St. John’s still has plenty of work to do before March.
St. John’s guard Shamorie Ponds (Image credit: Jeff Zelevansky)
St. John’s pulled a no-show in their 70-56 loss to Providence, Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.
This could, arguably, turn out to be the worst loss of the season for St. John’s and a resume-killer for their NCAA Tournament hopes. Yes, they have a handful of quality wins in their back pocket for Selection Sunday, but losses like this one will be impossible for the committee to ignore when it’s time to call to pick the field of 68. It definitely hurts their chances of securing a higher seed in the brackets.
Yes, this loss was that bad. Providence (14-10 overall, 4-7 Big East) made this a half-court game, the exact opposite of what the Red Storm wants to do. The Friars won the rebound battle, 43-23, including a 16-7 advantage on the offensive boards. For a team that needs to get out on the break and run, like St. John’s, being able to get offensive rebounds is a must.
The Johnnies were without Mustapha Heron, the 6-5 junior guard sat out with a bruised knee suffered in practice. Heron’s presence in the post was missed, he averages 4.9 rebounds per game.
But while Heron’s absence hurt St. John’s, it’s no excuse for the effort the rest of the team put up in a game they should have won. Providence didn’t pull away until the second half, when it was clear St. John’s wasn’t going to figure it out.
There’s resiliency, which the Red Storm has proven they have, and then there’s “okay, enough already…when are you going to get it together?”. The Johnnies are at the point in their season where their sense of urgency should be on high alert.
St. John’s just came home from a 2-1 road trip. Wins over Creighton and tenth-ranked Marquette helped breath life back into their season. But they’re not playing like a team that’s conscious of all that’s on the line for them.
If there’s one thing St. John’s needs to remember, it’s that February still comes before March on the calendar.
