St. John’s forced 19 turnovers against Iona on Sunday and led by 31 at halftime. When Colgate visits Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday, watch how often the Raiders get the ball to Andrew Alekseyenko with time to make a play. The earlier he gets a touch, the more options Colgate has before the Red Storm can turn up the pressure again.
What happens when Colgate gets through the pressure?
Ian Jackson hit three early threes in the Red Storm’s 104–65 win over Iona, Tounde Yessoufou scored 23 and Quinn Ellis handed out 11 assists. St. John’s made 13 of 28 from deep. Iona had to deal with pressure at one end while the Red Storm kept scoring at the other. Those two strengths show up in our team grades, too, with an A on defense and an A-plus on offense.
St. John’s was favored by 28.5 in the DraftKings snapshot. The Iona game shows how that kind of margin can open up. The 78–63 win over Monmouth shows how much less room the Red Storm have to pull away when their own scoring slows. Colgate has several options if it can get into its offense early. Sam Wright scored 21 and Alekseyenko had 20 points, 14 rebounds and four assists in a 77–74 loss at Drexel. Josh Ahayere added 18 points and five assists. Getting the ball to Alekseyenko early gives him time to score or find one of those other options if help comes.
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How much scoring will St. John’s have to supply?
The 156.5 total sits between the 141 points in the Monmouth game and the 169 against Iona. Across those first two games, St. John’s allowed 63 and 65. Nearly all the difference came from the Red Storm’s own scoring. Colgate scored 74 at Drexel and 76 at Washington, where the Huskies put up 90 to bring the combined score to 166. If the Raiders can get clean looks through the pressure, they can contribute to the total while keeping the margin closer. If those possessions end in turnovers or rushed shots, getting past 156.5 may depend on another big scoring night from St. John’s.
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