Tournament Worries St. John’s : College basketball: Redmen are concerned about recent failures in Big East postseason.
NEW YORK — Considering the rich basketball legacy of the institution, it is understandable that St. John’s would be reluctant to promote a trend that threatens to become a tradition. For all the games the Redmen have won and all the honors they have earned -- including the election of their coach to the Hall of Fame -- over the last five years, there is a development that has been difficult to swallow and impossible to dismiss. On a day that left them eager to look ahead, they faced the sobering prospect of their recent history in the Big East tournament.
Not that a reminder was necessary, but St. John’s, whose success was one of the pillars upon which the conference was built, has lost its first game in the postseason tournament in every year since 1987. All those defeats have occurred at Madison Square Garden, which doubles as the school’s home court during much of the regular season. If the seniors on this team aren’t talking about past failures in the wake of Saturday’s frustrating 78-71 shortfall against Seton Hall, that’s because they expect others to raise the issue.
“It’s already well-known,†said Malik Sealy, the brilliant forward who concluded his final regular-season campaign with a 27-point performance. “And it will be the talk in the papers and the talk around campus (this week).â€
Alas, St. John’s hasn’t been able to win the little one, for those who accept the notion that any Big East tournament encounter is small potatoes. To the Redmen’s credit, they occasionally have been able to right themselves after the annual pratfall, most notably a year ago when they ran off three convincing victories in the NCAA Tournament.
“Last year,†Coach Lou Carnesecca observed, “we were ready to put the balls away and then went VROOM.†All the way to the Midwest Regional final.
While another stumble on Friday night wouldn’t be fatal, it would be disappointing for a team that achieved a share of the regular-season title for the first time since the 1985-86 squad went 14-2 in Big East competition. The latter group, it should be noted, won the conference tournament championship for the second time in school history. Sealy and his classmates -- Jason Buchanan, Chucky Sproling, Terence Mullin and the injured Rob Werdann -- don’t want the negative distinction of a fourth consecutive fadeout at the Garden.
There is a simple remedy for what has befallen the Redmen in previous years. “We just have to win,†Sealy said. And he didn’t think Saturday’s loss, which dropped St. John’s to third seed for this week’s event, reduced the team’s chances.
“We know that we can win in the conference,†he said. “(Saturday) we had a setback but this team has recovered from setbacks before. Even though we lost today, we have confidence we can play a lot better.â€
Certainly, the second half was conducive to that confidence, especially in light of the first-half follies. In the first 20 minutes, the normally sure-handed Redmen were charged with 12 turnovers. That and a .333 shooting performance contributed to a 36-25 deficit. “We couldn’t get out of each other’s way,†Carnesecca lamented.
After falling behind by 18 points four minutes into the second half, the Redmen rallied to cause the Pirates more than a little trepidation at the end. The keys were better control of the ball and outstanding shooting by Sealy and Buchanan. It was a relief for both, who have had their problems from the field this season.
Although Sealy is poised to surpass Chris Mullin as St. John’s all-time scoring leader in the event the Redmen enjoy an extended postseason, the burden of carrying most of the offense appears to have worn on him. His field-goal percentage of .468 before Saturday’s game was the lowest of his career. His second-half effort, which included 7-for-8 shooting and a stretch in which he accounted for nine consecutive St. John’s points, went a long way to alleviating doubts.
“It’s been a while since I shot the way I did today,†he conceded. “But I didn’t handle the ball well. I made some turnovers that were not exemplary of Malik Sealy’s play, especially the last one.â€
Go beyond the scoreboard
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