Three takeaways and perspective from St. John’s men’s basketball’s 79-73 win over Creighton

The Johnnies compensated for an inferior shooting performance with bruising defense and timely hustle plays

With first place in the Big East on the line, a packed Madison Square Garden was ready for the game between the first-place St. John’s Red Storm and the second-place Creighton Bluejays. The noise in the stands was reminiscent of the good old days of the mid-1980s as fans expressed cautious optimism. One surprise that inspired the Red Storm faithful was the word just before game time that guard Deivon Smith was ready to play. Soon, fans would discover if Smith’s presence would make a difference.

First half

The Johnnies opened with their standard starters over the past month: Kadary Richmond, Simeon Wilcher, Aaron Scott, R.J. Luis, and Zuby Ejiofor.

Creighton began the game by jumping out to a 12-4 lead at the time of the under-16 media timeout. The Johnnies, in pursuit of offensive rebounds, found Creighton holding firm on their defensive boards and breaking downcourt for open shots both at the basket and from three-point land.

After Creighton extended the lead to ten at 14-4, Richmond hit a jumper then, twenty seconds later, fed Scott on the left corner for a three, and the Johnnies were back in the game, down by five at 14-9.

At the 13:24 moment of the half, the fans roared as Deivon Smith entered the game. Two minutes later, Smith drove around an Ejiofor screen at the foul line and hit a cutting Richmond with a bounce pass for a layup, cutting the Bluejay lead to two at 21-19.

R.J. Luis picked up the offensive slack with a jumper. Then Smith showed his value for the Johnnies by drawing a charging foul on Ty Davis of Creighton. Fifteen seconds later, with Ejiofor out for a rest, Vince Iwuchukwu fed Luis for a three, and St. John’s was in the lead 24-23.

The teams exchanged the lead, and Smith hit an eight-foot turnaround jumper in the paint, returning the lead to St. John’s at 26-25.

The Johnnies’ defense tightened and held the Bluejays without a shot, resulting in a thirty-second violation. Throughout the game, particularly in the second half, the Red Storm’s defense was suffocating, making the Bluejays fight hard and long even to get a shot off.

The half ended with the Johnnies holding a one-point lead, 40-39.

Halftime

Red Storm fans expressed positivity during the break, particularly with the contributions of Smith adding to the balanced scoring of Luis (10 points), Ejiofor (10 points), Richmond (7 points), and Smith (8 points). Fans were unanimously in agreement that “Smith’s game is back.”

On the defensive side, the Johnnies were not allowing 7-foot-1 Ryan Kalkbrenner to dominate the game as he had done in the earlier season game at Creighton, holding him to five points and five rebounds. Leading the Bluejays in scoring was Jamiya Neal with 12 points. One fan called for changing defensive assignments that would find Aaron Scott covering Neal.

Statistically speaking, Creighton was shooting a higher percentage (48 to 39 percent), but the Johnnies had six steals but one for Creighton. The Johnnies took down 18 rebounds, and the Blue Jays took down 19.

Second half

Scott, who sat during eleven minutes of the first half due to foul trouble, returned along with the other starters and, on Creighton’s first possession, was found defending Neal all over the court. He held Neal scoreless for twelve and a half minutes.

Ejiofor was also “back,” muscling his way under the baskets for layups and putbacks after opening his scoring with two three-pointers from the top of the key in the first half.

Down the stretch, it was Richmond and Luis who stood out. Richmond, double-teaming Kalkbrenner, knocked the ball out of his hands as he went up for a shot. Shortly thereafter, he drove the length of the court for a layup and a 58-53 Red Storm lead.

Neal finally scored as he broke down the court for a dunk, which was fed by the leading scorer for Creighton, Steven Ashworth. The basket brought the Blue Jays within one as tension mounted amongst an energized fan base.

During a timeout with 7:21 to play, public address announcer Mike Watts announced Sunday’s game was sold out with 19,812 in attendance. Shortly afterward, a second announcement came: next Sunday’s game versus UConn is already sold out. The Garden rocked with the announcement. A fan commented, “You think it is loud today. Wait until you hear this place next Sunday!”

Fifteen seconds later, a Smith steal, a pass to a streaking-down-the-court Eliofor, and a dish to Luis for a layup extended the St. John’s lead to four at 61-57.

The Red Storm were barely hitting 50 percent of their free throws with two minutes to play and held a four-point lead. Luis was fouled and calmly hit two free throws. A Scott layup assisted by Wilcher and an Ashworth three left the Johnnies with the ball and still anyone’s game with 1:09 to play. But more fouls and more Luis and Richmond free throws in the last two minutes sealed a 79-73 victory.

Takeaway #1: Aaron Scott and Deivon Smith defending Neal and Ashworth made the difference

All of the Johnnies play sound defense, but the pressure defense put on Ashworth and Neal, the leading scorers and ball handlers for Creighton, allowed the Johnnies to control the game in the last fifteen minutes.

Full-court pressure led to the Blue Jays beginning their set plays with 20 to 22 seconds to go on the shot clock. Then Creighton simply was not able to run plays initiated by the point guard Ashworth, as Smith never let him feel comfortable. Scott was on Neal and never let him break free. Yes, there were occasional breakdowns, but most set plays by Creighton found the Blue Jays throwing up long, under-pressure shots with the clock showing two or three seconds to shoot.

Takeaway #2: Some relief for starters

With Deivon Smith back into what looks like a six-man rotation and with a valuable five minutes from reserve Vince Iwuchukwu, St. John’s five starters averaged 31 minutes of playing time.

The brief respites kept the Johnnies energized and allowed the outstanding defense in the last fifteen minutes to take control of the game.

In comparison, the five starters for Creighton, even with Kalkbrenner out with an injury for several minutes, averaged more than the Johnnies starters – 32 minutes.

There are productive minutes from reserves and not-so-productive minutes. With Smith back, the Johnnies get pace-setting and play-making production. During his five minutes of play, Iwuchukwu provided a basket, an assist, and a thunderous block.

Takeaway #3: The free throws and R.J. Luis

Red Storm fans know of the free throw issues. There are no excuses. Players can make jump shots while being defended but are missing undefended free throws. The inconsistent performance from the line is not defendable. But with the game on the line, R.J. Luis made all six of his free throws on the way to scoring 23 points and taking down 14 rebounds.

Is missing free throws simply a part of the game? It seemed that, at least in Ejiofor’s case (who went 2-of-8), he was making adjustments from the line after missing a free throw. When the team was hitting below fifty percent of their attempts, one fan advised the old cliché, “Practice makes perfect.”

Practice will not lead to perfection, but “practice does make better.” Captain Kadary Richmond is leading by example, as his free throw accuracy has increased significantly over the last five games, making 68.2% of his attempts compared to only 49.1% from his first 21 games.

Outlook

St. John’s holds a solid two-game lead over the rest of the Big East with only five games remaining in the regular season. The Johnnies have three games against the three weakest teams in the Big East and two against teams likely to make the Big Dance. Focusing on one game at a time, as the team has done throughout the year, would portend continued positive outcomes.

When the team gets to the Big East Tournament, there are no breaks between games. Getting positive performances from second-teamers is essential, as rest will be needed as the tournament proceeds. Smith makes a difference. Prey hustles and defends, but so far, he’s too raw to be a reliable offensive contributor for the team.

Fans can be encouraged by Iwuchukwu’s performance in five minutes of play today. Opportunities for second-stringers to gain confidence and demonstrate their ability may come in the upcoming DePaul game. As the Johnnies move forward one game at a time, St. John’s fans can start believing in this team’s potential to go deep in March Madness.