How St. John’s basketball can pull off upset against Villanova

St. John’s basketball must win the rebounding battle

The one negative about Villanova is that they aren’t a big team.

Neither is St. John’s, but the Johnnies can put the tallest player on the floor in Isaih Moore at 6-foot-11.

Moore sometimes enjoys himself too much on the perimeter but he has to live, and dominate, in the paint when Mike Anderson inserts him into action on Wednesday night.

St. John’s loses the rebounding battle by an average of 2.2 boards per game while Villanova wins the battle on the backboards by 2.6 rebounds per game.

If the Johnnies want to come away with a victory they must control the glass, something Virginia Tech did in its victory over the Wildcats.

Jermaine Samuels and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl are the two leading rebounders for the ‘Cats, combining to average 13.4 rebounds per game as Robinson-Earl is the taller between the two at 6-foot-9.

Julian Champagnie is the leading rebounder for St. John’s but the Red Storm average 1.3 more rebounds per game than Villanova.

It’ll be dependent on Josh Roberts, Julian Champagnie, and the rest front-court to control the glass in hopes of an upset.