The Duke Basketball team will play a rare non-conference game in February against the St. John’s Red Storm from Cameron Indoor Stadium.
It’s the return game of a home and home series that began last season in disappointing fashion for the Duke Blue Devils.
Duke went north to Madison Square Garden to face St. John’s who was riding an 11-game losing streak.
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The Johnnies erased a seven point halftime deficit to stun the Blue Devils, but the difference from last year to this year, Duke has entirely new starting five.
The Blue Devils have three players on the roster this season that entered that February game last season, Jack White, Marques Bolden, and Javin DeLaurier.
Bolden was the only player to provide positive minutes with four points and six rebounds in just ten minutes.
To go along with the victory last year, St. John’s also holds a place in the Duke record books as the last non-conference opponent to beat the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium in 2000.
In that game, the Blue Devils, No. 2 in the country, hosted an unranked St. John’s team, and on Saturday, the No. 2 ranked Blue Devils will also ranked an unranked St. John’s team.
However, do not be fooled by the Red Storm not being ranked as the Johnnies did crack the Top 25 three weeks ago at No. 24.
While St. John’s retains the same core from last season of Shamorie Ponds, Marvin Clark, and Justin Simon, the Red Storm have not seen a team this season like the Duke Blue Devils, specifically Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett.
Ponds is the leader of this St. John’s team averaging 20.9 points per game, but the junior from Brooklyn, New York has yet to see a defender this year like Tre Jones. On the other hand, the argument could be made that Jones has not seen a more lethal offensive point guard like Ponds the season.
The matchup between Shamorie Ponds and Tre Jones is one of the best one-on-one matchups you will see all season.
Jones is one of, if not the, best on-ball defender in the country and his ability to pick Ponds up for the length of the floor could go a long way in deciding who will win this game.
Due to a lack of size, St. John’s has gotten killed on the backboard in Big East play and that should continue on Saturday against the Blue Devils.
Sedee Keita is the tallest player listed on the St. John’s roster at six-feet-nine-inches, while the Blue Devils have four players over that high in Bolden, DeLaurier, Antonio Vrankovic, and Justin Robinson, although the latter two don’t receive many minutes.
Some notable big men St. John’s has played this season are Georgetown’s Jessie Govan and Villanova’s Eric Paschall.
In the first matchup with the Red Storm, Govan posted 25 points and 10 rebounds while scoring 20 points and grabbing nine rebounds in the second matchup.
Paschall has the body type more of like a Zion Williamson, but Paschall bullied his way in the paint against St. John’s with 25 points and eight rebounds.
While St. John’s seems to be finding its footing after a road win against Creighton on Wednesday night, the Blue Devils will still be too much for the Johnnies on Saturday afternoon.
St. John’s has had issues with foul trouble this season and that should continue on Saturday especially down low against Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett.
The Red Storm are still desperate and very athletic which could cause some trouble for Duke, but the Blue Devils will prevail in the end.
The Blue Devils and Red Storm will tipoff at 12:00 pm ET from Cameron Indoor Stadium and the game can be seen on ESPN.
PREDICTION: Duke 87, St. John’s 74
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