St. John’s basketball begins postseason against cross-river rival

St. John’s basketball No. 1 Key to Victory – Contain Sandro Mamukelashvili

As strange as it sounds, Seton Hall is the home to one of three Big East Players of the Year in Sandro Mamukelashvili.

Yes, the conference named three separate players as winners of the award but Mamukelashvili is certainly deserving.

The senior forward is averaging 17.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 45.0-percent from the floor and 34.5-percent from three-point range.

Mike Anderson has rotated his coverage on the 6-foot-11 forward between Julian Champagnie, Marcellus Earlington, Dylan Addae-Wusu, Josh Roberts, Isaih Moore, and Arnaldo Toro this season.

Mamukelashvili went for a career-high 32 points against the Johnnies in the first meeting between the teams on 12-of-18 shooting with nine rebounds compared to just 15 points and 10 rebounds on 6-of-13 shooting in the second matchup.

St. John’s has to keep Sandro Mamukelashvili on the fewer side of 20 points if it wants to advance to the semifinals.