Smothered: St. John's loses to the Louisville Cardinals, 73-58

by picodulce on Jan 3, 2012 9:32 PM EST in St. John's Red Storm men's basketball

St. John's lost a sloppy game at Madison Square Garden 73-58 to Rick Pitino's 10/11 ranked Louisville Cardinals. The Cardinals struggled to score the basketball, especially in the first half...

...But St. John's struggled much more, going 5-35 in the first half, scoring 18 points.

It was a tough game to watch, and showed the youth of the Red Storm. Gorgui Dieng blocked 5 shots in the first half to set the tone, and St. John's found themselves shooting too quickly, missing shots inside and outside the arc.

It was a tough and frustrating game for St. John's fans against the top-15 Louisville Cardinals. They showed why they are ranked, despite an occasionally sloppy offense.

For the Red Storm, it feels like a bad loss, but it's but one game in the young team's learning curve. The effort was solid, but the pressure was stifling.

Boxscore

The Red Storm hit three of their five shots, and had a lead early... and then shot 2/30 from about the 17:00 mark on. The Red Storm shot 13% from inside the arc and 16% outside the arc in the half. The team shot 33% inside the arc (16/48) and 2/16 from the perimeter (12.5%) for the game.

Louisville wasn't much better, but hit from the outside in the second half as St. John's tried to pressure them into mistakes. The Cardinals made mistakes, just not enough to cover for St. John's shooting.

On the plus side, St. John's didn't turn the ball over - committing 12 turnovers in all, losing it on about 16% of their possessions.

Louisville turned the ball over 25% of the time, and struggled both in the half court and with their ballhandling, even in the first half. The Cardinals were paced by 17 points from Russ Smith, 15 from Kyle Kuric, whose outside jumper started falling in the second half (he had more space as well), and 12 points from Gorgui Dieng, who had a career-high 7 blocks to go with his 9 rebounds.

In the loss St. John's was led by an aggressive D`Angelo Harrison (24 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals). He shot 8 of 18 form the field but earned 7 free throw attempts. Moe Harkless struggled to find his opportunities, scoring 12 on 4/13 shooting with 6 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Sir`Dominic Pointer had 6 points, 5 steals, 2 blocks, and 7 total rebounds (3 offensive). God`sgift Achiuwa (4 points, 2/6 shooting, 6 rebounds) and Phil Greene (3 points, 0/9 shooting, 4 assists, 5 rebounds) struggled a bit to make impacts against the aggressive, smothering, trapping Cardinal defense, as many players before them have.

Next game: a trip to Cincinnati to match up with the 11-3 Bearcats. Tip off on Saturday at 2.00 pm Eastern time. Look out for pregame posts from Thursday-Saturday.

Tweet Comment 11 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Lavin needs to get back.

I fully understand that Lavin needs to recoup before he can get back, but I get the feeling something is going on here. He is flying all over the place and is calling in to speak to announcers while his guys who he recruited are playing without him. If game coaching is too stressful, he should not be in a luxury box at the Garden watching this team as a spectator. I am a huge Lavin fan, but this group needs him more than last season’s group. He needs to calm them down during these games and help them keep their composure. Whether Lindsey leaving was good or bad for the team, it is obvious that he didn’t see Lav coming back anytime soon. If that’s the case, he should say so. But don’t show up at MSG in a luxury box while your recruits are playing their tails off. Bad form.

by redmen9194 on Jan 3, 2012 11:24 PM EST reply actions

It'd be great for him to come back...

But I don’t know if that changes the outcomes. The last two losses were to top-10 teams… and St. John’s plays 5 freshmen, a new JuCo, and a junior who isn’t an impact player at this level. Lavin could help, but I don’t think he’s a 15-point per game difference.

I don’t know. Anyone else agree? Disagree?

Rumble in the Garden - St. John's blog with thunderous undertones, on SB Nation | Follow on Facebook | Follow @ECoastBias

by picodulce on Jan 4, 2012 7:27 AM EST up reply actions

I don't think we necessarily win those games either...

…but when this type of talent is assembled and is so young they need the guy that got them there. they expected to play for him. They only have a short college career. The last thing you want is for a brutal schedule to break them to the point where they think STJ was not the right move. I think we saw that with Lindsey and some of the other decomits.

by redmen9194 on Jan 4, 2012 8:36 AM EST up reply actions

Agree for sure

And I think it’s a bit presumptuous to make any claims about what he can or can’t handle or to expect him to make any declaration about things he might not know anything about.

by Joamiq on Jan 4, 2012 10:58 AM EST up reply actions

it is a little strange of a situation.

Rumble in the Garden - SB Nation's St. John's community | Follow on Facebook | Follow @ECoastBias

by picodulce on Jan 4, 2012 11:07 AM EST up reply actions

I am not making any claims as to what he can or can't handle.

And I certainly do not want to rush him back if he is not ready. But it does not look good to have him sitting in a Garden luxury box and flying around the country while these kids are playing short handed with a schedule that is a killer. I am not sure of the message he is sending the players and recruits by doing that. I am a HUGE Lavin fan. But we have had a bunch of decommits and transfers and I don’t think any of us can say that the coaching situation did not play a part in that. But a good effort by out team last night.

by redmen9194 on Jan 4, 2012 12:11 PM EST up reply actions

I wonder about that a bit...

For some kids, it’s got to be hard to explain Lavin’s situation. Though I think the decommits of Pelle and Sampson have more to do with the carnival in their minds than Lavin’s health. Gathers, on the other hand, that’s one to worry about.

I have no doubt that Lavin’s coming back, and he’s obviously dedicated. But I don’t know that he should have told the LA Times that kind of time frame. Fodder for negative recruiting.

Rumble in the Garden - SB Nation's St. John's community | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Tumblr Follow @ECoastBias

by picodulce on Jan 4, 2012 1:21 PM EST up reply actions

One more thing, though

I am reminded (thanks Ted!) that Lavin uses a lot of energy – not just coaching, but in his fast-talking, appearing everywhere persona. Which is part of what he brings to St. John’s – charisma and energy, a man who can work the media non stop and work HS level coaches as well.

And it takes a lot to do all of that while recovering. Hopefully he can get that across to the recruits; the kids on the floor seem to understand, they’re playing hard and don’t seem to grumble about it.

(& hopefully the next set of recruits are a little more, you know, stable. It’s why Gathers is a good fit – seems to have his head on straight.)

Rumble in the Garden - SB Nation's St. John's community | Follow on Facebook | Follow on Tumblr Follow @ECoastBias

by picodulce on Jan 4, 2012 1:35 PM EST up reply actions

Of interest to the discussion of when Lav's coming back

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-steve-lavin-cancer-20120104,0,6549031.story?page=2

A lot of interesting stuff in this LA Times Article about Lavin’s timetable and how he made his decision (with an assist from UCLA Coach Ben Howland, even). And the end of the article:

Whether Lavin will return this season or sit it out entirely has not been determined. He can debate the situation from either side.

“There really is a strong argument for both,” he said. "If we’re doing good in February and I get a second wind, a clean bill of health and I’ve suffered no setbacks, it’s worth keeping that door open. But if I’m not feeling up to the heavy lifting of coaching, I can stay in this GM role.

“Health has to be the priority. For now, I’m grateful for being cancer-free. I’m celebrating that, and am focused on that. Without your health, nothing is possible.”

Rumble in the Garden - SB Nation's St. John's community | Follow on Facebook | Follow @ECoastBias

by picodulce on Jan 4, 2012 11:09 AM EST reply actions

The article is interesting.

It sounds like he will not be back for the season – which again is fine if that is what he needs to do to get healthy. One great thing Lav brings to his game coaching is the ability to calm everyone down and get them settled. Hopefully, he can get that through in practice.

by redmen9194 on Jan 4, 2012 12:21 PM EST reply actions