College Basketball
- Matchup: #2 Duke Blue Devils (18-2, 7-1 ACC) vs. St. Johns Red Storm (16-5, 4-5 Big East)
- Date: Feb. 2nd, 2019
- Time: 12:00 pm
- Network: ESPN
- Location: Durham, North Carolina
- Venue: Cameron Indoor Stadium
- Seating Capacity: 9,314
A Break from Conference Play
Duke hosts St. Johns at home on Saturday for a non-conference showdown. St. Johns has dropped four of their last six games, but overall have had a successful season to date.
About the Opponent
Head Coach Chris Mullin has led the Red Storm to a team worthy of making the NCAA Tournament. One of the best players in the country, junior guard Shamorie Ponds (20.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 5.7 APG, and 2.8 SPG) leads the way. Ponds is one of the best all-around players in the nation and opposing players can’t find a way to slow him down, “When he gets it going, he’s almost unstoppable,” Creighton forward Martin Krampelj said of Ponds.
The Red Storm also see major contributions from four other players. Guard Mustapha Heron (15.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.0 SPG), guard LJ Figueroa (14.6 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 1.8 SPG), forward Marvin Clark II (12.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 1.0 SPG), and guard Justin Simon (10.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.6 APG, and 1.3 SPG). Mullin lacks major scoring depth off of the bench, so he relies heavily on his starters. As a team, the Red Storm scores 82.2 points per game.
Defensively, St. Johns gives up 73.1 points per game. While they don’t do a great job of keeping opponents off the scoreboard, they make up for it with forced turnovers. The Red Storm forced 15.62 turnovers per game, ranking 48th in the country. All five St. Johns starters average at least 1.0 steal per game, so when they are on the floor, expect on-ball pressure.
The Starters
St. Johns
Guard – #2 Shamorie Ponds
Guard – #14 Mustapha Heron
Small Forward – #5 Justin Simon
Guard/Forward – #30 LJ Figueroa
Forward – #13 Marvin Clark II
Duke
Point Guard – #3 Tre Jones
Guard – #2 Cam Reddish
Small Forward – #5 RJ Barrett
Power Forward – #1 Zion Williamson
Center – #20 Marques Bolden
Prediction
St. Johns has arguably one of the best starting units in the country. Their bench, however, gets little to no production on a game by game basis. I predict that Jack White will be the biggest difference maker in this game, specifically on the defensive end. He has been struggling to shoot the ball since the Syracuse loss, but I believe this will be his slump ending game from beyond the arc. It isn’t often we get to see a game with three top ten players in the nation, but with Williamson, Barrett, and Ponds, that’s what Duke versus St. Johns gives us. In the end, Duke’s starters will outscore the St. Johns starters, and the Blue Devils will tire the Red Storm in an up and down affair.
Duke: 95
St. Johns: 83
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