St. John’s slides back to .500 after ugly loss to Villanova at Garden

A immense crowd. Momentum aft a large upset. Friday nighttime astatine the Garden.

And St. John’s wasted each of it successful an ugly, buzz-sapping violative show that made its awesome caller play look similar a mirage. 

It couldn’t sprout straight. It couldn’t clasp onto the ball. It crumbled successful crunch time. Villanova wasn’t precise bully itself, and intelligibly isn’t the aforesaid Villanova it was nether Jay Wright, but the Wildcats did capable to implicit a play expanse of the Johnnies with a 57-49 triumph astatine the Garden.

Villanova took bid with a 16-5 tally precocious successful the 2nd fractional successful which St. John’s went without a constituent for a dismal agelong of 4 minutes, 42 seconds. St. John’s couldn’t get the shot to Joel Soriano. It couldn’t make bully shots. Too galore possessions ended successful turnovers oregon mediocre attempts arsenic the changeable timepiece was winding down. It managed conscionable 3 points implicit the last 6:47.

St. John’s Red Storm defender AJ Storr (2) drives betwixt Villanova Wildcats guardant Cam Whitmore (22) and guardant Trey Patterson (3) during the archetypal fractional connected Friday nighttime astatine Madison Square Garden.Robert Sabo/New York Post

The Johnnies committed 17 turnovers, 4 by Andre Curbelo. The team’s different constituent guard, Posh Alexander, wasn’t successful the crippled for astir of crunch time. They changeable 32 percent from the field. The half-court discourtesy was acold excessively often aimless and without direction. And truthful aft wins implicit Butler and then-No. 6 Connecticut, Mike Anderson’s squad is backmost to quadrate one, thee games nether .500 successful Big East play. 

Soriano led St. John’s with 14 points and 16 rebounds and Dylan Addae-Wusu had 12. Caleb Daniels had 16 for Villanova. 

The commencement was ominous. St. John’s turned the shot implicit and Soriano appeared to wounded his near knee, staying down connected the level for respective seconds. He yet limped down tribunal and came out. Fortunately, it wasn’t superior and the large antheral ended up playing the full crippled aft sitting for a fewer minutes.

Red Storm halfway Joel Soriano (11) reacts aft helium falls to the level going for a rebound during the archetypal fractional against Villanova Friday nighttime astatine Madison Square Garden.Robert Sabo/New York Post

Neither squad could get overmuch done offensively for overmuch of the archetypal half. St. John’s committed 4 turnovers successful the archetypal 3:34. At the nether under-12 timeout, neither squad was successful treble figures. At 1 point, they were a combined 8-for-31 with 14 turnovers. It was 28-all, and some teams had to beryllium feeling good, considering their respective violative issues. 

Soriano acceptable the code retired of the break, scoring connected consecutive plays arsenic St. John’s went up by four. But it ne'er could propulsion way. 

Before the game, St. John’s announced postgraduate elder Montez Mathis (toe) volition beryllium retired for the remainder of the season.