Big East-champion St. John’s has plenty to play for vs. Marquette in regular-season finale

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A week between games came at an ideal time for No. 6 St. John’s.

Injuries to Deivon Smith (neck/shoulder), RJ Luis Jr. (groin) and Kadary Richmond (double groin pull) caused all three to miss practices in recent weeks. Smith and Luis both missed at least one game, too.

Missed practices leads to rustiness in games, head coach Rick Pitino said Saturday after St. John’s clinched the outright Big East championship with a closer-than-expected 71-61 win over Seton Hall.

That’s why Pitino was looking forward to the seven days between that win and this Saturday’s regular-season finale at No. 20 Marquette.

“About 20-25% of the reason we win is that we are always one of the best-conditioned teams in the nation,” Pitino said.

“If you play slow-tempo and you miss a day or two, it’s not a big deal. But when you play like this, at optimum conditioning, and you miss two days, it’s a lot. That’s why Kadary Richmond is not playing real well right now. It’s conditioning-based. … This week is a blessing for us because we can get back in the condition we were in.”

Although St. John’s (26-4; 17-2 in conference play) already wrapped up its first outright Big East regular-season title since 1985, the red-hot Red Storm still have plenty to play for.

A win over Marquette (22-8; 13-6) would give St. John’s its fourth ranked win, its second ranked win on the road, and its fourth quadrant-one victory — factors that will be considered when the Selection Committee determines seeding for the NCAA Tournament.

Saturday’s game also marks the Johnnies’ final tuneup before next week’s Big East Tournament, which St. John’s seeks to win for the first time since 2000.

The Golden Eagles revolve around senior guard Kam Jones, who could be a first-round pick in this summer’s NBA Draft.

Jones is a career 37% shooter from 3-point range and has been productive this season in a new role as Marquette’s primary ball-handler, replacing Tyler Kolek, now of the Knicks.

Now in his fourth…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/big-east-champion-st-john-142700087.html

Author : NY Daily News

Publish date : 2025-03-07 14:27:00

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