#5 Duke at St. John's: game thread

St. John's. Duke. Madison Square Garden.

It's the big game that the fans have been looking towards. And it's an opportunity for the Red Storm to generate a momentum-building win - if they can overcome the might of Duke, and Jahlil Okafor (the likely top pick in the NBA Draft) and Coach Mike Krzyzewski, going for his 1,000th win.

"Duke vs. St. John’s is always going to be a big game," D`Angelo Harrison said, "and the fact that Coach Krzyzewski is going for 1,000 wins is in the back of your head. You just have to keep going and perform at a high level."

A high level will be needed. The Blue Devils interior attack scores effectively, hitting just under 57% of their two-point shots, led by Okafor and Amile Jefferson. Okafor's post game is polished and advanced, and he has been likened to Tim Duncan; and he and Jefferson can be beasts on the offensive glass. Okafor also blocks shots.

On the wings, Justice WInslow and Rasheed Sulaimon provide inside/ outside scoring, while senior Quinn Cook and freshman Tyus Jones give the Blue Devils a pair of talented point guards who can score.

Can Chris Obekpa, Amar Alibegovic and Joey Delarosa defend Okafor and stay out of foul trouble?

Can Sir`Dominic Pointer impose his will on the game and create chaos?

Can D`Angelo Harrison shake off his nagging injury and carry the Johnnies in a performance that will be remembered for a generation? (Seriously, if the Johnnies knock off Duke behind Harrison, Harrison's name will ring out for 20 years.)

Can Rysheed Jordan and Phil Greene IV bring a scoring punch to put Duke on its heels?

Some of the pregame tweets:

Big game today for my young guns vs duke nothing like getting that win at the garden! No feeling like it! #stjbb #rednation @StJohnsBBall

— Sean Evans (@shizzy5) January 25, 2015

Good luck to @StJohnsBBall today against DUKE.... #HammerToRock

— Dwight Hardy (@iamdabronx1523) January 25, 2015

The calm before the storm.. #sjubb pic.twitter.com/ekfWj4ESaq

— Carmine Carcieri (@CESPN1) January 25, 2015

Already a line outside the MSG media entrance. Have never seen this in eight years in the media. #Coach1K

— A Daly Dose Of Hoops (@DalyDoseOfHoops) January 25, 2015

Going to be quite a scene at the Garden today. Coach K going for win 1000 against St. John’s. Expect a lot of Duke fans on hand

— Ed Isaacson (@nbadraftblog) January 25, 2015

Sea of red shirts await the @StJohnsRedStorm @StJohnsBBall fans @TheGarden #sjubb #CollegeHoops pic.twitter.com/UU4F10nJ2z

— 1495Sports (@1495Sports) January 25, 2015