It's just not the kind of game we win at St. John's with our backs against the wall, especially against a team we almost never beat.

Nova is very skilled…crazy effort on the boards, lots of 2nd and 3rd tries going in, step back J's nothing but net, making 3's, etc. One thing I also notice is this: no team in America gets such liberal foul calls from what I've seen as Villanova. You can check the box scores and it always seems to be a ton of FT's. Part of it is of course knowing how to draw, but I do think they get the benefit of the doubt very often.

[Dew]

Hell of a game going at the Garden. Johnnies up 1 at half.

[MUPanther]

Butler up by 8 on Providence, early in the 2nd half on CBSSN.

[DudeAnon]

St. Johns is very impressive. If they were a bit more disciplined on both sides of the court they could be deadly.

[Bill Marsh]

St. Johns is very impressive. If they were a bit more disciplined on both sides of the court they could be deadly.

Or had enough depth to sustain its level of play for 40 minutes

[SecureDaBall]

St. Johns is very impressive. If they were a bit more disciplined on both sides of the court they could be deadly.

Or had enough depth to sustain its level of play for 40 minutes

I think that's the biggest issue. Not enough bodies. I was understanding year 1 and 2 but it is 5 seasons into Lavin's career at St. John's, there is no excuse for the lack of depth.

[Bill Marsh]

St. John's and Butler failed to defend home court. Finally a couple of teams break through on the same night to win on the road. Big wins for Providence andVillanova, both with big second halves. Both were very impressive in taking control in the latter part of the game.

[Bill Marsh]

Marquette @ Georegetown, 7pm
FS1: Tim Brando & Donny Marshall

Providence @ #28 Butler, 9pm
CBSSN: Carter Blackburn & Pete Gillen

#8 Villanova @ #24 St. John's, 9pm
FS1: Gus Johnson & Bill Raftery

Providence at Butler should be a war. I'm looking forward to Henton and Jones going at each other. Overall, whoever is hitting their 3's is probably winning this one, which gives Butler playing at home with Dunham the advantage. But you never know with 3's.

I didn't get to see this game because I don't get CBSSN. Very strange box score. Apparently the game didn't turn on what I thought it would. Butler made more 3's, they won the battle of the offensive boards, they turned Providence over, and the Friars didn't hit their FTs (64%). If I told you all that in advance, you'd assume that Butler would win that kind of game.

But it came down to Providence defense which held Bulter under 34% with 10 blocks. And PC made their shots at close to 50%. Surprising in that Butler is known for its tough D. And PC did make their FTs late. Big 2nd half for Dunn and Henton was his usual self.

Wish I could have seen the game. It does seem that it was a war.

[friars321]

The first half was sluggish. PC made shots but turned it over and Butler struggled to score but out rebounded and out toughed PC for the 50/50 balls in route to the halftime lead.
Cooley came out second half and started 3 new players. 3 starters did not play at all in the second half (derosiers, bentil, lindsay). The other guys stepped in and just played tougher. Defense was great from PC, cut back on the turnovers, and Dunn took over with 20+ in the second half.
Butler is a tough physical team. Just need someone else to emerge as a reliable scoring option besides Dunham.

This league is so tough. Really not 1 night off.
MARQ has not become the pushover once anticipated, Depaul is winning games. St Johns played well tonight and the blowout score does not indicate how close it was. 0-3 and in the top 25 tells you something about the league.

[stever20]

St. John's and Butler failed to defend home court. Finally a couple of teams break through on the same night to win on the road. Big wins for Providence andVillanova, both with big second halves. Both were very impressive in taking control in the latter part of the game.

If Seton Hall can beat Xavier at Xavier tomorrow- going to set up a game on Saturday- Xavier @ Butler- where the loser is looking very shaky. Xavier's next game @ Villanova. Butler's next games- @ Seton Hall and @ Georgetown.

For St John's- the RPI really starting to take a hit with 3 losses. Gone from 13 going into conference play to 21 after 0-2, and 27 after tonight. Their next game is at Providence. If 20 wins(including the d2 game) is what it's going to take for them- they have to go 9-7 the rest of the way- including the Duke game.