We preview the Big East Tournament opening round game between the DePaul Blue Demons and the St. John’s Red Storm at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Wednesday night in this report.

Key Information

DePaul Blue Demons (15-14, 7-11) vs. St. John’s Red Storm (20-11, 8-10) – Wednesday, March 13th, 2019, 8:30 p.m. Central – Madison Square Garden – New York City, NY

How to Watch - Television – FOX Sports 1

Where to Listen - Radio – WIND AM 560

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St. John’s Basketball

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Game Preview

After losing at Creighton, 91-78, on Saturday in the regular season finale-–and subsequently losing a chance to receive a bye in the Big East Tournament-–the DePaul Blue Demons will now hit the reset button in advance of the conference tournament that begins on Wednesday night.

With the loss to Creighton, DePaul will now be the 10-seed and will face off against a slumping St. John’s squad that received the 7-seed after losing Saturday’s game at Xavier, 81-68.

St. John’s has now lost three games in a row and four out of their last five.

DePaul will set its sights on looking to secure a rare three-game sweep of the Johnnies and advance in the Big East Tournament. Previously, DePaul won at Carnesecca Arena, 79-71, in January and in March at Wintrust Arena, 92-83.

Winning a third time will not be easy, especially with the Red Storm having the backing of the partisan Madison Square Garden crowd.

However, it is a good matchup for the Blue Demons, as they have the size and length to give the Red Storm more fits. In the combined two games between the two clubs, the Demons have out-rebounded the Johnnies, 80-59.

DePaul big man Femi Olujobi has to be licking his chops for this game. First, it’s a homecoming game as he grew up in Long Island and will have family and friends in attendance. Second, he torched the Johnnies to the tune of 50 points (on 19-29 from the field) to go with 18 rebounds in the two contests.

Along with Paul Reed, who was just named the Big East’s Most Improved Player, the Demons have the length and muscle to out physical the Red Storm. While Reed struggled in the game at Wintrust (six points and four rebounds), he had a great game in January when he recorded a double-double with 18 points (7-11 from the field) and 10 rebounds,

Max Strus, who was just named second-team all-Big East, will also be happy to see the Red Storm after he scored a career-high 43 points against them nearly two weeks ago. For the season against the Red Storm, Strus is averaging 28.5 points and 8 rebounds per while shooting 44.4 percent from three-point range.

As for St. John’s head coach Chris Mullin’s squad, they are led of course by their star guard Shamorie Ponds.

Ponds was recently named to the All-Big East first team after averaging 19.8 points per game, which ranked third in the conference. He also ranked first in the Big East in steals at 2.6 steals per game and second in assists at 5.2 dimes per game.

He missed the first contest in January with a back injury but made up for lost time in the rematch by keeping the Johnnies in the game in Chicago, as he scored 29 points (8-15 from the field, 4-7 from three-point range).

The other four starters (Mustapha Heron, Marvin Clark II, LJ Figueroa, and Justin Simon) all average in double-figures in points with all averaging between 10-15 points per game. Figueroa leads the Storm in rebounding with 6.3 rebounds per game.

Outside of them, Mullin doesn’t possess much depth, which is another thing working in DePaul’s favor as Blue Demons head coach Dave Leitao is very conservative with his mostly 6-7 man rotation. So look for both teams to ride their starters for as much as they can.

While the matchup looks good on paper for DePaul, the Blue Demons will have to face a hungry St. John’s squad that still has hopes of securing an NCAA Tournament bid. The home-court advantage will also be something that can rattle the Demons.

In the end, though, it’s a new start for both teams looking to end the season on a high note. The winner will face off against No.2-seed Marquette on Thursday night at 6 p.m. Central.

Gambling Info.

The Blue Demons are 15-14 Against the Spread thus far this season.

St. John's is a 5 point favorite.

The over/under is 154.5.

The Last Time

On March 3rd, 2019 at Wintrust Arena, Max Strus scored a career-high 43 points, fellow senior Femi Olujobi added 23 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, and the third senior on this year’s team, Eli Cain, added a game-high five assists as DePaul rallied from a rough start to beat St. John’s 92-83 on Senior Day for the Blue Demons.

Strus’s point total and 14 made field goals became Wintrust Arena records. His 43 points tied him with Howie Carl for No. 6 all-time at DePaul for points in a game. Strus eclipsed the 1,000 point mark at DePaul.

DePaul did not score its first field goal of the game until 15:11 of the first half on a dunk by Olujobi. The Blue Demons fell behind 20-9 at 12:20, as St. John’s shot 73 percent from the field.

Cain’s rebound and beautiful no-look pass on the break to Olujobi on his right and subsequent dunk made it 31-27 at 5:21. Olujobi’s one-handed tip off a rare Strus miss got the Blue Demons to 31-29, the closest they had been since 10:55. But three consecutive 3-pointers by the Red Storm’s Shamorie Ponds gave the Red Storm a 42-33 lead at the half.

Ponds led St. John’s (20-10, 8-9) with 29 points. The Red Storm had been 16-2 this season when leading at the half.

Seniors are supposed to lead and Strus did that vocally, laying on the ground and screaming after picking up a charge on Mustapha Heron with just under two minutes left and DePaul leading 84-77.

Cain finished his last home game as the first player in program history with at least 1,400 career points, 350 assists, and 150 three pointers.

Strus’ 3-pointer from right corner at 11:17 gave DePaul its first lead of the game at 57-55, and his off-balance right-handed runner in the lane at 3:55 made it 78-76 DePaul and was evidence of his ability to score from any point on the floor. He also shot nine for nine from the free throw line.

St. John’s Roster

# FULL NAME POS. HT. WT. ACADEMIC YEAR HOMETOWN / HIGH SCHOOL PREVIOUS SCHOOL

0 Sedee Keita Forward 6-9 235 R-So. Philadelphia, Pa. / 22 Feet Academy South Carolina

1 Josh Roberts Forward 6-9 210 Fr. Troy, Ala. / Montverde Academy (Fla.)

2 Shamorie Ponds Guard 6-1 180 Jr. Brooklyn, N.Y. / Thomas Jefferson

4 Greg Williams Jr. Guard 6-3 205 Fr. Lafayette, La. / Lafayette Christian Academy

5 Justin Simon Guard 6-5 205 R-Jr. Temecula, Calif. / Brewster Academy Arizona

10 Marcellus Earlington Forward 6-6 220 Fr. Stony Point, N.Y. / Don Bosco Prep (N.J.)

11 David Caraher Guard/Forward 6-6 220 So. Chapel Hill, N.C. / Wesleyan Christian Academy Houston Baptist

12 Bryan Trimble Jr. Guard 6-3 220 So. Kansas City, Mo. / Sunrise Christian Academy (Kan.)

13 Marvin Clark II Forward 6-7 225 R-Sr. Kansas City, Mo. / Sunrise Christian Academy (Kan.) Michigan State

14 Mustapha Heron Guard 6-5 210 Jr. Waterbury, Conn. / Sacred Heart Auburn

23 Justin Cole Guard 6-2 185 Jr. Rockville Centre, N.Y. / Archbishop Molloy

24 Brandon Lawrence Guard 6-2 170 Jr. Union City, Calif. / Moreau Catholic

30 LJ Figueroa Guard/Forward 6-6 195 So. Lawrence, Mass. / West Oaks Academy (Fla.) Odessa College (Texas)

32 Jay Camus Guard 5-10 170 Sr. Queens, N.Y. / Archbishop Molloy Manhattan

33 Ian Steere Forward 6-9 260 Fr. Sanford, N.C. / Northwood Temple Academy NC State

40 Eli Wright Guard 6-5 190 Jr. Owensboro, Ky. / 22 Feet Academy Mississippi State