After a quick 2-0 start, the St. John’s men’s basketball squad fell back into reality, losing five in a row including an embarrassing loss to Delaware State in their last game.
It looked like St. John’s had turned the corner after a hot start, winning their first two games by double digits.
Even when they lost their next four games, there wasn’t much panic, considering the tough proven opponents they played and the fact that St. John’s hung in there, losing by single digits in all of them.
However, in their next and last game, St. John’s lost 79-72 to Delaware State at Carnesecca Arena.
Who? Delaware State?
Delaware State came into the game at 1-5 and was picked 11th in their conference (MEAC), even below Bethune-Cookman, who St. John’s destroyed in the opener.
Delaware State was considered the easiest opponent on the schedule for the Johnnies.
So, this was definitely a disturbing loss for the Red Storm. The defense was especially pitiful as Delaware State shot 60 percent from inside the arc. St. John’s meanwhile shot 45 percent from inside the arc. St. John’s offense also had problems with the zone and only shot eight free throws.
Hopefully, this loss is a wake-up call for this young and more talented Red Storm squad as this season rolls along. Like I mentioned before, this team is much more talented than last year but they’re still young, so they will go through their bumps and bruises and this loss to Delaware State does sort of feel like last season.
There’s no doubt this is a much better team than what we saw a season ago, so there’s no need to completely panic over this — even though the schedule will get tougher. St. John’s is more poised to bounce back with what they have now.
