EWB local bracketology: SJU leads area teams into March Madness
By Ed Stein
St. Johns Red Storm
At this point, it’s fair to say that the St. John’s Red Storm have made the field. Despite their recent schizophrenic performances, they have won 20 games so far this season (20-8). Additionally, they are 8-7 in Big East Conference play. Recently SJU defeated the defending National Champion Villanova Wildcats.
The Red Storm are at the top of most conference offensive stats. They have five players averaging double-digit points. Junior guard Shamorie Ponds has been their main man this season. The Brooklyn Native leads the team in points (19.7 per game), assists (5.1 per game), and steals (2.7 per game). He is also fifth on the team with 4.6 boards per game.
Most mock brackets have Chris Mullin‘s team somewhere between a seven and nine seed. That may change either way in the next few weeks. With three more conference games remaining the Johnnies can solidify their seed in both the Big East Tournament and NCAA Tournament.
SJU is currently in third place in the Big East and has a 3-1 combined record over the top two (Marquette and Nova). A run to the Conference Tournament Finals could land them a top-four seed come March Madness.
No other local teams are guaranteed at this point. We’ll go conference by conference to assess other area team’s chances.