Villanova Wildcats 14-3 (5-1) vs. St. John’s Red Storm 12-5 (5-1)
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena (Philadelphia, PA)
when: Saturday, January 17, 8:00 pm
Betting lines: Villanova -1.5 (subject to change)
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How to watch: NBC Sports Network and Peacock
how to listen: Villanova Sports Radio Network
Net ranking: Villanova 25, St. John’s 26 (Quad 1)
Kenbom: Villanova 26, St. John’s 18
Torvik: Villanova 30, St. John’s 20
About Saint John: The Red Storm finished No. 1 in the Big East preseason poll and entered the season ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press poll. So far, they’ve performed well below those expectations, but things have started to turn around recently. Aside from a surprising home loss to Providence, the Johnnies haven’t lost a game since Dec. 20 against Kentucky. The Red Storm have won their last three games by a total of 55 points.
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Preseason Player of the Year Zubie Ejiofor will top the Cats’ scouting report. The 6-foot-9 senior averaged a team-leading 16.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.1 blocks per game. He also has Bryce Hopkins and Dillon Mitchell in the frontcourt. Hopkins, a 6-foot-7 senior transfer from Providence, averaged 13.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Both Ejiofor and Hopkins have the ability to pass long balls, and their shooting rates are around 30%. A major unknown for St. John’s is Mitchell. The 6-foot-8 senior from Cincinnati averaged 8.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game and did a lot of little things for the Red Storm. Mitchell is not a threat deep.
The backcourt is led by four transfers. Ozia Sellers and Ian Jackson started, with Jonson Sanon and Dylan Darling coming off the bench. The quartet is averaging 37.4 points and 4.5 three-pointers per game. Sellers, a 6-foot-5 senior transfer from Stanford, is averaging 16.7 points over the past three games and is shooting 40.5 percent from the field this year.
Another player to watch is returning sophomore Lefteris Liotopoulos. The 6-foot-4 guard only plays about 10 minutes per game but has an outstanding shooting performance. Two games ago against Creighton, Leotopoulos scored 17 points and hit five three-pointers.
St. John’s has faced five of the six teams Villanova has faced so far in conference play. The Red Storm suffered the aforementioned loss against Providence but had wins against Marquette, DePaul, Creighton and Butler.
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Notes for Rising Stars: Just like the game against the Friars, St. John’s will want to have its ups and downs. The Red Storm average 86 points per game and currently rank 34th nationally. It’s in the Wildcats’ best interest to control the tempo. The frontcourt is the biggest problem, and their advantages in size and athleticism are not conducive to them. It’s always important for Duke Brennan to avoid foul trouble, but it’s especially important here. Since the Johnnies’ frontcourt trio isn’t a primary shooting threat, this could be another good time to mix it up in more zones.
St. John’s ranks 16th nationally in blocks, so Villanova will have a hard time finding success at the rim. I think the guards should be able to take advantage of St. John’s on the perimeter.
A full-court press may not be feasible due to recent depth issues. But the Red Storm do concede the ball easily, ranking 180th nationally in turnovers per game.
Finally: I don’t want to comment on this because the last two times didn’t work. But hopefully one of Villanova’s guards can have a positive return game.
