St. John’s basketball Key to Victory No. 1 – Defend the 3-point line
Since Mike Anderson has taken over at St. John’s, his pressing style defense has been susceptible to corner 3-pointers and Xavier is at its best when it is hitting the triple.
As a team the Musketeers are shooting 37.2-percent from 3-point range but don’t let that number trick you as Xavier is lethal from behind the arc.
Xavier hit 13 3-pointers in its victory over Oakland, 19 in its win over Oklahoma, and 13 in the buzzer-beater thriller over Marquette.
Nate Johnson leads the way with a 50.9-percent (28-of-55) shooting clip from downtown and sophomore big man Zach Freemantle has shown the ability to step beyond the arc and shooting the 3-point ball well at 41.2-percent (13-of-34).
Kyky Tandy shoots 40.2-percent (17-of-42) from 3-point territory and Paul Scruggs is shooting 37.8-percent (17-of-45) from deep.
St. John’s must have guards such as Rasheem Dunn, Posh Alexander, and Greg Williams Jr. be active and communicating on the defensive end and when Xavier is able to break the Red Storm’s press, it will be imperative that those guard get back quickly on defense and the forwards are able to step out on the perimeter and contest shots.
If Xavier starts hitting 3-pointers at a high percentage early, don’t be surprised to see the Red Storm abandon the press and drop into a half-court defense.