St. John’s has a chance to improve to 4-1 on Tuesday night as they face the 0-3 St. Francis Terriers
TV, Times, and Lines:
TV: FS2
Date: Tuesday, November 23
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Spread: St John’s – 25.5
Total: O/U 152.5
St. John’s third year head coach Mike Anderson looks to continue the team’s high scoring start to the season when the St. Francis Terriers come into town. Led by star Julian Champagnie’s 22.8 points per game, the Red Storm ranks 3rd in the country in scoring, putting up 92.8 ppg through their first 4 games. Despite the junior’s struggles from the field last Saturday, shooting 6-19 from the field and 1-7 from three, St. John’s took care of business at home against the now 0-3 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights. This was a bounce back win after a heartbreaking loss earlier in the week at Assembly Hall against the Indiana Hoosiers.
Other than Champagnie, the Red Storm have three more guards averaging double digit points. Look for guard Posh Alexander to have another big game as he has eclipsed 10 points in each of the four games so far this season. The sophomore out of Our Savior Lutheran (NY) has improved his ppg total by almost four points this year and has proved to be another huge scoring threat in the backcourt for St. John’s.
As for St. Francis, they look for any spark on offense in which they rank on the complete opposite side of the spectrum for points per game scoring, putting up a mere 63.3 points per game. If the Terriers want to have a chance at winning this game, they need to improve their three point shooting which they are making at an abysmal 26.7% rate. Forward Patrick Emilien has been one of the very few bright spots for Glenn Braica’s Terriers, scoring a team high 13 ppg this season. The senior transfer from Western Michigan has flourished from his limited role on the Broncos and is one of two players on St. Francis averaging double digit points per game.
St. Francis suffered their lowest margin of loss at Penn State last Thursday after losing to the newest Division 1 team St. Thomas by 18, five days prior. Although the margin of loss was the lowest they have had all season, it was still by 15 points. St. John’s has caught the Terriers at the right time and should have no problem handling business against a team that has lost all of their games by 15 points or more. This should be a Red Storm domination from tip-off to the final buzzer.