DePaul vs. St. John's recap: Red Storm pick up first conference win!

December 13, 2015.

The nation was rife with holiday spirit.

The multi-billion dollar Powerball jackpot was at a paltry $80 million.

St. John's picked up a big victory at Madison Square Garden over the Syracuse Orange. It was the seventh win of the season for the Red Storm, and spirits were bright. Surely with games coming up against Incarnate Word and NJIT, the Red Storm would be able to continue their three-game winning streak, correct?

The Red Storm lost both of those games. Then, lost to South Carolina to close out nonconference play.

Still, though, going into BIG EAST play at 7-6 was a good sign for the young Red Storm. Surely BIG EAST wins would follow.

They didn't.

For two long months, the Red Storm lost every game they played. Sixteen straight losses.

Then, Wednesday night in Queens, St. John's took the floor against DePaul at Carnesecca Arena.

Former Red Storm standout Bill Wennington was in the house for Bill Wennington Bobblehead Night, and it led to a full house.

St. John's fed off of the energy of the crowd all night, defeating the Blue Demons 80-65 to snap their SIXTEEN GAME losing streak.

Here are three things we learned.

There's a light at the end of the tunnel for St. John's

Obviously tonight doesn't change the postseason status of the Red Storm, but it can still go a long way in keeping morale up going into next season. No one wanted to be the team that went 0-fer in conference play, so St. John's needed this. With the bulk of the team returning (including Federico Mussini, Malik Ellison, and Kassoum Yakwe, three of the Red Storm's four leading scorers Wednesday night), plus the additions of Marcus LoVett, Richard Freudenberg, Bashir Ahmed, Tariq Owens, and Shamorie Ponds, the Red Storm should be feeling good going into next season, even if this is their only BIG EAST victory of the season.

Eli Cain can ball

DePaul freshman guard Eli Cain, once again, showed that he could be a legitimate threat in the conference over the next couple years. Cain, averaging 8.9 points per game this season, led the Blue Demons in scoring with a career-high 25 points tonight. Cain was one of two Blue Demons in double figures. Billy Garrett and Eli Cain could be one of the best backcourts in the BIG EAST next season

Looking ahead

Coming off the loss, DePaul will return home on Saturday afternoon to face a Marquette team who they defeated earlier in the season thanks to Billy Garrett's clutch play at the buzzer.

Meanwhile, St. John's will take a short trip to The Garden on Sunday afternoon to face the Seton Hall Pirates, who they fell to last time they met.