New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - The eighth-ranked Villanova Wildcats go in search of their fourth straight victory to open Big East Conference play, as they do battle with the St. John's Red Storm at Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon.
Villanova is an astounding 14-1 on the season, and the team has won its first three conference games, the last two in relatively easy fashion. The Seton Hall Pirates were the latest to fall victim to the Wildcats, doing so on Wednesday night in an 83-67 final in Newark, New Jersey. Villanova's only loss of the campaign came against former league rival Syracuse on Dec. 28, and the 'Cats are 3-1 in true road games.
St. John's is hoping to put the brakes on a two-game slide today, as the team has dropped its first two conference games, both on the road, to Xavier (70-60) and Georgetown (77-60). As a result, the Red Storm bring an overall record of 9-5 into this clash, and they will be trying to secure their eighth home win in nine chances this season. SJU is 0-2 against ranked foes this season, dropping decisions to both Wisconsin (86-75) and Syracuse (68-63).
St. John's owns a 59-47 lead in the all-time series with Villanova, but the Wildcats won a pair of meetings last season and have claimed victory in nine of the last 10 overall.
As one might imagine, Villanova is enjoying tremendous success at both ends of the court this season, putting up 81.3 ppg behind typical shooting efforts of .462 overall and .351 from 3-point range, while allowing 65.5 ppg, with foes hitting only 39.1 percent of their total shots, including 34.3 percent of their long-range launches. The Wildcats goad the opposition into more than 16 turnovers per outing, while laying claim to a +5.0 rebounding margin. The team boasts three double-digit scorers in JayVaughn Pinkston (16.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg), James Bell (14.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg) and Darrun Hilliard (14.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg), with three others (Josh Hart, Ryan Arcidiacono, Dylan Ennis) netting between 8.5 and 9.7 ppg.
Pinkston scored his 1,000th career point in the recent win over Seton Hall, as he finished with 17 points and six rebounds. Hilliard actually led the team with 19 points, thanks to his 4-of-5 effort from beyond the arc, while Arcidiacono drained three treys to tally 14 points, and Hart chipped in with 11 points and five boards coming off the bench. Villanova shot 52.0 percent from the field, knocking down 12-of-23 3-point tries along the way, while also converting 19-of-22 free throws. As for the Pirates, they shot 45.8 percent from the floor, which included nine treys, but committed 16 turnovers.
St. John's got off to a poor start in its recent clash with Georgetown, shooting a mere 21.4 percent from the field in the opening half en route to a 42-16 halftime deficit. Things improved dramatically for the Red Storm after the break (.567 FG percentage, 44 points), but the hole was simply too deep to dig out from and the team suffered a double-digit defeat as a result. Max Hooper and Sir'Dominic Pointer were the only two SJU players to reach double figures in the game, netting 13 and 11 points, respectively. The Hoyas used a 22-10 edge in points from the foul line to aid their overall effort.
D'Angelo Harrison has been the Red Storm's top player this season, and he ranks fourth in the Big East in scoring with an average of 18.5 ppg. He had a disastrous outing against Georgetown, however, going just 1-of-12 from the field to tally a mere four points. JaKarr Sampson (12.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg) is the only other player averaging double digits for St. John's, which averages 73.1 ppg while permitting 66.4 ppg.
More here:
No. 8 Villanova heads to Big Apple to battle St. John's
- Hang onto your hats--More Redheads RFL Shopping 🙂 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Why I Relay -- from Daaneth Kivioq - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Two Upcoming Events! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- We had fun AND ... - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Why I Relay -- from Edith Halderman & Envy Watts - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Toga! Toga! We had fun and raised 5k for RFL! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- "Duel of the DJ's" --THIS Sunday, April 19 at 1pm - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Dressing for Relay Events... Lag in Style! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- "Duel of the DJ's" -- TODAY Sun, April 19 at 1pm - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Relay Shopping Made Easy! Our Very Own Store! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- We have a winner! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Not to Miss! Frogg & Jaycatt Saturday at 1pm SLT - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Thank You Frogg, Jaycatt, Lomgren and Luskwood! GO RELAY! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Upcoming Events in Redhead-land - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- In Memory of ... Lachlan Campbell - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- More Goodies in Our RFL Store - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The BIG Blowout Event! 12-3pm SLT Tomorrow! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- ONE WORLD, ONE HOPE! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- We miss you Fimi! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Redheads Know How To Partay!!! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- We had a BALL! And the SILENT AUCTION continues... - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- RenFaire! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Rocking With Yahshvah Shinja - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- WOW! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- What a weekend that was! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- 2010 Blog! - April 4th, 2010 [April 4th, 2010]
- Brian Scalabrine - The World's Greatest - Video - March 29th, 2012 [March 29th, 2012]
- Red strength hint in caution notice - April 25th, 2012 [April 25th, 2012]
- Emma Roberts turns heads at Coachella - April 25th, 2012 [April 25th, 2012]
- Cartoon of the Day: Chelsea's battered bus leaves Terry behind and heads for Munich after rolling over Barcelona - April 25th, 2012 [April 25th, 2012]
- Kaskade Heads Out On 'Freaks Of Nature' Tour, Gives Us Full-Body Chills (VIDEO) - April 25th, 2012 [April 25th, 2012]
- Red shirts divided over Prem meet - April 25th, 2012 [April 25th, 2012]
- Snobby Mr. Douchey - Ep: 6 - Video - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]
- Ep. 3 MALLSCAPADE: Squaresville (A new free web show about growing up bored in the suburbs) - Video - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]
- My Sisters: Problematic to Practically Perfect - Ep: 2 - Video - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]
- Backstage Girls- Episode 2: Bobby Brown's Every Little Step - Video - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]
- Red Heads for Red Heads with Cornelia Frances for The Orangutan Project - Video - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]
- More Theatre of Life: Gay Witchcraft - Video - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]
- Asian Red Head - Video - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]
- Red Devils baseball team wins play-in game vs. North Sevier, heads to 2A tourney - May 5th, 2012 [May 5th, 2012]
- Ask Nick: Is something wrong with Gonzalez? - May 5th, 2012 [May 5th, 2012]
- Red Bluff Lady Spartans blast Lassen 13-0 - May 5th, 2012 [May 5th, 2012]
- Camelot heads 2,000 Guineas field - May 5th, 2012 [May 5th, 2012]
- Tech baseball heads to College Station for final time - May 5th, 2012 [May 5th, 2012]
- Joe Stortini heads list of local all-state basketball players - May 5th, 2012 [May 5th, 2012]
- 'White Rabbit, Red Rabbit' review: never the same - May 7th, 2012 [May 7th, 2012]
- Red sea of Clippers fans lifts team to win - May 7th, 2012 [May 7th, 2012]
- Reynolds and Hammel carry Orioles past Red Sox 8-2 - May 7th, 2012 [May 7th, 2012]
- Gillard, Abbott promote Red Cross - May 7th, 2012 [May 7th, 2012]
- The Duchess of Cambridge turns heads with glamorous cream dress - May 10th, 2012 [May 10th, 2012]
- Royals 4, Red Sox 3: Two out of three is bad - May 10th, 2012 [May 10th, 2012]
- The power of a sign - May 10th, 2012 [May 10th, 2012]
- Met Ball 2012 Red Carpet: Stars Shine In Metallic Frocks - May 10th, 2012 [May 10th, 2012]
- Morning Mail: Red Sox fan wears bag on head, starts social media storm - May 13th, 2012 [May 13th, 2012]
- 'Food Truck Wars' heads for Monmouth Park - May 13th, 2012 [May 13th, 2012]
- Obama to talk mortgages in Reno, Romney heads to North Carolina, plus more to watch for this weekend in politics - May 13th, 2012 [May 13th, 2012]
- Losing heads while salmon fishing - May 13th, 2012 [May 13th, 2012]
- West Ottawa boys track & field wins stunning relay at OK Red meet - May 13th, 2012 [May 13th, 2012]
- Sexy Redheads - Video - May 13th, 2012 [May 13th, 2012]
- Red Sox Look to Build Momentum Against Mariners: Fan Preview - May 16th, 2012 [May 16th, 2012]
- Red-cockaded woodpecker gets care and protection in Alabama (with video and gallery) - May 16th, 2012 [May 16th, 2012]
- Beckett takes Red Sox from Fenway to Bushwood - May 16th, 2012 [May 16th, 2012]
- Greek uncertainty leaves US stocks in red - May 16th, 2012 [May 16th, 2012]
- Greece Heads Toward New Elections - May 16th, 2012 [May 16th, 2012]
- On Soccer: Red Bulls rise to top of Eastern Conference with help from trio of young American defenders - May 16th, 2012 [May 16th, 2012]
- Frankel heads Lockinge confirmations - May 16th, 2012 [May 16th, 2012]
- Kevin Spacey heads to South Africa for movie project premiere - May 16th, 2012 [May 16th, 2012]
- Red Poppy brings new voices to art scene - May 16th, 2012 [May 16th, 2012]
- Gold Heads Into The Red In 2012 - May 17th, 2012 [May 17th, 2012]
- Betty White heads to Washington to see the animals - May 17th, 2012 [May 17th, 2012]
- Outdoors: Losing your heads against fishing rules - May 17th, 2012 [May 17th, 2012]
- Betty White heads to nation's capital to see National Zoo, indulge passion for animal watching - May 17th, 2012 [May 17th, 2012]
- Canadian wave heads to Cannes Film Festival - May 17th, 2012 [May 17th, 2012]
- Pippa Middleton Wears Sexy Red Dress at Scottish Wedding - May 20th, 2012 [May 20th, 2012]
- Touchdowns for a cure - May 20th, 2012 [May 20th, 2012]
- TSX heads higher; Facebook shares rise after delayed start of trading - May 20th, 2012 [May 20th, 2012]
- Woman heads to Uganda to bring cheer to children - May 20th, 2012 [May 20th, 2012]
- World Premiere of Disney•Pixar’s “Brave” Heads to Hollywood for Grand Opening of the Dolby Theatre - May 20th, 2012 [May 20th, 2012]
- Toronto stock market heads higher amid cautious buying at end of bruising week - May 20th, 2012 [May 20th, 2012]
- Red Bluff brings home 11th section title; McColpin throws shutout vs. Wolves - May 20th, 2012 [May 20th, 2012]