St. John’s men’s basketball game preview: DePaul

After winning eight of its first 10 games, St. John’s is on reasonably solid ground in its quest to reach the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, the Big East has largely underperformed due to non-conference play, shrinking the conference’s metrics and the margin of error for teams making the field of 68.

One of the few Big East teams to improve its position in the first month of the season will face St. John’s on Tuesday night in the Red Storm’s Big East opener: the DePaul Blue Demons, led by first-year head coach Chris Holtmann , looking more like a competitive unit rather than the conference doormat we’re used to. The Blue Demons are 8-2 and are coming off a 19-point home win over Wichita State on Saturday.

Game information

WHO: St. John’s Red Storm (8-2) vs. DePaul Blue Demons (8-2, 0-1 Big East)

When: Tuesday, December 17, 2024, 6:30 p.m

Where: Carnesecca Arena, Jamaica, New York

TV: peacock

Radio: Learfield

Tickets: Ticketmaster

Series history: St. John’s leads 33-22. The Red Storm have won their last five meetings with the Blue Demons by an average margin of 20.4 points.

Injury news

There is no injury news to report for St. John’s.

What to look out for in a storm

It’s no secret that Zuby Ejiofor has been killing it lately. In his last seven games, Ejiofor averaged 17.6 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. He also has four double-doubles and played in four games scoring 22 or more points.

Ejiofor gave the Red Storm a key advantage down low by creating second-chance opportunities and blocking shots. He averaged 4.5 offensive rebounds per game (third nationally and first in the Big East) and 2.3 blocks per game (17th). nationwide and second largest in the Greater East).

Deivon Smith also brings his lunch pail and hard hat to every game and leads the Red Storm in Bart Torvik’s adjusted defensive rating with a rating of 88.7, which also ranks fifth among Big East players. Smith also leads the Red Storm in three-point percentage at 38.5% and is among the team’s top three in rebounds per game (5.8) and assists per game (4.8). Smith shows he deserves more minutes and reps as an attacking defender.

While Ejiofor and Smith have answered the bell, Kadary Richmond is still struggling with inconsistencies as he learns a new system. Richmond’s nine-point win over Bryant marked the fourth time he has reached single digits this season, matching the number of single-digit scoring games he had in 35 games with Seton Hall last season. His assistance rate also fell from 32.6 to 24.9 percent, while his turnover rate increased from 19.0 to 21.5 percent. Maybe Richmond can improve its game as the conference season begins?

In search of the Blue Demons

Last spring, DePaul hired former Ohio State University head coach Chris Holtmann to revitalize the struggling program that had just completed arguably its worst season in team history. Holtmann began by introducing ten new transfers to overhaul the squad in terms of shooting and experience.

DePaul shoots threes like they’re going out of style, a stark contrast to previous Holtmann-coached teams that tended to operate inside the arc. So far, their three-point shot diet has worked for them. The Blue Demons are making 40.4 percent of threes, which is 10th best in the country after Saturday, and they are attempting 31.7 threes per game, which ranks them in the top 25 nationally.

Seven players are shooting 35 percent or better from deep, and three different players are shooting 46 percent or better from distance.

Not only are they a great three-point shooting team, but their offense is also one of the most balanced in the country. Seven different players are averaging 7.0 points or more, and night starters Conor Enright and Troy D’Amico are averaging nearly nine points per game at 6.7 and 6.6 points per game, respectively. According to KenPom, 68.6% of DePaul’s field goals came on assists, ranking second in the nation.

That’s not to change how the Blue Demons started, but all of these promising numbers should be taken with a grain of salt. According to KenPom, DePaul has played the ninth-worst non-conference schedule to date.

Not surprisingly, for a team that shoots threes at will, DePaul is not a good offensive rebounding team with an offensive rebound percentage of 31.3%. The Blue Demons prefer a half-court game and only score 10.3% of their points on the fast break.

Coast Carolina transfer Jacob Meyer leads DePaul in scoring and is one of two Blue Demons to average double figures. In ten games, Meyer averaged 15.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists while shooting 48.1% from the field and 46.7% from three of six attempts per game.

Fifth-year guard Isaiah Rivera came to Lincoln Park after starting his career at Colorado State and Illinois-Chicago. In ten games, Rivera scored 13.2 points per game while shooting a very efficient 51.6% from the field and 46.6% from distance on 5.8 attempts per game. Suffice it to say, he and Meyer can think at full speed.

Drake transfer Conor Enright is a pass-first conductor of the Blue Demon’s offense, averaging 6.7 points and 7.5 assists per game. He’s not a very good inside scorer, only completing 38.1% of his two-point attempts, but he can keep defenses honest with a 35.9% three-point shooting rate.

Davidson transfer star David Skogman is averaging 9.5 points and leads the Blue Demons in rebounding with 6.8 boards per game. Skogman can also space the floor, posting a 48.5% shooting rate on 3.3 attempts per game.

Holtmann hopes transfer players CJ Gunn and Layden Blocker can live up to their reputation as four-star high school recruits at a new destination. The blocker is from Arkansas and is still trying to find his shooting touch. He’s averaging 7.1 points and making just 34.4% of his attempts from the field and 28.6% from three. Gunn hails from nearby Indiana and delivers a solid performance off the bench, averaging 9.9 points and shooting 45.7% from the field and 35.1% from three.

Key to the game

Don’t let DePaul get hot after three – Expect the Blue Demons to take a lot of threes regardless of whether they hit them. The Red Storm must stay out of the way of the shooters and prevent them from getting to their spot to create catch-and-shoot opportunities.

Show more energy in the first half – St. John’s got off to a slow start in non-conference home games. We’ll see if that’s because they’re not motivated to play buy-game mid-majors, but they can’t let that happen in Big East play. Play a full forty minutes starting Tuesday evening.

Drive to the basket at will – The Blue Demons struggled to contain dribbles and cuts to the rim against Texas Tech and Providence. Richmond, Smith, Luis and Co. should stick to their strengths and attack the basket.

forecast

Even if DePaul practices three-pointers at their usual pace, they will have difficulty keeping up with the physicality and pace of attack of the Red Storm. The Johnnies should win the rebounding battle and attack the rim without much resistance. St. John’s wins 82-70.