Men's Basketball Midweek Game of the Week: St. John's at Xavier
Sean Miller and Rick Pitino will be on the same court competing against each other on a Wednesday night Big East matchup...this is what college basketball is all about.
St. John's Red Storm center Joel Soriano (11) flexes after scoring in the second half against the Villanova Wildcats at Madison Square Garden.
Pitino's St. John's squad was the victim of three straight losses before its 20-point destruction of Villanova on January 24. Senior and New York native center Joel Soriano has been the Red Storm's best scorer this season, averaging just over 16 points per contest, and his 21-point outing was more than enough to trounce the Wildcats. He is also averaging a shade under ten boards per game. In the team's three consecutive losses to Creighton, Seton Hall, and Marquette, Soriano averaged just 10 points per game. Soriano is St. John's X-Factor.
Alongside Soriano is point guard Daniss Jenkins, who averages 13.1 points per game and 5.8 assists per game. His assist average is good enough for 27th in the country, and according to KenPom.com, Jenkins is 22nd in the country in assist rate. In each of St. John's conference wins, he has distributed at least five assists. As his points average indicates, he is also a capable scorer for his team.
On Xavier's side of the ball, the backcourt duo of Quincy Olivari and Desmond Claude is one of the best in the entire country. Olivari averages 17.8 points per game, while Claude adds 16 points per game of his own, meaning the two of them together score 33.8 points per game. The Musketeers have a team score of 75.8 points per game. In the team's last win, which was over a week ago, the duo scored 46 points to squeeze out a one-point victory over Georgetown.
These two Big East rivals have seen each other already this season, and in front of its own crowd, the Red Storm emerged victorious in an 81-66 outcome. Olivari and Claude showed up scoring 13 points and 21 points, respectively, and freshman Trey Green added 10 points, but outside of those three, the Musketeers got nothing. St. John's had five guys in double figures, including Soriano, who scored 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, dished out five assists, and finished with six blocks. That is one of the best stat lines I have seen from any player in the country all season.
Xavier is coming off of a terrible 43-point loss to UConn, so a bounce-back is needed. Slowing down Soriano is going to be difficult for the Musketeers to do, but they are going to have to. Olivari and Claude will need help, and they will have to limit the impact that playmaker Jenkins has. This is Xavier's first home game since January 19 so fans will be there eager to see the team wash away the embarrassment of its massive loss to the Huskies.
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