St. John’s at Georgetown: preview, prediction, and TV info

St. John’s will play their second game in this three game week tomorrow when they travel to McDonough Arena to take on the Georgetown Hoyas. The game is a good opportunity for the Red Storm to get a Big East road win, as the Hoyas currently sit at last place in the conference and have not beaten a Big East team yet this season.

Georgetown is a team who have struggled a lot all season, including earlier this season when the Johnnies blew them out at home. They are coming off a couple of close losses to Butler and Seton Hall, and are looking for an opportunity to get their first conference win against an inconsistent Johnnies team.

The Johnnies played Providence pretty close but could not get ahead down the stretch and lost 86-82. Julian Champagnie continued to struggle scoring the ball, as he put up an eight point performance, the fourth game in a row the Red Storm scoring star — and former leading scorer in the Big East — has failed to score double figures.

This game is the third of four games in eight days, what former coach Steve Lavin used to say was “tournament” atmosphere — quick turnarounds and short memories. Will this game help the Red Storm click?

Game Information

Who: St. John’s Red Storm (11-9, 3-6 Big East) vs Georgetown Hoyas (6-13, 0-8 Big East)

When: Thursday, February 3, 2022, 6:00 PM

Where: McDonough Arena, Washington D.C.

TV: FS1

Odds: St. John’s -4.5

Last matchup: The Johnnies were in control all game and won 88-69.

Recapping the first Georgetown game

The Johnnies beat Georgetown 88-69 at Madison Square Garden on January 16 in one of their best performances of the season.

St. John’s took a 43-32 lead into the half and continued their success all the way through the game. The Johnnies led a relentless defensive effort, forcing the Hoyas to turn the ball over 20 times and shoot below 40% from the field, and had a great offensive game, scoring their 88 points on 51.7% from the floor and 38.9% from deep.

Individually for Georgetown, Kaiden Rice led the way in terms of scoring, as he had 19 points with five threes, although he only shot 31.8% from the field. Aminu Mohammed had a solid game with 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Collin Halloway couldn’t deal with the Johnnies pressure, as he had six turnovers.

For the Red Storm, Julian Champagnie led the way offensively, scoring 25 points without even making a three, and grabbing six boards. Posh Alexander had a great game, scoring 17 points on 4-4 from the field and 9-10 from the line, in addition to having six rebounds, seven assists, and six steals. Dylan Addae-Wusu also had a great performance, as he had 17 points shooting 4-5 from deep, four rebounds and seven assists.

Georgetown Since the First Matchup

To see Georgetown’s full scouting report, go read our first preview.

Since the first matchup, Georgetown has lost all five games they’ve played in, with road losses coming to Providence, UConn, and Butler, and home defeats taken to Villanova and Seton Hall. One point that can be made in the Hoyas’ favor is that with the exception of the UConn games, all the losses were decided by a margin of 11 or less points.

In their last five games, one thing Georgetown has done well is shoot from deep. While they have had a field goal percentage of only 40.6%, their three point percentage has been 38.4% while making 8.6 threes a game. They have also shot well from the free throw line, making nine foul shots a game at a rate of 83.3%.

St. John’s Since the First Matchup

Since beating Georgetown, the Johnnies have posted a record of 1-4, with a win against Seton Hall, home losses to Seton Hall and Providence, and road losses to Creighton and Villanova.

Julian’s Champagnie’s struggles offensively remain at the focus of the Johnnies recent losses, as last year’s First Team All-Big East player has struggled to score, especially shooting the ball. Since the Georgetown win, Champagnie has attempted 25 threes and only made four of them.

Posh Alexander is a player who is coming off a career performance for St. John’s, as he contributed 29 points, 12 assists, five rebounds, and two steals against Providence. A big game for him could be huge against Georgetown, especially if Champagnie continues to struggle.

Keys to the game

Good decision making. In the Johnnies’ loss to Providence, a lot of mental mistakes caused the Red Storm to sacrifice points. This team is not one that can afford to make these types of errors, so they need to remain mentally focused in order to take care of the Hoyas.

Pressure Georgetown. The Hoyas showed in the first matchup their incapability to handle the Red Storm’s backcourt pressure, so the Johnnies need to keep their foot on the gas all game, forcing Georgetown to miss shots and turn the ball over.

Play fast. The Johnnies are at their best when they are playing fast, as they are able to get quick transition looks from deep and in the paint. A fast paced game would allow the Johnnies to outscore Georgetown, and could help Champagnie score some buckets and get out of his slump.

Prediction

St. John’s does what they need to do and wins 80-72.