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Chris Mullin and the St. John’s Red Storm (1-0) play host to the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils Tuesday evening at Carnesecca Arena, as the Red Storm look to improve to 2-0 for the second straight season.
How to watch, listen, or stream
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
TV: FS2 (Dave Sims, Jim Spanarkel)
Radio: 970 AM WNYM
Streaming: FOX Sports Go
Gamblin’ Info
Line: St. John’s (-24.5)
O/U: Opened at 149.5, but is up to 151
Series History
St. John’s has a 1-0 all-time lead over Central Connecticut, but the game was a memorable one. On November 24, 1990, Malik Sealy led the Red Storm with a Carnesecca Arena record 43 points en route to St. John’s scoring a school record 135 points against the Blue Devils.
Preview
After an impressive 77-61 victory over New Orleans to open the season, the St. John’s Red Storm look to make it two in a row as the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils come to town.
A lot of things went right for the Red Storm in the season-opening victory, but perhaps nothing stood out more than their ability to turn their opponents’ mistakes into points. St. John’s had a staggering 36 points off 21 New Orleans turnovers, as Marcus LoVett, Justin Simon, and Marvin Clark combined for eight steals.
LoVett led the way with 23 points, but Clark’s 15 and Bashir Ahmed’s 12 were vital, as well. Not to mention, Shamorie Ponds’ 12 points, seven rebounds, and six assists showed that the sophomore guard can still do it all, even when he’s not the first (or second, or third) leading scorer. It was just one game against a mid-major team, but it’s evident that St. John’s has the potential to be far better in many facets this season.
Meanwhile, on the other sideline, something odd is going on. Central Connecticut State is coached by UConn legend Donyell Marshall. Well... usually. Marshall missed the first two games, and will miss this one, due to what the university is calling a “personnel matter”. Per the Hartford Courant, there was some sort of altercation between Marshall and assistant Anthony Anderson.
Given the strife, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Blue Devils are 0-2 to start the year. They took a season-opening loss to Hartford, then fell to Rutgers on Sunday. It’s not ideal, and it’s a game St. John’s should fairly easily win to send the Blue Devils to 0-3. One player to watch for CCSU is Tyler Kohl, who had 22 points against Hartford and 21 against Rutgers to go along with eight rebounds in both games. He has also made six threes already this year.