St. John's Georgetown Bask.JPG
St. John's head coach Steve Lavin missed last season's game with the Orange as he recovered from prostate cancer surgery.
(Photo by Richard Lipski | The Associated Press)
Sunday's game
Syracuse (19-3, 7-2) vs. St. John's (15-8, 7-4)
Series: Syracuse leads 49-37
Last meeting: Syracuse 95-70 on Feb. 4, 2012
Game time: 3 p.m.
Location: Carrier Dome
TV: ESPN
Observations from an assistant coach familiar with St. John's:
- “It’ll be interesting to see how Syracuse does against St. John’s defense. Syracuse has a lot of guys who get into the lane. St. John’s blocks a ton of shots, especially the (Chris) Obekpa kid. You’ve got to go strong to the rim and you’ve got to get into the shot-blocker.’’
- “Is Jamal Branch going to play? I thought St. John’s was functioning much better with him at the point. (D’Angelo) Harrison played off him well. (Phil) Greene could move off the ball.’’
- “As a team, St. John’s doesn’t take a lot of threes because they don’t make a lot of threes. So how will they score against Syracuse’s zone? It’s going to be packed in except for wherever Harrison is. Bringing (Sir’Dominic) Pointer or (JaKarr) Sampson to the high post and getting them the ball will be key.’’
D'Angelo Harrison, No. 11, Sophomore guard, 6-foot-3, 209 pounds, 18.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg: "Harrison is a mercurial type of guy. When he's on, he can score in bunches and he can make it from just about anywhere on the floor. If he's made one or two, he won't hesitate to pull up from 25 feet and let it fly. And if he's on, you better get out and guard him. But he can go cold, too. He struggles at times and loses track of what's a good shot.''
1-Phil Greene IV, So., 6-2, 182, 8.9 ppg, 2.8 apg: Greene, who leads St. John's in assists, is a natural off-guard. He never played the point until last season. He had moved off the ball eight games ago with the arrival of Texas A&M transfer Jamal Branch, but Branch missed the Red Storm's last game with a sprained knee.
11-D'Angelo Harrison: Harrison (18.5 ppg) is the second-leading scorer in the Big East behind Providence's Bryce Cotton. In Big East games only, however, he ranks ninth at 15.9 points per game.
2-Marco Bourgault, Jr., 6-6, 209, 2.7 ppg, 0.7 rpg: Bourgault got his third start of the season in St. John's win over UConn on Wednesday. He's a native of France who attended Notre Dame (Mass.) Prep and then Monroe (N.Y.) College.
15-Sir'Dominic Pointer, So., 6-5, 198, 6.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg: Pointer has started only 11 games and he's fifth on the team in minutes played, but he is second among St. John's players both in assists and steals.
14-JaKarr Sampson, Fr., 6-8, 204, 14.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg: Sampson is the odds-on favorite for Big East Rookie of the Year. He leads all Big East freshmen in scoring and he's second to Pittsburgh's Steven Adams (6.7) in rebounding.
Jamal Branch, a point guard from Texas A&M, had started seven of his 10 games before suffering a sprained MCL in his left knee against Georgetown last Saturday. He might be able to play today. Chris Obekpa, a 6-9 freshman, leads the Big East in blocked shots. He's already broken the Big East's freshman record for blocks. Amir Garrett, a 6-6 sophomore, averages 6.1 points and 4.7 rebounds. Felix Balamou, a 6-4 freshman, has started five games this season.
C.J. Fair continued his steady play with 18 points and 10 rebounds in Syracuse’s win over Notre Dame last Monday. Fair has played every minute of Syracuse’s last five games. He has sat out five minutes in SU’s last eight games. He’s averaging 15.7 points and 7.3 rebounds in conference play.
Syracuse and St. John’s are charter members of the Big East. Syracuse holds a 33-19 edge in the series in regular-season conference games. But the two rivals have met just five times in the Big East Tournament with Syracuse winning four. That’s the fewest number of Big East Tournament meetings with any of the Big East’s charter members for SU, including Boston College which left the league in 2005.
St. John's quick links:
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Syracuse quick links:
» Roster | » Schedule | » Stats | » News