St. John’s men’s basketball game preview: Delaware

The Red Storm wrap up their non-conference schedule against the Blue Hens on Saturday

More than one week removed from one of their most dramatic wins in recent memory, the St. John’s men’s basketball team concludes their non-conference season with a Saturday night tune-up versus Delaware.

Game information

Who: St. John’s Red Storm (10-2) vs. Delaware Blue Hens (7-5)

When: Saturday, December 28, 2024, 6:00 p.m.

Where: Carnesecca Arena, Jamaica, New York

TV: FS1

Radio: Learfield

Tickets: Ticketmaster

Series History: St. John’s has won all three previous meetings with Delaware. Saturday’s game marks their first meeting with the Blue Hens in almost 100 years, as the Johnnies won their last meeting in a 38-33 shootout way back on February 26, 1925.

Injury news

Brady Dunlap (hand) is ruled out for the next 3-to-5 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his left thumb.

What to Watch for in the Storm

Excluding his quiet three-game start, Zuby Ejiofor is playing like an All-Big East center. In his last seven games, Ejiofor has averaged 17.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.1 blocks, and 1.2 steals while shooting 60.2% from the field, and is also leading the country in total offensive rebound (55).

Aaron Scott is going through a cold slump over his last five games, averaging 5.4 points on 30.3% shooting from the field and 15.0% from three (3-of-20). However, his free throw shooting numbers indicate that the wing’s shooting numbers are due for positive regression, as he is shooting 86.7% from the free throw line (13-of-15) this season. Scott shot 38.1% from deep over his last two full seasons with North Texas, so it is only a matter of time for him to return to form.

Simeon Wilcher’s poor shooting night against Providence shouldn’t take away from the fact that he has been the Red Storm’s most efficient scorer lately. In his previous four games before facing the Friars, Wilcher averaged 13.3 points on 72.7% shooting from two-point range and 40.0% from three (6-of-15). With St. John’s ranking in the bottom 100 teams nationally in three-point shooting percentage (31.7%), the Red Storm should lean on Wilcher for long-range looks.

Scouting the Blue Hens

Delaware is in a down year after losing four of their top six scorers from last season, including their only two players to average double-figures, Jyare Davis (transferred to Syracuse) and Gerald Drumgoole (transferred to George Washington). The Blue Hens are 7-5 this season but sit at .500 against Division I opponents.

Virginia Tech transfer John Camden leads the Hens in scoring and rebounds with 14.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Camden is also a three-point threat, making 37.1% of triples off 5.8 attempts per game.

Niels Lane is the top returning scorer from a season ago, averaging 13.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while shooting 52.0% from both the field and from three. The graduate senior guard from Freehold, New Jersey is also a strong defensive player, averaging 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. Lane played his first three seasons of college basketball at Florida.

Cavan Reilly is third in scoring with 12.9 points per game and leads the team in three-point shooting percentage with a 39.4% clip on 71 total attempts.

Stud freshman Izaiah Pasha is a talented slasher and is heating up over his last seven games, averaging 13.3 points while shooting 62.3% from two-point range and 30.0% from three. Pasha is also finding ways to impact the game in other phases, pulling down 5.3 rebounds and giving out 3.9 assists per game over that stretch.

Keys to the game

Stay healthy – Some might question why Rick Pitino and St. John’s would schedule a buy game in the middle of their Big East conference schedule, and that’s a valid concern, especially as the Red Storm should already have a good idea of their identity and shouldn’t need yet another tune-up game to figure that out. If St. John’s breaks this game open, Pitino should have a quick hook on the starters and avoid any risk of a potential injury.

Run Camden and Reilly off the three-point line – John Camden and Cavan Reilly will take plenty of threes in Saturday’s game — the pair account for almost half of Delaware’s 304 total three-point shooting attempts this season. Keep them from getting hot, and St. John’s should stop the Blue Hens offense with little resistance.

Take smart shots – St. John’s dug themselves into a deep first-half hole against Providence because they took quick mid-range jumpers early in the shot clock and didn’t enter the flow of their offense, and it wasn’t a coincidence that they clawed back in the second half after attacking the paint more. They can get away with taking low-percentage shots against a team like Delaware, but you’d rather see them build good habits at the midway point of the season, which comes with taking the right shots.

Prediction

Playing at home against a sub-200 KenPom team during a holiday week without students on campus is the perfect letdown spot for a high-major team. The Red Storm might concede an early lead to Delaware, but their physicality and athleticism should make up for another sluggish start, as we saw against Quinnipiac and Wagner. St. John’s wins 93-68.