Red Storm are Ripe for Upset against Pirates
March 3, 2011
The St Johns Red Storm are coming off of one of their best 9 game stretches in school history. They have gone 8-1 In that span, but more impressively they’ve taken down 4 ranked teams of which 3 were in the top 10 in the country. It all started on January 30th when a heavily favored and 3rd ranked Duke team came to town. Not only did the Red Storm win, but they did so in a blowout! Since that game, St Johns has taken down Connecticut, Pittsburgh and Villanova in Big East play. Their final 2 games are against the bottom-dwellers of the league, but they will need to stay focused and not lose sight of what’s at stake.
Steve Lavin and company will need to be very careful against a Seton Hall Pirates team that has played several top level teams tough this season. They have beaten Syracuse outright and lost by less than 5 points to Georgetown, UCONN and Villanova. They obviously are lacking in several areas on the court, but Seton Hall plays hard on the defensive end of the floor, which allows them to stay in games.
Guard Jeremy Hazell is one of the leading scorers in the Big East conference, and will cause problems for the Red Storm with his ability to get to the basket. Hazell has the potential to go for 30 points on any given night, but he tends to force shots, and is not willing to find the open man on the court. Jordan Theodore is the only true guard on the Pirates as he leads the team with 4.4 assists per game. It will be imperative that Jeff Robinson and Herb Pope keep the Red Storm big men from getting offensive rebounds. College basketball handicappers are predicting a blowout for this one, but if St Johns doesn’t take care of the ball and rebound, they will have a hard time winning period!
Despite their tremendous record over their last 9 games, the Red Storm isn’t very impressive statistically. They rank 287th in rebounding and 140th in points per game. Their defense is well above average, but eventually they will need to score to win. A .457 shooting percentage has them ranked 79th in the country, and has hurt them at times this year. We can’t ignore than this team lost to St Mary’s, St Bonaventure and Fordham earlier this season. The potential for a melt-down is always possible when St Johns takes the court.
Although this seems as though it will be a one-sided affair due to the large spread set by NCAA basketball experts, this has the potential to be a nail-bitter. Tune in Thursday as these teams battle in a hard fought Big East showdown!
Related posts:
- Pirates look to Complete Sweep of Red Sox Sunday
- Syracuse & St Johns battle in Big East Tournament
- Golden Eagles host Pirates in Big East Battle
- Connecticut faces tough challenge against St Johns
- Tennessee looks for upset against Kentucky Tuesday
Comments
One Response to “Red Storm are Ripe for Upset against Pirates”
Got something to say?
Those who know the history between these two teams wouldn’t be predicting a blowout. The spread is only two points. But I think this Johnnies team has too much determination to let the Hall beat them this time. Take the Storm straight up and against the spread.
P.S. Fordham and St. Bonaventure happened so long ago, the losses aren’t that meaningful today. Losing to St. Mary’s on their court in the first game of the season is no shame.