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

St. John’s lost to Butler on the road Tuesday 85-62, with Bulldogs forward Kellen Dunham scoring 21 points in the win.

D’Angelo Harrison had a mere 10 points, but became the third St. John’s player of all time to score 2,000 career points.

Sir’Dominic Pointer was the leading scorer for the Johnnies with 19 points, and  Rysheed Jordan racked up 17 points in the contest.

Butler dominated throughout the game, leading 36-28 at the half, and continued to control the game in the second half.

This is the Red Storm's seventh loss in their last ten games. This was also the Red Storm’s  biggest loss in terms of the point margin since 2013, when they were beat by Notre Dame by 26.

St. John’s box:

Courtesy of Kenpom.com

Butler box:

Courtesy of Kenpom.com

Objective Observations:

• Butler completed the regular season sweep of St. John’s this season in conference play.
• The Red Storm gave up 85 points to the Bulldogs. St. John’s average points allowed is 66 points per game.
• The Johnnies were outrebounded 40-28 versus Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
• St. John’s shot 37% from all areas of the floor, 17% from three point range, and 65% from the foul line.
• Although Rysheed Jordan had 17 points in the game, he shot 6-21 from the field and 1-7 from three.
• Butler shot 56% from the field on St. John’s.
• Jamal Branch, Felix Balamou, and Amir Alibegovic all played significant minutes off the bench due to the team’s foul trouble.
• Balamou scored a season-high six points on Tuesday.

What it means:

St. John’s individual efforts were not enough to stop a balanced Butler attack, as St. John’s lost yet another Big East game. The Red Storm’s disjointed offensive attack can be isolated to just two players with little to no impact on the team as a whole.

St. John’s will take on Creighton at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, giving them a chance to rebound from an ugly loss. There is still a chance for them to put up a winning record in the Big East and finish successfully, but right now it looks unlikely as St. John’s languishes at the bottom of the standings in the Big East.