St. John’s basketball continues makeover amid scheduling chaos

St. John’s basketball is continuing its non-conference scheduling makeover amid chaos in the sport.

Everyone said that scheduling in the 2020-21 college basketball season would be a nightmare and the St. John’s basketball program is experiencing that in the early stages of the year.

COVID-19 positive cases forced cancellations against Sacred Heart and Fordham and then the Red Storm announced on Monday that it would not be making the trip to Lubbock, Texas on Thursday to face Texas Tech over concerns about the virus.

Head coach Mike Anderson and the Johnnies adjusted on the fly and will remain in Connecticut at Mohegan Sun Arena and face BYU in the Legend Classic, which has shifted from a tournament style to single game matchups.

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Slated to play Sacred Heart on Sunday afternoon in Queens, sources have said that Stony Brook is a likely replacement for the Pioneers in a game that would take place at 2:00pm EST in Queens.

The women’s program is also scheduled to play at Carnesecca Arena against Villanova on Sunday, but that game has been pushed back from 6:00pm EST to 7:00pm EST in order for the building to be cleaned and sanitized, should the men’s game take place.

St. John’s is also looking for a replacement for its matchup against Fordham, scheduled for Tuesday, December 8 but no opponent has been confirmed, although Rider seems like a strong candidate to possibly make the trip to Queens.

St. John’s basketball looking to tighten things up before conference play

Following its 97-93 victory against Boston College, St. John’s still has plenty of things to work on against BYU, specifically its late game strategies and execution.

However, the Johnnies are hoping for a return of Rasheem Dunn, who did not make the trip to Connecticut after suffering a concussion on opening night against St. Peter’s.

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Dunn will not play against BYU, but his availability remains to be seen going forward as he is still in  the concussion protocol.

The Red Storm will open Big East play on the road against UConn on December 11, and St. John’s will be the first team to play Butler on December 14 following the end of quarantine for the Bulldogs, who had to pause team activities after opening day following a positive test.