If the NCAA Tournament began today, St. John’s would have to battle through a play-in game against N.C. State just to make the main draw, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.
Yet senior guard D’Angelo Harrison says he firmly believes the Red Storm will go dancing next month.
“It means everything to me and that’s all I want to do,” Harrison told reporters Thursday in advance of Saturday’s game against Seton Hall. “I haven’t done it yet. We have done everything else from the lowest to the highest, so there is no other way to go but up. We are confident in making the [NCAA] Tournament but we need to win Saturday first.”
St. John’s legend Chris Mullin led his team to the Final Four in 1985 and he will be in attendance Saturday to watch his alma mater try to get back on track.
St. John’s (17-9, 6-7 Big East) is coming off a double-digit loss at Georgetown and needs to go at least 3-2 in their remaining five league games to finish at. 500 or above in the conference. That makes the game against the reeling Pirates (15-11, 5-9) a must-win.
As has been well-documented, Seton Hall has lost eight of 10, has seen sophomore guard Jaren Sina depart the program amid reports of a fractured locker room and will be without suspended junior guard Sterling Gibbs, serving a two-game suspension for striking Villanova’s Ryan Arcidiacono in the face.
“It’s going to be a great game despite what has been going on,” St. John’s senior guard Phil Greene IV said of the Pirates. “They have guys from New York, they are going to come out with a lot of energy wanting to beat us. We have to be ready for a dogfight.”
Seton Hall should be desperate for a win given what’s gone in South Orange in recent days and weeks.
“Honestly, to this point every game is dangerous because everybody wants to win,” Harrison said. “No team in the Big East has just laid down. I just want to beat them because they beat us last time. The younger guys on Seton Hall want to get this win, so we just have to come out prepared, play St. John’s basketball and we’ll be alright.”
For the seniors Harrison, Greene IV, Sir’Dominic Pointer and Jamal Branch, this will be the last game of their careers at Carnesecca Arena — a game they want to win.
“I love Carnesecca [Arena],” Harrison said. “It is a different feel from The Garden. I’ve always loved playing there. We practice in there and every time I shoot, I want to shoot in there. [Saturday is] our last game in Carnesecca [Arena] and we will get this W.”
BELGIAN GUARD AKYAZILI TO VISIT
As first reported by SNY.tv, Thomas Akyazili, a 6-2 combo guard from Belgium, will visit St. John’s beginning Sunday and will attend Monday’s Xavier game at Madison Square Garden.
St. John’s coach Steve Lavin has targeted several overseas players to help fill out his 2015 recruiting class, which currently features only Philadelphia guard Samir Doughty and Louisiana guard Brandon Sampson.
In addition to Akyazili, St. John’s is focusing on Italian guard Federico Mussini, Greek big man Georgics Pappagiannis and Italian forward Nicola Akele, now at IMG Academy.
“Los Angeles and New York, UCLA and St. John’s both have global brands that allow us to go coast-to-coast or overseas in recruiting,” Lavin said, referring to his previous stint at UCLA. “The international player finds a New York City or Los Angeles attractive because of the culture, the diversity and the metropolitan aspect that comes with an urban center like New York or Los Angeles.”
