For St. John’s, it just wasn’t their night.
A bad night at the office is an understatement for how rough a night it was for the Red Storm.
Alex O’Connell went off for 28 points, including making six of nine from the 3-point line. The Johnnies had no answer for O’Connell, they lost to Creighton, 87-64, Wednesday night in Omaha, Nebraska.
The score wasn’t even that close in this one. Not much of anything went right in this one for St. John’s. If I was head coach Mike Anderson, I’d give strong consideration to burning any game tape. Because, why torture yourself or the players with it?
Julian Champagnie, leading scorer in the Big East, was limited to 17 points on just 7-of-21 shooting.
St. John’s fell behind early, 14-7, and appeared out of sync from the opening tip. The ball movement was non-existent, shot selection was poor, and they were a step slow on defense. The Red Storm were in quicksand all night.
It was the wrong night to be step slow on defense, because O’ Connell and Creighton went off from deep. The Bluejays converted on 14-of-27 shooting from the 3-point line (52%).
Creighton pounded the Johnnies on the boards, winning the rebound battle, 50-31.
Looking at what’s at stake for St. John’s, badly in need of Quad 1 wins, this is a body blow to their season.
The Red Storm need to have a short-term memory (burn the game tape coach!) and get ready for what’s ahead.
This Saturday, Seton Hall comes to the Garden in the first of a home-and-home with the Johnnies. Villanova and Providence, respectively, are next on the schedule.
This loss to Creighton was a bad time to have a bad night at the office.
Image: AP
