GameDay Preview: St. John's @ Seton Hall
Among the list of familiar faces and historic showdowns St. John's has faced in the Big East, Seton Hall may be the most meaningful rival on the docket
After an impressive 2-0 start to conference play, St. John’s has teetered to 1-4 in its last five games with the lone win over DePaul, one of the worst team’s in the Big East — for the second time already. An ugly 28-point loss to another underwhelming conference foe, Georgetown, the last time the Johnnies donned their road uniforms still stains what has overall been a promising campaign for the Chris Mullin-led program.
Players have stepped up, growing into their roles. Coaches have managed to push the right buttons and keep the locker room together through adversity.
"I think that's what every coach and player hopes for: total contribution,” Mullin said as he previewed the upcoming match up. “Hopefully we continue that. We had good bench play [against DePaul]. We had 18 assists so the ball was moving.
“We're able to make some tweaks to all the stuff that is already in there. I'm pretty comfortable where we are offensively. Defensively, we're starting to try and do different things; switch our defenses up a little bit."
On Sunday, a trip to Newark will kickstart an important week for St. John’s as it begins a two-game road trip at Seton Hall before heading to Providence. The 30-mile trip to meet the Pirates for the first time this season will provide a stage for the new-look Johnnies to showcase their case for a blossoming potential in front of a wide local audience — in particular the Garden State high schoolers who are considering staying close to home for college.
Some may be in attendance, others watching from afar. But they’ll hear about it one way or another.
St. John’s roster features eight underclassmen with eligibility beyond 2018, the high school class that Matt Abdelmassih has identified Luther Muhammad of Hudson Catholic (N.J.) and Roselle Catholic’s (N.J.) Naz Reid as priority targets, meaning those players will have a first-hand look at how the roster will look should the opt to attend the historic Queens program.
In the meantime, this current group is focused on continuing to grow from last season. The influx in talent on the court has already tripled their Big East wins from last year and the halfway point of this season is still a week away.
"It's great to have depth,” sophomore Malik Ellison said. “To have so many talented guys on this team, who are also young, is always good. A lot of teams do scouting on the leading scorers, maybe one or two guys, but we have so many options. We're a hard team to guard. Having so many options makes us a better team."
Here’s the need-to-know information for the NYC-Jersey showdown:
Opponent: Seton Hall (12-6, 2-4)
St. John’s in all-time series: 58-37
Tip off time: Noon
Location: Prudential Center
Who 2 Watch 4: Angel Delgado (14.3 ppg, 12 rpg)