New York – The opening advice was secured by St. JohnWhat is revealed during the 25 seconds that followed, it may be remembered as the quarter -finals of the large eastern championship that is unbalanced between Red storm Butter, a talented, talented competitor who only managed three points in the first seven minutes and never recovered from there.
But with this initial possession, at least a segment of conspiracies came when examined by the broader lens of the St. John season in general. The ninth seed, Baldougs, who defeated George Town in the opening round on Wednesday, unveiled a 1-3-1 aggressive area stationed on a nervous striker, Patrick Apple (6-9, 215 pounds) near Midokort as metaphor spears. The red storm surprised, according to the main coach, Rick Betino Kadari Richmond19.4 % ocean. Wears the ball from the bottom of the back panel without grazing the edge. “Pass the ball!” Betino shouted from his bumper near Midcourt, outside the training fund, which he did not include effectively. He fooled the defensive recovery and set out in the other direction.
“Saint Jones is a rhythm team,” said Bater coach Thaad Matta. “I mean, they will do what they are. And if they don’t get what they want, they have some unbelievable players. We thought that the area could slow them a little.”
At that moment – the shortest between the breaks, as it turned out – the Al -Baladgh team investigated what many see as the only weakness of the amazing St. John team, otherwise, the winners won the title of the ordinary east season for the first time since 1985, which was also the last time in the red storm raised a player in the association of the year until he shoots the shoot RJ Lewis The son enjoyed this opportunity earlier this week. But despite all the prizes that Saint John already collected in the Biteno II season at the head, a list that includes Beteno himself gets the conference coach’s award for the first time in his amazing career, the red storm is still among the worst 3 points in the country. Biteno entered Thursday with Bater, which achieved only 29.9 % of its attempts behind the arc, a rate ranked 344 out of 364 teams in the first section.
What will happen, critics asked, if St. John faced a opponent simply dared to the red storm to shoot from behind the bow, whether it is in the big East Championship or any mad environment in March? What will happen, these people themselves asked, if the surrounding drought that continued in the red storm season was more dry than that when it was more important? “He is the best team in the league in what they are doing,” Jim Calhoon, former UNCONN coach, said in a conversation with Fox Sports on Wednesday evening. “But you are wondering about the shooting.”
Being the best in the league in what they do means that opponents of anger who have an endless wave of defensive pressure-sometimes from a completely feverish variety-then hit them on the glass and in the paint alike, the antidote that led them to 27 wins for the normal season and the number 1 in Madison Square Park this week despite the presence of 3 points. Pitino’s replacement to shoot the effective ocean was to involve its team with durability, perseverance and strength of will.
Thus, even in the afternoon, when Bater used a defensive chart for a single purpose, the exploitation of the most obvious red storm, with the Matta application intermittently 1-3-1 throughout the match, it was not possible to stop Menagerie from the Pitino’s Makeles. The red storm made enough pomegranate 3 (7 versus 20) to keep pace with the budget group of archers in the Berbag, which led to the abolition of one of the only potential features of Petler. In the extensions when the deep players did not fall, St. John retreated towards the edge instead of 44 points in the paint and 15-0 at the fast break points. The Pitino team never lagged at the end of the end of 78-57, as it advanced to the semi-finals to face Market, ranked No. 5.
“I think he is choosing a fish,” said Louis, who scored 20 points in the match and grabbed seven courses. “Either you let us play in the man, and strike you from the apostasy. Or if you are playing the area, you will give up a lot of an offensive rebound, and this is what we do well.
“Every time we go to this floor as one team, as a unit, we want to go out and be the best team. We want to deserve that number 1 and continue to play hard and not to take any games that are rejected by it, as you know? [we should] Play this game as the last, and I think this is what we did. “
In the estimation of Saint John’s earnings, ranked No. 1, the crowd of the righteous storm of the overwhelming red was filled with nearly the Madison Square crowd to the rafters at lunch on a working day-a kind of sentence that appeared ridiculous before Betino arrived before the 2023-24 campaign.
It is the Pitino, who injected this fans’ base and the city in the joy of basketball in a season that witnessed St. John’s rise to sixth in the national classification. It is why a middle -aged man wears a liturgy jacket from the red storm embroidered in a detailed form, which is the words of the Big East that he drew directly on his scalp, surrounded by Jersey numbers from this year’s stars. The reason is that this building reached a temperature when one of the greatest players in the history of the program and Walter Berry was honored in Midcourt. Without stimulating Beteno for great feeding in the east, there were not enough people in the square to salute a legend from yesterday warmly. When Lewis accepted the prize for the best player in the league on Wednesday afternoon, he jokingly said that Perry was “cute enough to give me” after protecting honor for 40 years, and this was waiting for another star from the red storm.
“We haven’t finished,” Louis said during the admission speech.
Nothing about Thursday’s victory over Bater suggested that St. John be stopped anytime. Not when Richmond approaches three times with 15 points, nine passes and eight counterators to finish 27 minutes of playing time. It is not when Lewis is interested in the edge to eager down the more offensive heights (three) than anyone outside Zuby EjioforThe starting center. Not when the red storm seat is cut at 20 points in 9-FOR-19, 14 rebounds wandered, including four on the offensive side that contributed to 20 points for the team. Not when you offer power Harun Scott He bury 3 consecutive throws and pays the progress of Saint John to 23 with a little more than three minutes remaining.
It was at that time when the rest of the garden gathered to his feet on a loud applause. “Let’s go Junis!” They chanted. Almost everything about this quarter -finals had gone properly.
“Basically, I told the players that the five -star performance is Michael Jordan’s performance,” Betino said to start his press conference after the game, “We were in four stars tonight.”
Michael Cohen covers university football and university basketball for Fox Sports. Follow it on Twitter @michael_cohen13.
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