Three takeaways and perspective from St. John’s men’s basketball’s gutsy win over Villanova

After Deivon Smith went down with a shoulder injury, Luis stepped up with his best performance in a Red Storm uniform

It was an extraordinary evening for the St. John’s Red Storm as they took on the Villanova Wildcats, who, like St. John’s, had won eight of their last nine games but were also led by the nation’s leading scorer, Eric Dixon. The pre-game festivities began with a moment of silence for legendary coach Lou Carnesecca before the Red Storm’s first game at Madison Square Garden since his passing in December.

Fans remained standing for a riveting performance of The Star Spangled Banner that led to a loud cheer from a packed Madison Square Garden at its conclusion. Just after the anthem, a longtime St. John’s season ticket holder, who rarely overstated his expectations, stated, “We’re gonna win big tonight.” The 18,000 strong at the Garden were ready for the Johnnies.

Fans stood throughout the introductions of the team’s starting lineups. After the Villanova starters were announced, a video display featured an electrified Madison Square Garden emanating storm-like lighting shooting out of the Garden down Seventh Avenue. As two fifteen-foot columns released flames, a starting lineup of R.J. Luis, Deivon Smith, Aaron Scott, Zuby Ejiofor, and Kadary Richmond was announced to an energized crowd. Energy like this had not been heard at the start of a Garden Red Storm game for many years.

First Half

Team strategies on defense became apparent for both teams from the beginning. For St. John’s, the focus was placed on challenging their star, Eric Dixon, whenever he received the ball. When he chose to drive to the basket, he attempted to fight through a double team.

Villanova also had an opponent receiving special attention. Wildcat defenders focused on keeping Zuby Ejiofor away from the basket, whether he had the ball or not. The result was a flurry of fouls called early against the Wildcats, as much pushing and shoving was happening to keep Ejiofor away from the basket.

Halfway through the first half, Villanova had already committed eight fouls, two on 6’ 11” senior Enoch Boakye, who, because of foul trouble, only played 14 minutes.

Seventeen seconds into the game, Richmond dished to Luis in the right corner, who swished a sixteen-foot jumper for a 2-0 lead. After Dixon made a three-pointer to give Villanova a lead, Smith hit the first of three three-pointers, and the Johnnies led 5-3.

With the Johnnies focused on Dixon, Villanova repeatedly kicked the ball out to point guard Jhamir Brickus, who scored eleven points in the game’s first eight minutes. After Brickus’s third made triple gave the Wildcats a 19-16 lead, St. John’s called timeout. Smith was assigned to stay with Brickus, and when he was taken out, his replacement did the same. Brickus only scored two more points in the last thirty-two minutes of the game.

Two minutes later, freshman Ruben Prey entered the game with the assignment to stalk Dixon. He did an excellent job, staying with him and holding him scoreless for the seven minutes he was in the game.

A Wilcher dunk, assisted by Richmond, brought the crowd to its feet and put the Johnnies ahead 21-19. The Wildcats responded and retook the lead, but with five minutes to play, Scott found Ejiofor under the basket. The Wildcats surrounded him, and he deftly passed to Luis under the basket for a layup, putting the Johnnies back in the lead 24-23.

The lead exchanged hands several times until a Scott three-pointer put the Johnnies up by five with 1:52 remaining in the half. Two Luis free throws extended the lead to seven. The St. John’s advantage remained seven until Eric Dixon was fouled with one-tenth of a second to play. Dixon made both free throws, and the Red Storm ended the first half by leading 36-31.

Halftime

During halftime, the team announced that Devon Smith, who had left the game with an apparent shoulder injury, was taken for X-rays. Early in the second half, the team revealed that the injury was not as severe as it appeared but that it was unlikely that he would return for the second half. At the half, Smith was the Red Storm’s leading scorer (12 points), with Ejiofor (8 points) and Luis (with 7 points) following him.

Statistics between the two teams were similar except for rebounding, which St. John’s led, taking down 17 rebounds to Villanova’s eleven.

The St John’s dance team received a standing ovation after another spectacular halftime performance, keeping the energy in the Garden at a feverish pitch.

Second Half

The Johnnies had but one Luis jumper in the first five minutes of the half, and Villanova pulled ahead on a Poplar jumper by three at the 15:06 mark, 41-38.

Shortly before the 17:30 mark, defensive specialist Sadiku Ayo came in for Luis. Fans could see Coach Pitino immediately go to Luis for a one-to-one conversation. Since Ayo replaced him, fans assumed their chat had something to do with Luis’ defense. The conversation must have been deemed successful as Luis shortly thereafter returned.

Luis broke the Wildcat run with a jumper and then, on a breakaway, followed with a nice feed to Scott for a dunk, and the Johnnies were once again ahead 42-41. After a Dixon three put the Wildcats up by four, Ejiofor returned to the game with nine minutes to play. The Johnnies found Scott alone in the left corner, and he canned a three, cutting the deficit to one.

After Poplar made a layup and converted a free throw, the lead was back up to four with eight and a half minutes remaining.

Kadary Richmond took over. Richmond drove down the left of the lane for a layup, was fouled, and converted the free throw. Thirty seconds later, after an offensive rebound by Ejiofor and a pass out, Richmond hit a twelve-footer from the right wing and a 55-54 lead.

From that point on, it was the R.J. Luis show. In the last six and a half minutes, Luis scored 13 points and took down six rebounds to finish with a 30-point, 10-rebound double-double and lead the Johnnies to an 80-68 victory.

Takeaway #1: Everyone answered the bell when Smith went down

With Deivon Smith’s arm in a sling at halftime, the Red Storm lost its top scorer in the game. Though St. John’s played good defense and led at halftime, fans still expressed anxiety. Now, down to five major rotation players, the question was – who would step up? The final evaluation was – everyone.

After the game, Coach Pitino explained why he briefly took RJ Luis out in the second half. He revealed what he was talking to him about. It wasn’t his defense but his need to step up on offense. Luis responded with 23 second-half points and six rebounds in the last four minutes when the game was on the line. But he wasn’t the only one.

Aaron Scott added tough defense and seven points in the second half with a three that put the Johnnies ahead 51—50.

Kadary Richmond scored five points in 30 seconds to keep the one-point Red Storm lead.

With the Johnnies up by one with three and a half minutes to play, Simeon Wilcher stole the ball from Eric Dixon and made a reverse layup with three Wildcats in position to block the shot. It was the “play of the game.”

Lastly, Zuby Ejiofor took down five rebounds, scored three points, and played his usual positional defense to hold high scorer of the year, Eric Dixon, to eighteen points (seven below his average) on six for nineteen shooting. Dixon played 38 minutes and made four threes but only two out of ten on his many drives to the basket.

Takeaway #2: Ruben Prey showed off strong defense

Ruben Prey played for seven minutes, all in the first half. His only statistic was one blocked shot. However, his defense on Eric Dixon was stifling. The Wildcats were continually feeding Dixon the ball, and Prey stayed on him in whichever direction Dixon tried to initiate an attack; Prey’s performance against the top scorer in the country suggests that he is the best replacement for Ejiofor whenever he needs rest.

In practice, Prey demonstrates an ability to hit a three-pointer. Adding this to his performance maybe once or twice a game would be a true lift for the Red Storm

Takeaway #3: St. John’s continued to protect the ball

Despite pushing the tempo whenever they could, the Johnnies only committed nine turnovers, continuing a trend over the last four games. St. John’s committed nine against Creighton, ten against Butler, and seven against Xavier, which averaged just under nine per game.

The top team in the NCAA for this season in avoiding turnovers is Marquette, having 9.0 over the season. Over the season, the Johnnies rate 80th with 11.1 per game. But the last four games – just under nine. In contrast, a competitive Michigan team has 15.4 turnovers per game.

As the Johnnies continue to work hard, they are working together more efficiently, even in an offense that pushes tempo. The consistent improvement demonstrated in these last four games, coupled with their high-ranking defense, suggests the Johnnies should be competitive in all games, even those against Marquette and Connecticut.

Outlook

The outlook for this team looks better each game they play. With turnovers low and the rebounding advantage significant, St. John’s again showed they can overcome a poor shooting game from three-point land. The three-point shooting against a disciplined Villanova team was up compared to the recent past, and the team’s focus on shooting was noticed during pregame drills.

The Red Storm often plays better near the end of the game, but the injury problems are a concern. With Dunlap out, possibly for the season, the need for a Smith recovery as soon as possible is paramount. St. John’s players stated they were drained as the game drew on.

Prey and Iwuchckwu show they can provide defense and rebounding but not an offensive threat. Will they continue to improve and show offensive potential in their game? If so, that would be a big lift. Will Iwuchukwu continue to show some offensive prowess? Lastly, will Smith’s injury be short-term? Will Glover, apparently over his injury, show improvement as his practice time increases?

The next four games are winnable. Does three and one seem reasonable? What do you think?