A lot has been made of St. John’s 3-point shooting, its struggles to knock down perimeter shots, particularly since conference play has begun.
What has flown under the radar, however, is how exactly the Johnnies have continued to win despite that problem refusing to go away: Their defense.
More than halfway through the regular season, Rick Pitino’s team is guarding like no St. John’s team has for two decades. Currently, the Red Storm are in rarefied air for them, rated seventh in adjusted defensive efficiency by the analytic website KenPom.com. Since the site was launched in 1997, St. John’s high-water mark at the end of a season in its defensive rating was 17th in 2006.
St. John’s is third nationally in blocks per game (6.3), tied for 22nd in forcing turnovers (16.0), 20th in steals (9.8) and 27th in two-point field goal percentage defense (44.9). They are allowing only 67.4 points per game despite playing at the 52nd-fastest pace in the country, according to KenPom. St. John’s five league foes have scored a combined 51.6 points below their regular season average against the Johnnies. They are not fun to face.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
