Xavier and St. John’s have experienced stops and starts this season, although the Red Storm are in a more precarious position as they visit the Musketeers for a Big East contest Wednesday evening in Cincinnati.
Xavier (17-7, 7-6) has been inconsistent in conference play, but coach Travis Steele hopes his team turned a corner in Friday’s 74-68 victory against No. 24 UConn. The Musketeers now are comfortably in the NCAA Tournament field, according to projections by most experts.
Conversely, disappointing St. John’s (13-11, 5-8) is nowhere near the Big Dance and coming off back-to-back losses at home against ranked opponents. The Red Storm had a chance to tie both Villanova and UConn with late 3-point attempts but came up empty.
“We just have to keep putting ourselves in position and eventually make plays to get over the hump,” St. John’s coach Mike Anderson said. “That’s the biggest key. We put ourselves in position, but that doesn’t get it done. We have to make those plays.”
It hasn’t helped that in both of those games, St. John’s was without dynamic point guard Posh Alexander (ankle injury). Anderson has been using two point guards in his starting lineup since early December, and although Dylan Addae-Wusu (9.4 points, 4.3 assists a game) is a fine ballhandler, he is more perimeter-oriented than Alexander. He cannot finish at the rim or break down defenses the way Alexander does, and that hurts the Red Storm’s offense.
A key play late in the UConn game occurred when Adama Sanogo easily blocked Addae-Wusu’s shot with the Huskies ahead by two. It is unclear when Alexander will return, and it hasn’t helped that Julian Champagnie (18.3 points per game) has shot just 33.1 percent in the past nine games.
As for Xavier, Steele said he thought his team “played more under control” in beating UConn.
“I thought we played a little slower. If you look at the tempo of the game, I think it was a lot slower than what we’ve been playing,” he said. “That may be the recipe for our team. Whatever it takes to win, ultimately.”
Steele also was encouraged by the performance of Nate Johnson, who broke out of a slump, scored 12 points and sank 2 of 4 shots from 3-point range against the Huskies.
“He’s been going through a rough patch like everybody does,” Steele said, “but I’ve got all the belief in the world in Nate. He’s one of the best shooters I’ve ever coached.”
–Field Level Media
