Johnnies’ upset bid ends quickly vs. No. 8 Kansas
The crowd had been waiting to explode in celebration all evening, through a slow start, defensive and rebounding lapses and stretches of uneven play.
Then, St. John’s finally gave them a reason to get loud. Only three points separated the Red Storm from eighth-ranked Kansas in the first college basketball game to be played at UBS Arena. Julian Champagnie had hit five consecutive 3-pointers. Ten minutes and thirty-five seconds remained.
KANSAS 95 ST. JOHN’S 75
But then, St. John’s coach Mike Anderson went to his bench, sensing Champagnie needed a breather. By the time the junior star was back — just 1:03 later — the Jayhawks’ lead had grown to eight. Soon, it was 14, and St. John’s failed to score from the field for a span of 7:55.
Momentum gone. Blowout on.
St. John’s upset hopes were gone that quickly. Kansas cruised from there to a 95-75 rout that ended the Red Storm’s hopes of a significant victory entering the Big East season.
“We went through one of those [stretches] that we talk about that we can’t have,” Champagnie said. “It was one of those lulls we have in a game . ... It’s one of those things we have to push through.”
The same issues that were apparent in underwhelming wins over low-major opponents — defensive rebounding, turnovers and newcomer struggles — were prevalent in this loss. Much like the defeat at Indiana a bit over two weeks earlier, St. John’s (5-2) dug a big early hole, rallied, but exerted too much energy in the comeback.
The Red Storm got pushed around inside, was outrebounded 49-27, and committed 17 turnovers. Kansas big man David McCormack outrebounded St. John’s starting center Joel Soriano, 13-0, and Christian Braun poured in 31 points for the Jayhawks (6-1).
“They scored 24 points on second shots,” Anderson said. “You can’t have that. You can’t let that take place.”
St. John’s got a combined 56 points from the returning core of Champagnie, Posh Alexander and Dylan Addae-Wusu, and just 19 from everyone else. The supporting cast shot a combined 7-for-26 from the field. All of those factors contributed to the lopsided result. But this team’s inability to put together more than a handful of quality minutes together might be the biggest concern. Consistency has eluded St. John’s.
“We just know we’re not there yet,” Anderson said. “This team is becoming a team. We’ll get better.”
Following a concerning pattern, St. John’s started slowly. The Red Storm were tentative from the opening tip-off, full of early-game jitters. They were down 13-2 by the first timeout and 21-8 just over eight minutes in. The deficit remained 13 at halftime.
Predictably, St. John’s came out of the break a different team, playing with more precision and physicality. The Red Storm scored the first five points of the stanza to quickly get within single digits. They began attacking and didn’t settle for contested jump shots. Champagnie hit his first five attempts from the field, all 3-pointers, and the Johnnies were within six after Addae-Wusu’s 3-pointer with 12:14 to go. They twice got within three.
“I don’t like losing, and neither do my teammates. We kind of came in the second half and we said, ‘We have to play harder — a lot harder,’ ” said Champagnie, who finished with 24 points and eight rebounds. “I was just telling myself to shoot the basketball and do what you do, be confident in my work. I worked all week this week.”
But then Champagnie came out, and Kansas took off. The sloppy play at both ends returned. The Jayhawks started getting layups and frustration set in. Anderson and Alexander received technical fouls. This wasn’t going to be the magical night St. John’s hoped for. This hasn’t been the start to the season the team was expecting, either.
Four non-conference games remain, starting with Fordham on Sunday. Significant improvement is needed before the league opener against Seton Hall on Dec. 20 in Newark.
“Fighting and playing with physicality,” Anderson said, are two things he wants to see.
“Not play with so many spurts,” he said. “We got to be consistent with what we do.”