DePaul vs. St. John’s analysis: The Red Storm's Crossover Examination

St. John’s held a slim lead at halftime on Wednesday against DePaul, but after the break, the Red Storm led by D’Angelo Harrison expanded their lead and went on to win 86-78.

Towards the end of the contest, DePaul cut St. John’s lead to 78-73, with the help of Tommy Hamilton and Bill Garrett Jr who scored 18 points apiece.

D’Angelo Harrison scored a season-high 33 points, and also had 10 rebounds for the Johnnies.

Phil Greene notched 18 points and Sir'Dominic Pointer along with Rysheed Jordan each scored 15 points for St. John’s.

St. John’s box:

Courtesy of Kenpom.com

DePaul box:

Courtesy of Kenpom.com

Objective Observations:

• St. John’s split the regular season series against DePaul.
• D’Angelo Harrison exploded on Wednesday, with a double-double performance of 33 points and 10 rebounds. Harrison was 10-14 from all areas on the floor, 6-8 from three point range, and 7-7 from the foul line.
• Sir’Dominic Pointer also put up a double-double performance for the Johnnies. Pointer finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks.
• Rysheed Jordan garnered almost all of his 15 points from foul shots, as he was 10-14 from the charity stripe. Jordan also finished with seven rebounds and four assists.
• St. John’s head coach Steve Lavin only called on his bench for a few occasions, utilizing Jamal Branch and Amir Alibegovic who played for less than 20 combined minutes.
• As a team, St. John’s shot 52% from all areas of the floor, 57% from the three point and 75% from the foul line.
• The Red Storm allowed DePaul to score more points than usual on them, giving up 78 points. St. John’s average points allowed this season is 66.

What it means:

St. John’s has won back-to-back games for the first time since December. This time around against DePaul, St. John’s made sure to right the ship early in the contest. D’Angelo Harrison’s eruption on the court could not have come at a better time, leading the Johnnies to a much needed win.

St. John’s is now in the final stretch of their season, with seven crucial games remaining on the their schedule. The Red Storm’s next game will take them on the road to the Cintas Arena in Cincinnati on Saturday to face Xavier.