St. John’s at Louisville

Written by Jack Jones - Google +

Coming off one of the most amazing comebacks in college basketball history, the 19th-ranked Louisville Cardinals will host the St. John’s Red Storm on Wednesday, January 19. The Cardinal (14-3, 3-1) came back from 18 points down to beat Marquette 71-70 Saturday. The Red Storm (11-5, 4-2) are coming off an impressive victory themselves, beating then-No. 16 Notre Dame 72-54 at home. The odds for this contest show us a line of Louisville -7.5 over St. John’s.

The Cardinals trailed by 18 against Marquette with just 5:44 remaining. All looked lost, but Louisville did not give up. They outscored the Golden Eagles 24-5 the rest of the way to steal the victory. Head coach Rick Pitino believes a comeback like that is a “once in a 10-15 year” event, though he has also been on the winning end of the biggest comeback in college basketball history. His Kentucky Wildcats erased a 31-point deficit against LSU 17 years ago.

Pitino knows that coming back against St. John’s like they did against Marquette is highly unlikely. He’s more concerned with improving on the first 34 minutes of that game which saw the Cardinals struggle in their half court offense, get into foul trouble, and even look overmatched by the Golden Eagles. “If you’re foolish enough to think (an 18-point comeback) is going to come against St. John’s, you’re going to come away with a loss,” he said.

Elisha Justice filled in for sophomore point guard Peyton Silva down the stretch, and did not turn the ball as turnovers were the reason Silva was benched. Justice also found senior guard Preston Knowles numerous times, who made four 3-pointers during the comeback. Forward Kyle Kuric finished off the comeback with a lay-up with 4 seconds remaining. The Cardinal also got significant plays from freshman center Gorgui Dieng, who grabbed eight boards, made four big free throws in the final 50 seconds, and blocked a layup which set up the game-winning bucket.

Pitino certainly turned some heads when he picked St. John’s to win the Big East this season under first-year head coach Steve Lavin. Even with the Red Storm returning five starters, experience and depth, that was still a very bold prediction. St. John’s has not disappointed this season. Three of their five losses have come by five points or less, and the other two were against Top-25 teams in Notre Dame and Syracuse. The Red Storm have very solid wins at Arizona State, at West Virginia, against Georgetown and against Notre Dame. So to get through this schedule at 11-5, they have certainly done a nice job under Lavin.

Dwight Hardy leads the Red Storm in scoring at 15.5 points per game, followed by Justin Brownlee (14.3) and D.J. Kennedy (11.3). This trio is a deadly combination and one that keeps St. John’s competitive in just about every game they play in. While these three lead the way for the Red Storm offensively, Louisville is a much more balanced team when it comes to scoring. The Cardinals have six players averaging 8.2 points or more this season, led by Knowles at 15.6 points per game.

Jack’s Take: St. John’s +7.5 – Though I do feel that Louisville is a strong team, they are clearly vulnerable. St. John’s has been going under the radar all season and have played one of the most difficult schedules in the land. The Red Storm have only lost two games by more than 5 points all year, so therefore they are showing tremendous value tonight. It will be tough for Louisville to give their best effort Wednesday following such an emotional come-from-behind victory over Marquette.

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