Next hurdle for St. John's: Beat Villanova
Dwight Hardy #12 of the St.John's Red Storm in action against the DePaul Blue Demons. (Feb. 23, 2011) Credit: Jim McIsaac
PHILADELPHIA - The last major hurdle on St. John's regular-season schedule awaits in the form of a Villanova team the Red Storm's nine seniors have yet to beat. But the Wildcats (21-7, 9-6 Big East) trail St. John's (18-9, 10-5) in the conference standings heading into Saturday afternoon's nationally televised game at Wells Fargo Center.
When this season began, the goal for Steve Lavin's first year at St. John's was to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002. After seven wins over teams that have ranked in the top 25 at some point this season, the Red Storm (No. 23 AP) has done everything necessary to receive a bid. Now, it's about seeding in the Big East and NCAA tourneys and about settling old scores.
"This is another team in our four years here that we haven't beaten," forward D.J. Kennedy said. "Just to get that off our back would be big."
St. John's already has crossed Duke, Marquette, Pittsburgh and West Virginia off the list of opponents they have suffered against annually. Other than Syracuse, only Villanova remains.
This is the last guaranteed shot at the Wildcats (No. 15), and a win would put the Red Storm, which is tied for third in the Big East, one step closer to gaining a double bye for the conference tourney that goes to the top four. It also would mark its first road win over a ranked opponent (West Virginia and Cincinnati were not ranked at the time they lost at home to St. John's).
Some wonder if St. John's, which has won seven of its past eight and five straight, is a team of destiny. "I like to believe that everybody has their time," Kennedy said. "I feel like this is our time right now. We've waited three years, this is our senior year. Finally, all the pieces of the puzzle are coming together. We've got a special thing going on right now."
The combination of their full-court pressure and matchup zone defenses has worn down opponents and confused some in the half-court offense. Villanova has quality guards to handle it in Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes and Maalik Wayns, but they also must cope with St. John's momentum.
"I don't think it's about destiny," Red Storm guard Malik Boothe said. "It's about teams that continue to work hard. We are one of those teams. This year, we've put in more work than ever, and the results have shown."
