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

An old Big East rivalry finally has juice again

College basketball is better when St. John’s and Georgetown are good. It’s been a long time since the sport has seen both teams play competitive ball simultaneously, but Tuesday night’s game at Madison Square Garden is hopefully the revival of one of the Big East’s greatest rivalries. Ed Cooley has guided Georgetown to a 12-4 start in his second year of coaching the recovering program, their best since the 2017-18 season, alongside the talented trio of Thomas Sorber, Micah Peavy, and Malik Mack.

Meanwhile, St. John’s has won ten of their last eleven games and is out to their best start in Big East play since the 2000-01 season, last defeating Villanova by a score of 80-68 behind a 30-point, 10-rebound double-double by R.J. Luis.

Game information

Who: St. John’s Red Storm (14-3, 5-1 Big East) vs. Georgetown Hoyas (12-4, 3-2 Big East)

When: Tuesday, January 14, 2025, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York

TV: Peacock

Radio: Learfield

Tickets: Ticketmaster

Series History: St. John’s leads, 67-57. The Red Storm have won their last seven meetings with the Hoyas after falling in overtime on December 13, 2020, at McDonough Gymnasium in Washington, D.C.

Injury news

Deivon Smith has not been ruled out for Tuesday’s game versus Georgetown after suffering a sprained right shoulder in the Red Storm Storm’s 80-68 win over Villanova. Smith returned to the game for a few minutes with his right arm heavily taped before sitting for the remainder of the game while wearing an arm sling.

Brady Dunlap is still sidelined with a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) and an abdominal tear and has missed his last six games. Dunlap has averaged 5.7 points through ten games played this season.

What to Watch for in the Storm

All eyes are on Deivon Smith’s availability for Tuesday night’s game after he suffered a shoulder injury Saturday versus Villanova. Smith addressed the media on Monday and said he would never rule himself out, but this decision won’t be in his hands. Smith scored 12 points and made three of his five three-point attempts before injuring his shoulder, the most triples made by a St. John’s player in a Big East game this season. If Smith, the Red Storm’s best three-point scorer with a 40.8% shooting clip, can’t suit up on Tuesday night or his injury impacts his shot, the Red Storm will need others to elevate their play, pick up the tempo lost by not having a healthy Smith, and begin making shots.

R.J. Luis is playing with more physicality as of late and has logged double-doubles in each of his last three games, averaging 22.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 1.7 steals while shooting 54.3% from two-point range and 85.7% from the charity stripe over this short stretch. The frontcourt of Luis and Zuby Ejiofor has proven to be one of the top glass-crashing units in the nation, and the absurd number of offensive rebounds these two are hoovering up is covering up the Red Storm’s brutal jump-shooting numbers.

Scouting the Hoyas

In year two of the Ed Cooley era, Georgetown has already improved upon their nine-win total from a season ago before the calendar turned to 2025. What’s changed between now and last season is the Hoyas’ defense, which vaulted from the 321st-best adjusted defense in the country according to KenPom to the 23rd-best this season. Georgetown’s inside-the-arc defense looks unrecognizably good compared to last season, going from 57.4% in two-point percentage allowed (third-worst nationally) to 41.9% this year (fifth-best nationally).

Freshman center Thomas Sorber is playing a significant role in Georgetown’s defensive resurgence, ranking second in the Big East and fifteenth nationally in blocks per game (2.4). The top-50 ranked newcomer from Trenton, New Jersey is the runaway favorite to win Big East Freshman of the Year, averaging a team-high 14.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 3.7 stocks (2.4 blocks and 1.3 steals) per game. Sorber will likely receive plenty of consideration in this year’s NBA draft due to his polished post game, physical and disciplined defense, and savvy playmaking. Expect the Hoyas’ precocious neophyte to make his presence felt on Tuesday night.

Fifth-year senior and TCU transfer Micah Peavy brings consistent offense and the defensive edge Georgetown lacked last season, leading the Hoyas in steals with 2.3 swipes per game. Peavy is a handful for opposing guards and wings, standing at 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds. The Cibolo, Texas native is averaging 13.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.9 assists while shooting 45.2% from the field, 30.8% from three, but is a tepid 67.5% from the free throw line and also gives up a team-high 2.9 turnovers per game.

Harvard transfer and last season’s Ivy League Rookie of the Year Malik Mack is a budding playmaking scoring guard for the Hoyas, averaging 13.6 points and 4.1 rebounds, and is leading the team with 4.6 assists per game. The sophomore from Maryland is a confident shooter off-the-dribble and on the catch. Mack is pretty undersized at 6-foot-1 but can create space and make contested shots, which he did regularly in his 26-point performance during a win over Xavier on January 3.

In plain and simple terms, Jayden Epps is a bucket-getter at all three levels. He can drive downhill and attack the rim with finesse, pull up from the mid-range, and sink threes. His scoring average dropped from 18.5 points last year to 13.9 points this season, but his shooting efficiency has increased. Epps improved in field goal percentage, moving from 39.2% to 45.6%, and three-point percentage, from 30.5% to 39.7%.

Epps hasn’t started a game since Georgetown’s road win over Seton Hall on December 22 due to what the team has termed a “lower-body injury” and has only played 18 minutes since, so his workload could be limited again on Tuesday night.

Sophomore Drew Fielder is a nightly starter alongside Sorber in the frontcourt, and the six-foot-eleven big from Boise, Idaho, does a great job of getting deep in the post and picking up rebounds. Fielder averages 7.3 points and 5.5 rebounds, while also ranking in the top ten among Big East players in total rebound percentage (14.1%) and offensive rebound percentage (11.0%).

The Hoyas boast two wings named C. Williams on this year’s team. The eldest of the two is Louisville transfer Curtis Williams, Jr., who started the season playing off the end of the bench but recently worked his way into a much larger role because of his offensive creation. In his last two games, Williams has averaged 12.5 points and shot five-of-nine from three. The six-foot-six sophomore from Detroit, Michigan could move into the starting lineup sooner rather than later if he continues producing.

The other “C-Will” is freshman Caleb Williams — who is not to be confused with the Chicago Bears quarterback. Williams is a year or two away from becoming an important piece, but the Washington, D.C. native has already shown flashes of his potential as a rebounding wing who can score from outside. The six-foot-seven forward started in his last six games and is averaging 4.8 points and 6.2 rebounds over this stretch while making five of eleven attempts from three (45.5%).

Keys to the game

Slow down Sorber – There are very few freshmen who can impact the game on both ends of the floor like Thomas Sorber, and there likely isn’t one newcomer better at protecting the rim than him. Georgetown is well aware that St. John’s will attack the rim, so the Red Storm must be creative in their slashes to the rim — whether singling him out on the pick and roll or drawing him out to the perimeter.

Capitalize off turnovers – The Hoyas are prone to giveaways, with a 19.5% turnover percentage that ranks 295th in the country. Georgetown gave up 34 combined turnovers in their last two games, and they’ll likely give up at least a dozen on Tuesday night, meaning St. John’s must cash in on these extra possessions, especially if they can’t hit their threes again.

Outwork the Hoyas on the glass – Facing fantastic, physical rebounders like Sorber, Peavy, and Fielder, the Red Storm will to work harder than usual on the boards. Georgetown ranks 49th in offensive rebound percentage (34.8%) and are reliable on the defensive glass by ranking 129th in defensive rebound percentage (29.0%).

Prediction

Unlike the last several meetings, Georgetown has a respectable chance of stealing a win at the Garden on Tuesday night, especially if Deivon Smith can’t play. If St. John’s are without their pace-setting point guard, Tuesday’s game will look like an extended version of their gritty second half versus Villanova, which is the type of game Red Storm have shown they can win on multiple occasions and they can do it again if it comes down to it. St. John’s wins, 76-70.