St. John’s run ends in quarterfinal
It was all a big tease. The late-season run. The upsets of Villanova and Duke. The impressive second half against Georgetown. The narrow halftime deficit against Xavier.
St. John’s was never going to fully recover from that hideous 0-11 start in conference play. It was never going to overcome the Thanksgiving weekend loss of star point guard Marcus LoVett (knee injury) that put heavy minutes on a starting five not used to such a workload. It wasn’t going to defeat the third-ranked team in the country on 15 hours rest.
In a way, the 88-60 setback to top-seeded Xavier in Thursday afternoon’s Big East Tournament quarterfinal was predictable. The Musketeers are a likely No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, coming off a programrecord 27 regular-season wins. They are deeper, expertly coached and well-rested, and they played that way, turning a four-point halftime lead into a blowout.
“They kicked our butts today,” star sophomore Shamorie Ponds said.
“The turnaround is what it is,” St. John’s coach Chris Mullin said. “It’s scheduled out and that’s what you get for coming in ninth.”
After shining with 26 points Wednesday night despite missing the previous two games with an abdominal strain, Ponds didn’t have much in the tank, admitting he was “pretty tired.” The All-Big East first-team selection looked a step slow, unable to create separation against the bigger defenders Xavier threw at him, and scored 15 points on 4-of-14 shooting, his worst outing since Jan. 27. Tariq Owens, again bedeviled by foul woes, was a non-factor, managing two points in 18 underwhelming minutes. Transfers Marvin Clark II and Justin Simon were the Johnnies’ best players, combining for 32 points.
There has been slight progress in each of Mullin’s three seasons, from 8-24 in Year 1 to 14-17 last year and 16-17 this year. But this season almost certainly will end without postseason play, and Mullin now has a dismal .388 winning percentage (38-60). When asked if next year has to be a breakthrough season, Mullin smiled and said: “I’m sure you’ll put that timeline on me, so I’ll be looking forward to that.”
The way his team played down the stretch, finishing with six wins in 10 games against high-caliber competition, made the 0-11 league start perplexing. But the response to those struggles was also a sign there is light at the tunnel, and it isn’t an oncoming train.
“I think having that 11-game stretch of losing, losing, losing, losing, I think most people would have cowered and tucked their tail and ran,” Clark said. “I’m proud of our team for fighting back and making, salvaging something, out of the season.
“And I think that’s just goes from what Coach has instilled in us and what he’s talked to us about night in night out.”
There were 11 losses by eight points or fewer, a sign this team isn’t too far away. There has been talk the lack of an experienced coaching staff in support of Mullin has held the team back. The loss of LoVett surely factored in. On a few occasions postgame, Clark alluded to distractions that affected the team, and LoVett was certainly a part of those.
“We didn’t know. We thought he was coming back,” said Ponds, adding the sprained left knee that ended LoVett’s season on Nov. 26 “was the turning point” to the downward spiral.
On paper, next year could be a big season. Aside from wing Bashir Ahmed, the core is expected to return. Ponds most likely will test the NBA draft waters, but internally a return is expected. Sit-out transfers Sedee Keita and Mikey Dixon should make an impact.
“I feel like this year was supposed to be great. I think next year will be great,” Clark said. “If anybody doesn’t have that mindset, then they’ll have that mindset by the time the offseason is over with.”