The St. John’s basketball team will be down one man in its backcourt on Saturday afternoon (12:00 p.m. ET, FOX) against Creighton (14-13, 8-8 Big East) as Rick Pitino announced that Ian Jackson will not play due to an ankle injury.
Jackson suffered a right ankle sprain during the Red Storm’s 76-70 win over Marquette on Wednesday night in an attempt to go for a rebound with 6:30 remaining in the first half.
After coming down with the ball, he stepped on the foot of teammate Joson Sanon and Marquette’s Royce Parham, who was called for a foul on the play. Jackson went to the bench and returned to the game, playing about three more minutes in the first half and 11 minutes in the second half.
He did sit for the final 5:31, however.
Currently, he is in a walking boot and there is no timetable for his return. Pitino said on Friday afternoon that Ian Jackson “could” miss multiple games.
“He's got a pretty good ankle sprain,” he explained. “He's in a boot from the other night. "He showed a little toughness, went back and got re-taped and played through pain."
Jackson finished the win with eight points, three rebounds, and three assists.
In a practice last week, he finished with 12 assists and 11 rebounds, something he hasn’t done this season according to Rick Pitino.
“His trajectory is going the right way as a basketball player, learning to do the right things” Pitino continued. “He’s improving the other areas that he was basically missing, so we’re going to miss that because he has improved.”
Rick Pitino would not divulge who will start in Ian Jackson’s place on Saturday. He opted to start Joson Sanon over Oziyah Sellers against the Golden Eagles after Sellers turned his ankle in the win over Providence, although Pitino said that move was made more because to instill confidence in Sanon.
After its bout with the Bluejays, the No. 17 Red Storm (21-5, 14-1 Big East) will travel to No. 5 UConn on Wednesday night before battling Villanova on Saturday night at The Garden.