March Madness: Three keys for No. 2 St. John's vs. No. 10 Arkansas
St. John's Red Storm guard Kadary Richmond dribbles the ball upcourt against the Marquette Golden Eagles in the first half of a Big East Tournament semifinal at Madison Square Garden on March 14. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — In the wee hours of Friday morning, after No. 2-seeded St. John’s had captured its first NCAA Tournament victory in 25 years with an 83-53 victory over No. 15 Omaha in a West Region first-round game, Red Storm coach Rick Pitino addressed the challenge ahead in taking on No. 10 Arkansas.
“We’re going to have to play the best game of the season to beat a team like this — we know that,” he said. “They’re very, very big, athletic. Their bench is athletic, they’re fast. This is a whole different ballgame for us, but they know we’re a good team as well.”
St. John’s (31-4) has a chance to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since the 1998-99 team made it to the Elite Eight when it faces the Razorbacks (21-13) at 2:40 p.m. at Amica Mutual Pavilion.
Here are three keys for the Red Storm:
1. DON’T STUMBLE OUT OF THE GATE
St. John’s needs to buck its trend of slow starts when it plays away from home. It wouldn’t have built a reputation for great comebacks if not for falling behind early. Just as an example, Omaha had leads of 7-0 and 20-14 in the first 12 minutes of their first-round game.
The Red Storm also trailed at the half in their last two Big East Tournament games.
While the Red Storm never seem to be out of a game, they don’t need to make this harder on themselves. As Zuby Ejiofor said, “I was talking to the rest of the guys and really [impressed on them] that we come out there and set the tone early and make a statement [unlike] we’ve been doing the past couple games or so. We’re still trying to figure out why we’ve been coming out slow, but we’ll figure it out. As long as we’re staying together, we’ll be just fine.”
2. KADARY RICHMOND NEEDS TO DICTATE THE PACE OF THE GAME
When Arkansas beat No. 7 Kansas on Thursday, there were a lot of frenetic stretches in which it forced turnovers and turned them into fast-break points. The Razorbacks are ranked 19th in the nation in defensive efficiency according to kenpom.com (St. John’s is first) and can get into a team with their length and deflections.
Richmond never panics in the face of defensive pressure and makes few mistakes when he has the ball. Against Omaha, however, he was limited to 10 minutes in the first half by foul trouble. He needs to be on the floor and be a steadying force.
3. ST. JOHN’S HAS TO STICK WITH WHAT GOT IT HERE: DEFENSE AND REBOUNDING
The Red Storm’s bread and butter this season has been defense and rebounding. The defense is holding opponents to 65.6 points per game and they rank 26th in rebounding margin.
Despite a frontcourt size advantage, Arkansas isn’t an exceptional offensive team and hasn’t been great at keeping opponents off the glass. It ranks 191st in the country in rebounding margin.
The boards are a place where St. John’s might be able to have its way with the Razorbacks.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
