The Red Storm look to build chemistry and improve to 2-0 when they face the MAAC favorite Quinnipiac Bobcats on Saturday
Even against the welterweight Fordham Rams on opening night, St. John’s managed to impress fans and pundits alike with their dominance in a 92-60 boat-racing. The Red Storm look to keep building momentum in another early season tune-up as they face the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Saturday, who were picked to finish first in the MAAC preseason coaches’ poll.
Game information
Who: St. John’s Red Storm vs. Quinnipiac Bobcats
When: Saturday, November 9, 2024, 2:00 p.m.
Where: Carnesecca Arena, Jamaica, New York
TV: FS2
Radio: Learfield Radio
Series History: St. John’s won their only previous meeting against Quinnipiac on December 29, 2001, by a score of 97-60 at home.
Injury news
No injuries to report for St. John’s.
What to Watch for in the Storm
Rick Pitino revealed during Friday’s media availability that Deivon Smith will start versus Quinnipiac, relegating R.J. Luis to the bench, but not because of his late-game technical foul from punting a basketball into the stands on Monday.
Pitino explained that he wanted to see how a three-guard backcourt of Smith, Kadary Richmond, and Simeon Wilcher looks with extended minutes. According to CBB Analytics, the trio played on the court together for three minutes and 45 seconds versus Fordham, sporting a +/- of minus-one.
“[Richmond, Smith, and Wilcher] are guys that make plays, either for themselves or their teammates,” Pitino said of the trio on Friday, “Those three are true playmakers.”
Pitino also commented on Friday that he would not like to see St. John’s protect the glass better and run teams off the three-point line, but to also see Zuby Ejiofor return to his preseason form after a quiet five-point, one rebound performance on opening night. Pitino said that Ejiofor was his “own worst enemy”, but they looked over film this week and highlighted certain mistakes on Monday.
Scouting the Bobcats
How about those Bobbies? After previous head coach Baker Dunleavy left to become Villanova’s general manager of basketball in the summer of 2023, Queens native and former Fordham head coach Tom Pecora took the reins and led Quinnipiac to their best season since they went Division-I in 1998. The Bobcats finished with D-I program bests in wins (24) and conference victories (15), clinching their first-ever MAAC regular season title. They didn’t clinch an auto-bid after falling to Saint Peter’s in the conference tournament, and they went one-and-done to Evansville in the 2024 CBI.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am… it’s about YOU GUYS.”
Coach Pecora addresses the team after clinching our first-ever regular season @MAACHoops title ↓ pic.twitter.com/gzoxLnFgrT
— Quinnipiac Men’s Basketball (@QU_MBB) March 9, 2024
Quinnipiac got off on the wrong foot this season, getting blown out by Yale on Monday night, 88-62. After trailing 5-2 in the very early stages, Yale went on a 14-0 run and then never looked back. The Bobcats were clobbered on the glass, giving up 50 total rebounds, including 21 offensive boards to Yale.
Sure, the Bobcats got into the win column on Thursday with a 71-47 dub over Division-III Worcester Polytechnic Institute, but they’re on the hunt for their first Division-I win of the season.
Even though the program’s second all-time scorer Matt Balanc has departed, there are plenty of returnees from last year’s 24-win squad. Junior forward and top returning scorer Amarri Monroe (formerly known as Amarri Tice) is expected to become the Bobcats’ number-one option. Monroe leads the team with 18.0 points and 3.0 steals per game across two contests.
Senior Paul Otieno holds down the starting center spot. Last season, the Kenyan national averaged 11.0 points and 6.9 rebounds, shooting a conference-best 64.6% two-point percentage. Otieno is also beginning to stretch out his jumper. He only attempted six total triples last season, but he’s already reached half of that total in two games this season.
Amarri Monroe & Paul Otieno have been named to Bracketeer’s All-American Watch List for non-power conferences!
READ → https://t.co/9v0o2dN018#BobcatNation x #MAACHoops pic.twitter.com/GmI88k1itS
— Quinnipiac Men’s Basketball (@QU_MBB) October 31, 2024
Savion Lewis is in his seventh (!) year of college basketball after he redshirted in his true freshman year and received waivers after injuries held him to eight games each in his freshman and junior seasons. The pass-first point guard from Long Island dished out 248 total assists last season, second-most in the nation.
Fifth-year forward and returning starter Alexis Reyes is a floor spacer for the Bobcats, averaging 7.8 points and 34.6% from three on 107 attempts last season.
Keys to the game
On the Ejiofor of Glory – As previously mentioned, Zuby Ejiofor was held to a five-point outing on Monday. These tune-up games could go a long way towards developing Ejiofor’s confidence in his new role before St. John’s gets to the meat of their schedule. Could Zuby Ejiofor begin to actualize his offseason hype on Saturday?
No-Fly Zone – The identity of this year’s Red Storm’s team will come from their harassing defense and they looked ahead of schedule versus Fordham, disrupting the Rams to the tune of eleven steals on 19 turnovers. The always fastidious Pitino still graded the team’s performance on Monday as a C+ defensively in Friday’s media availability. Let’s see if they can improve to a B in game two.
Clean The Glass – St. John’s out-rebounded Fordham by eight on Monday, but they didn’t look very secure in the post against the much smaller Rams. Rick Pitino said this is one of the team’s areas for improvement on Friday. Quinnipiac got bullied in the post by Yale, who only played one player taller than 6-foot-7 on Monday. It’s tough to envision Quinnipiac not getting run over on the glass on Saturday.
Prediction
Need we say less, this is another mismatch. Pitino will mix and match lineups, St. John’s opens the floor and runs roughshod on Quinnipiac. St. John’s wins, 97-55.