Saint Peter’s Postgame & The Red Storm Head to Bloomington

Game Recap

The St. John’s Red Storm played their second game of the season on Saturday where they beat the Saint Peter’s Peacocks 91-70 in Queens. The Red Storm rolled to their second win of the season where they took another early lead and were able to handily beat the Peacocks. Although Saint Peter’s is stiffer competition than Mississippi Valley State, St. John’s was supposed to win, they took care of business and now are 20-0 against Saint Peter’s.

St. John’s defense was a big factor in their success on Saturday afternoon as they were very active in the passing lanes and were able to force turnovers. Rutgers transfer, Montez Mathis, led the team with 3 steals as the Red Storm defense was aggressive early and often as their defense led to easy buckets on the offensive end. The interior defense was also impressive as big man Joel Soriano added in 4 blocks in an effort that resulted in 19 fast break points as well as 20 points off turnovers for the Red Storm. Along with the defense being stout, St. John’s only lost the rebound battle by 1 which is impressive against a lengthy Saint Peter’s team that can rebound the basketball. St. John’s rebounding woes hurt them last season and with some key transfers it looks like they are improving in this facet and will be a big part in them winning key games throughout the season.

Although the Johnnies defense impressed, the offense was another terrific performance as they followed up their 119-point display with another 91-point outing. The three’s were falling yet again as they got a lot of good looks from deep in transition. Hofstra transfer Tareq Coburn came off the bench and was on fire as he dropped 17 points including 9 of those from the three-point line. Coburn through two games has already shown how he can score from all three levels and will play big minutes for this St. John’s team in big time games. The addition of Coburn and other transfers like Stef Smith will help take some of the load off the back of Posh Alexander and Julian Champagnie on the offensive end. Speaking of Posh and Julian, they both played their usual great brand of basketball as they continue to develop off of their impressive 2020-21 seasons. Champagnie put together another 20-point display finishing with 22 points, 15 of which came from beyond the arc, and added 2 steals and four rebounds. Alexander finished off with another double-digit performance finishing with 12 points and was an assist shy of a double-double as he continues to show off his ability to probe the defense and facilitate the ball. O’Mar Stanley and Aaron Wheeler were also key pieces off the bench both logging double digit minutes and provided solid play in relief for the starters in the second half. Wheeler put up 11 points as he went 3-4 from three and O’Mar Stanley continues his ultra-efficient freshman season, going 3-3 with 6 points as he is now 10-10 from the season. The Red Storm continued their unselfish and balanced offensive attack as they notched their second win of a promising season.

Indiana Hoosiers Preview

Wednesday night at 9:00 P.M. the St. John’s Red Storm take their first road trip of the season as they head to Bloomington to take on the Indiana Hoosiers as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games. The Johnnies have a big task at hand with Indiana as they are the toughest opponent they have had to matchup with so far and this will be the first game they are not favored in. Indiana just moved off former coach Archie Miller and hired former New York Knicks coach Mike Woodson. With the coaching change and potential Big 10 player of the year Trayce Jackson-Davis, there is a lot of hype around Bloomington as they look to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2016.

Indiana finished the 2020-21 season with a record of 12-15 and yet again missing the tournament which ended up leading to a coaching change. Although they have a subpar recent history, there is good reason for the hype around this Hoosier team. They are returning their star forward Trayce Jackson-Davis who was up for every award possible last season including being a Wooden award finalist. Along with that Indiana is adding two four-star recruit freshman as well as 3 transfers who will make an immediate impact on the team. So far Indiana has started off 2-0 as they narrowly beat Eastern Michigan by 6 and then blew out Northern Illinois by 36. Throughout the two games Jackson-Davis has averaged 20 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 5 blocks showing he can do it on both ends of the floor and that he is a force to be reckoned with. So far this season Indiana has not shot the ball well, especially from deep, but their ability to rebound and score inside lends them to a scrappy play style where they do not need to shoot all too well to win. The other two top scorers for Indiana so far are Xavier Johnson and Race Thompson who average 13.5 and 8.5 respectively. Xavier Johnson is a Junior guard who transferred from Pitt this offseason who has some range, can drive to the rim, and can run the point if needed. Race Thompson is a junior forward, standing at 6’8 he can pound it inside and the combo of him and Jackson-Davis at the forward positions are a problem for teams on the boards.

The Red Storm will need an all-hands-on deck effort as they take on a very formidable Hoosier squad. On the defensive end, most of the game plan for St. John’s will have to focus on Trayce Jackson-Davis to have any shot in this game. They are going to have to try and deny the ball from going to him, send double teams, and limit his production on the glass. If they contain him, that will force the other players to step up which will play right into St. John’s hands. On offense, St John’s is going to have to take care of the ball as Indiana will make them pay on the other end if they turn it over. Along with that Posh Alexander is going to have to be both aggressive and poised on the offensive side to get guys open looks and finish at the rack. The two key players for the Red Storm this game will be Posh Alexander and Julian Champagnie, but not for all the usual reasons. Posh should not have to worry about being the star Wednesday night, if he plays aggressive and under control on offense the open shots should be there. For Champagnie, his big task will be guarding Jackson-Davis and getting a body on him every time a shot goes up. If St. John’s can keep the Hoosiers off the boards and attack the paint on offense, then they have a shot to come home from Bloomington with a win. The game can be watched on FS1 and is set to be a good one, let’s go Johnnies!