QUEENS, N.Y. -
The St. John's men's basketball team (12-9, 3-6 BIG EAST) visits Seton Hall's Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., for the first time ever on Thursday. With three BIG EAST victories headed into the matchup against the Pirates (11-9, 2-6 BIG EAST), the Red Storm looks to inch upward in the crowded middle of the conference standings with the national television spotlight shining. The 9 p.m. tilt airs on ESPN2, with Sean McDonough and Bill Raftery calling the action. The contest will also air live on the official flagship of St. John's Basketball, Bloomberg Radio 1130-AM, with play-by-play announcer John Minko and critically-acclaimed analyst Tarik Turner on the call.
St. John's looks to improve upon a 1-5 record away from home during the 2008-09 season, having defeated Cornell, 86-75, and losing 82-70, to Boston College in the NIT Season Tip-Off, both at B.C.'s Conte Forum. The Red Storm also fell at Providence in its conference-opener, 75-54, on Jan. 31, lost at then-No. 1/1 Pitt, 90-67, at the Petersen Events Center on Jan. 11, fell at then-No. 23/22 Villanova, 76-57, on Jan. 18, and lost at West Virginia (rv/rv), 75-52, last Wednesday, Jan. 28.
St. John's earned a 65-48 victory over USF to pull into a 10th-place tie in the BIG EAST standings on Super Bowl Sunday afternoon. Sophomore Paris Horne led all Red Storm players with 19 points, marking his 17th double-figure scoring game in 20 appearances on the season. Horne, a three-time BIG EAST Honor Roll member this season and a one-time Player of the Week Selection by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers' Association (MBWA), is averaging 18.8 points per game over the last six contests, and totaled 20 points or more in three of those outings.
Also against the Bulls, sophomore forward Sean Evans posted his fifth-career double-double, connecting on 5-of-7 field goals for 10 points, and three of his 10 rebounds came on the offensive end. Second-year big man Justin Burrell scored 10 points with four boards, helping St. John's to a 32-12 points in the paint advantage, and a 39-29 edge on the glass. Redshirt sophomore forward Rob Thomas returned to score six points with four rebounds (three offensive) after missing four games with a groin injury, and the Red Storm received a lift when sophomore point guard Malik Boothe (5 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 turnovers, 1 steal) returned to the lineup after missing nine games with a thumb injury.
St. John's is 53-29 all-time vs. the Pirates in a series that dates to 1909, making SHU the Red Storm's sixth-most frequently faced opponent, with 82 all-time meetings. The Red Storm has taken two of the last three matchups, including a 65-62 win in Queens last March 1.
Storm Tracker
Sophomore Paris Horne played in all 30 contests as a freshman, and contributed 7.1 points over the final eight games of 2007-08, firing at a 51.4 percent clip (19-for-37) from the field and hitting at a 64.3 percent mark from long range (9-for-14). After missing this season's NIT opening-round game vs. Cornell with a right ankle sprain (Nov. 17), he bounced back to make his first 18 career starts in the last 18 contests, and is averaging 14.8 ppg and 3.1 rebounds in those games, while connecting on 48.8 percent of his field goals and 38.6 percent of his 3-pointers. He now leads the Red Storm in scoring at 14.4 ppg, and averages 16.4 ppg in league games, tying him for eighth among all BIG EAST players.
A consistent contributor on both ends of the floor, D.J. Kennedy is second on the squad in scoring at 13.0 ppg, and is the team's top rebounder at 6.8 rpg (16th among all BIG EAST players). He has reached double figures in 14 of 21 games on the season, and has established new career highs in nearly all categories, including points (23), field goals (9), attempts (16), 3-point field goals (3), assists (7) and blocked shots (2). He is averaging 13.0 ppg in BIG EAST conference contests as well, and 6.2 rpg in league games.
Sean Evans, who steadily improved all season long as a freshman and drew starts in six contests, has started all 21 games in 2008-09 and is averaging 9.6 points, and his 6.5 rebounds per contest are second on the team and 17th in the BIG EAST. He has set new career highs this season in field goals, attempts, rebounds, steals and minutes.
Now-masked sophomore forward Justin Burrell leads a deep crop of post returnees, coming off an outstanding freshman campaign in which he averaged 10.8 ppg and 5.9 rebounds. His efforts were good enough to earn BIG EAST All-Rookie honors and a spot on the NABC All-District second team. This season he picked up where he left off as a freshman, averaging 9.7 ppg and 4.4 rpg. He spent part of the summer training at the Tarkanian Big Man Camp in Las Vegas with NBA stars Jermaine O'Neal and Al Harrington, among others.
Malik Boothe has taken over as full-time floor general, and returned on Feb. 1 after missing nine games with an injured thumb. Boothe spent his entire offseason on campus - working on his jumpshot and bonding with teammates - and is proving to be a true STJ floor leader. He is averaging 8.1 ppg, and has 58 assists (4.8 per game), and 30.8 minutes per outing.
Rookie combo guard Quincy Roberts played a key reserve roll in the early part of the season, and earned a lion's share of the point guard minutes with Boothe recovering from injury. Roberts is averaging 7.8 ppg across the last five outings, to go along with 2.4 rpg and 1.8 apg in 28.6 minutes.
Rob Thomas, now a redshirt sophomore after joining the Red Storm in uniform midway through the 2007-08 season, is much-improved physically and is playing at 226 pounds. In his last seven appearances, Thomas is averaging 8.7 ppg and 4.6 rpg while shooting 54.0 percent from the floor in 17.4 minutes. He missed four games with a strained groin before returning Feb. 1.
Sophomore center Dele Coker is still a tremendous 6-10 presence inside, but dropped close to 20 pounds in the offseason and has logged significant minutes in the post. The slimmed-down, 260-pound version of the Nigerian big man is playing with better quickness, and is averaging a team-best 1.2 blocks per game.
Anthony Mason Jr. will miss the remainder of the Red Storm basketball season, as a MRI on Nov. 21 revealed a torn peroneal tendon in his right foot that required surgery. He averaged a team-best 14.0 ppg in 22 contests a season ago and will apply for a medical redshirt to play with the Red Storm in 2009-10.
On Deck
St. John's takes on the No. 5/7 Louisville Cardinals on Sunday, Feb. 8, at Madison Square Garden (1:30 p.m., MSG-TV).
