St. John’s Opens BIG EAST Play on New Year’s Eve
Red Storm Hosts Creighton for Conference Opener at Carnesecca Arena
http://www.redstormsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/123015aaa.html
QUEENS, N.Y. (Dec. 30, 2015) – The St. John’s men’s basketball team will kick off BIG EAST action Thursday at Carnesecca Arena against Creighton (9-4) as part of the conference’s New Year’s Eve twinbill on FS1. Tip-off for the Red Storm’s first league opener in Queens since 2011 is set for 2:15 p.m.
Justin Kutcher and Donny Marshall are on the call for the national telecast which is also available via FOX Sports Go. St. John’s IMG Radio Network broadcast can be heard on 970 AM WNYM, SiriusXM channel 81 or through the TuneIn app.
St. John’s (7-6) looks to get back on the winning track and maintain its unblemished record versus the Bluejays in New York City on Thursday. After winning seven of the first 10 contests, including a marquee victory over Syracuse at MSG, the Red Storm was sidetracked in its last three games all within a five-day stretch. The squad has had an eight-day layoff between games since dropping its last contest to undefeated No. 25/23 South Carolina on Dec. 22 in the Hall of Fame Shootout at Mohegan Sun Arena.
There were several bright spots for the Red Storm during the non-conference season, particularly with the emergence of the team’s newcomers. Freshmen Federico Mussini (Reggio Emilia, Italy), Yankuba Sima (Girona, Spain) and Kassoum Yakwe (Bamako, Mali) made significant contributions during the first 13 games and are quickly developing into impact players in the BIG EAST.
Mussini led the team in scoring 10 times and enters BIG EAST play in the top-15 of the league with 14.0 points per game, an 82.9 free-throw shooting percentage and averaging 2.3 3-pointers per game. Sima’s defensive talents have put the 6-foot-11 center on the national radar as he leads all of Division I with 46 blocks, only three shy of cracking the top-10 for the program’s single season blocks list. Meanwhile, Yakwe has been a spark on both ends of the court. The 6-foot-7 forward is the team’s second leading shot blocker with 2.0 rejections per game and showcased his offensive skill set going for a career-high 15 points versus Syracuse.
Four of the Red Storm’s top 5 scorers are newcomers who have combined for 64% of the offense. In addition to Mussini (14.0 ppg) and Sima (8.4 ppg), graduate transfers Durand Johnson (Baltimore, Md.) and Ron Mvouika (Paris, France) have averaged 11.6 points and 8.8 points, respectively. They have also helped provide veteran leadership with a roster filled with nine new scholarship players. Johnson, one of only four players on the current roster who has experienced BIG EAST play from his time at Pitt, enters the opener with four straight double-digit scoring performances under his belt.
St. John’s boasts a 4-0 all-time record at home against Creighton. The programs split their regular-season matchups the past 2 seasons. Creighton has won 4 of its last 5 contests, including a pair of 100-point scoring sprees to knock off North Texas and Coppin State. The Bluejays are seventh in the nation with an 87.4 scoring average and tied for 12th with a 50.6% field goal shooting mark.
About the Series with Creighton
· St. John’s and Creighton meet for the 12th time in a series that dates back to 1961.
· There was a 43-year hiatus in the series before the teams met for the first time as conference rivals on Jan. 28, 2015.
· St. John’s has won two of the last three games, including the most recent meeting on Feb. 7, 2015 at MSG.
QUEENS, N.Y. (Dec. 30, 2015) – The St. John’s men’s basketball team will kick off BIG EAST action Thursday at Carnesecca Arena against Creighton (9-4) as part of the conference’s New Year’s Eve twinbill on FS1. Tip-off for the Red Storm’s first league opener in Queens since 2011 is set for 2:15 p.m.
Justin Kutcher and Donny Marshall are on the call for the national telecast which is also available via FOX Sports Go. St. John’s IMG Radio Network broadcast can be heard on 970 AM WNYM, SiriusXM channel 81 or through the TuneIn app.
St. John’s (7-6) looks to get back on the winning track and maintain its unblemished record versus the Bluejays in New York City on Thursday. After winning seven of the first 10 contests, including a marquee victory over Syracuse at MSG, the Red Storm was sidetracked in its last three games all within a five-day stretch. The squad has had an eight-day layoff between games since dropping its last contest to undefeated No. 25/23 South Carolina on Dec. 22 in the Hall of Fame Shootout at Mohegan Sun Arena.
There were several bright spots for the Red Storm during the non-conference season, particularly with the emergence of the team’s newcomers. Freshmen Federico Mussini (Reggio Emilia, Italy), Yankuba Sima (Girona, Spain) and Kassoum Yakwe (Bamako, Mali) made significant contributions during the first 13 games and are quickly developing into impact players in the BIG EAST.
Mussini led the team in scoring 10 times and enters BIG EAST play in the top-15 of the league with 14.0 points per game, an 82.9 free-throw shooting percentage and averaging 2.3 3-pointers per game. Sima’s defensive talents have put the 6-foot-11 center on the national radar as he leads all of Division I with 46 blocks, only three shy of cracking the top-10 for the program’s single season blocks list. Meanwhile, Yakwe has been a spark on both ends of the court. The 6-foot-7 forward is the team’s second leading shot blocker with 2.0 rejections per game and showcased his offensive skill set going for a career-high 15 points versus Syracuse.
Four of the Red Storm’s top 5 scorers are newcomers who have combined for 64% of the offense. In addition to Mussini (14.0 ppg) and Sima (8.4 ppg), graduate transfers Durand Johnson (Baltimore, Md.) and Ron Mvouika (Paris, France) have averaged 11.6 points and 8.8 points, respectively. They have also helped provide veteran leadership with a roster filled with nine new scholarship players. Johnson, one of only four players on the current roster who has experienced BIG EAST play from his time at Pitt, enters the opener with four straight double-digit scoring performances under his belt.
St. John’s boasts a 4-0 all-time record at home against Creighton. The programs split their regular-season matchups the past 2 seasons. Creighton has won 4 of its last 5 contests, including a pair of 100-point scoring sprees to knock off North Texas and Coppin State. The Bluejays are seventh in the nation with an 87.4 scoring average and tied for 12th with a 50.6% field goal shooting mark.
About the Series with Creighton
· St. John’s and Creighton meet for the 12th time in a series that dates back to 1961.
· There was a 43-year hiatus in the series before the teams met for the first time as conference rivals on Jan. 28, 2015.
· St. John’s has won two of the last three games, including the most recent meeting on Feb. 7, 2015 at MSG.
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