St. John’s should’ve caught a big break Saturday.
Seventh-ranked Creighton’s best player, Big East Preseason Player of the Year Marcus Zegarowski, was ruled out shortly before tip-off in Omaha, Neb., due to injury.
This, the common thinking went, would give the Red Storm a chance on the road. Instead, Zegarowski’s absence made the Johnnies’ performance even more worrisome.
Creighton toyed with St. John’s, throttling the Red Storm in the paint and on the perimeter. The Bluejays cruised to a 97-79 victory, sending the Johnnies further down the Big East standings with 1-5 conference record (6-6 overall), and making it look like the two teams didn’t belong on the same court.
“From a team standpoint, we just got to be better, honestly,” sophomore star Julian Champagnie said. “We can’t have lulls and mishaps on defense, especially when we’re playing on the road in the No. 7 team in the country’s gym.”
That has been a common refrain this season. St. John’s is last or second-to-last in field goal percentage defense, points allowed and 3-point percentage defense, and the Johnnies are ranked 126th in defensive efficiency by analytics website, KenPom.com.
“We have to get a better defensive mindset,” Champagnie said. “We have to do better defensively.
“We can’t rely on our offense to beat teams. That’s not what we’re going to be about. We’re going to have to be a defensive team.”
The Bluejays (10-2, 6-1) made a mockery of the Red Storm’s pressure defense, committing just 12 turnovers, shooting 54 percent from the field and making 16 attempts from 3-point range.
Creighton scored 56 first-half points, a program record in Big East play, and reached its season average in points of 82 with more than nine minutes remaining. The Johnnies never got closer than 11 the entire second half.
“I feel like that’s kind of where we are right now, in that if our offense isn’t going, the defense isn’t, either,” Champagnie said. “I think that’s our biggest issue right now.”
Most concerning was the inconsistent effort. Creighton frequently had wide open 3-point looks. St. John’s lost most of the 50/50 balls and was repeatedly beaten downcourt, with players jogging instead of sprinting.
“At times I thought our effort was good. It seemed like every loose ball bounced to them,” St. John’s coach Mike Anderson said. “We were right there, but you got to dive on the floor, you got to play with desperation.
“I thought they played like they wanted it a little bit more than we did,” he added, a concerning statement after Wednesday’s frustrating loss at Xavier.
Without Zegarowski, Creighton had balanced scoring, with six players in double figures. Denzel Mahoney led the way with 24 points.
Champagnie, who scored a career-high 33 points, was the one St. John’s player to show up. He didn’t have much help. Second-leading scorer Greg Williams Jr. was held scoreless for the game’s opening 29 minutes. Vince Cole and Isiah Moore combined for eight points on 3-of-15 shooting.
Nobody defended well, as Champagnie pointed out, and now St. John’s returns home after this winless week needing to respond in a major way. The Red Storm are now tied with Georgetown for the most losses in the conference.
“It’s rough to lose, it sucks to lose,” Champagnie said, “but we’re not going to lay down.”