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

The Red Storm return from a six-day break for a matchup with the Crimson

The Red Storm had a six-day holiday break to recuperate and find the answers they needed after an underwhelming trip to The Bahamas, which saw them lose to Baylor and Georgia. Back on the mainland, St. John’s is set for another tune-up game when they face the Harvard Crimson on Saturday night in the Chris Ledlum Cup.

Game information

Who: St. John’s Red Storm (5-2) vs. Harvard Crimson (2-5)

When: Saturday, November 30, 2024, 5:00 p.m.

Where: Carnesecca Arena, Jamaica, New York

TV: Peacock

Radio: Learfield

Tickets: Ticketmaster

Series History: St. John’s has won all three previous meetings. The Red Storm last faced the Crimson on November 28, 1987, winning 105-60 at Carnesecca Arena (then known as Alumni Hall)

Injury news

Newsday’s Roger Rubin reported that Brady Dunlap (hip) received a cortisone shot in his sore hip and has missed a couple of practices, but he will be available for Saturday’s game. Dunlap missed the game versus Virginia but played in 13 minutes versus Georgia.

What to Watch for in the Storm

According to a report by Zach Braziller of the New York Post, Deivon Smith was disciplined after reacting poorly to getting benched in the second half of Sunday’s loss to Georgia, but Rick Pitino says he will not serve a suspension and has practiced with the team this week. Pitino told Braziller he did not guarantee Smith would play against Harvard tomorrow.

It’s still very early, but R.J. Luis is already building a dark horse Big East Player of the Year case. The junior wing is averaging 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.7 steals while shooting 48.3% from the field and 36.4% from three. As of November 29, R.J. Luis is ranked tenth in Ken Pomeroy’s Player of the Year standings.

Zuby Ejiofor has found his form after a slow start to his junior season. Through the last four games, Ejiofor is averaging 16.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, and 1.8 steals, shooting 61.3% from the field. Since he missed those two pivotal free throws in double overtime versus Baylor, Ejiofor has been nearly perfect at the line, going 14 of 15 (93.3%) from the charity stripe. However, Ejiofor needs to do a better job of protecting the ball, as he has given up four or more turnovers in four of his last five games.

Kadary Richmond is hoping for a bounce-back performance after his worst game in a Red Storm uniform so far. Richmond scored three points on 1-of-8 shooting, giving up three turnovers, and committing four fouls in Sunday’s 66-63 loss to Georgia.

Scouting the Crimson

After losing key contributors Malik Mack, Chisom Okpara, and Justice Ajogbor to the transfer portal, Harvard appears to be headed towards a down year. The Crimson have started the season with a 2-5 record and are ranked 266th in KenPom, their lowest since Tommy Amaker’s first season coaching the program in 2007-08 (280th). The Crimson are coming off a 62-54 home loss to a sputtering UMass team.

Four-star freshman guard Robert Hinton is Harvard’s third-highest-ranked recruit in the 247Sports era, one spot behind former Johnny Chris Ledlum. Hinton was a high school teammate of Brady Dunlap at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, California.

Through seven games, Hinton leads the team in scoring with 16.4 points per game, averaging 5.0 rebounds, and shooting 48.4% from the field and 35.7% from three.

Paris native Louis Lesmond is the highest-returning scorer from last year’s team after averaging 9.8 points per game a season ago. After missing the first five games of this season with an injury, Lesmond is averaging 5.5 points across two games.

Junior guard Chandler Pigge is scoring 12.4 points per game and leads the team with 7.3 rebounds per game. The Houston, Texas native has scored in double-figures in all but two games this season.

Sophomore forward Thomas Batties II is averaging 10.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, and 1.1 steals this season. Over his last two games against Colgate and UMass, he’s averaging 16.5 points per game, shooting 50% from the field and 5-of-9 from three.

Keys to the game

Limit turnovers – Giveaways continue to be a problem for St. John’s, as they gave up 14 in their lost to Georgia. The Red Storm have often looked careless with the ball and a tune-up game is a great opportunity for them to begin snapping out of this bad habit.

Fight for the ball – Another facet of the game St. John’s looks too tentative in is on the boards. Georgia beat them to an uncomfortable amount of loose balls and rebounds. They should not struggle against a smaller, less physical Harvard team.

Find three-point shooting rhythm again – St. John’s shot 2-of-19 from three versus Georgia, with Aaron Scott making the only two triples. Maybe it was the change to an unfamiliar venue or the early morning start time, but the Red Storm need to leave those shooting woes behind in The Bahamas.

Prediction

The Red Storm’s physicality will be too much for Harvard to handle. R.J. Luis records an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double. St. John’s wins, 88-57.