The Big East is known for its tough, physical in-conference matchups. Two defense-driven coaches with two defense-driven teams squared off at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, with physicality as the theme and first place in the conference on the line as Marquette(18-4, 9-2 Big East) took on St. John’s(19-3, 10-1 Big East).
Rick Pitino has brought St. John’s back to relevancy both in the conference and on a national spectrum. St. John’s entered Tuesday as the #12 team in the country, with some argument that they should be even higher. Marquette, who has struggled offensively lately, would have their hands full with Pitino’s squad from the jump.
The first half was ripe with physicality. And fouls. Lots of fouls. Referees in the Big East are known for “letting them play,” but at some point you have to keep the game under control. As expected, both teams came out aggressive on the defensive end. With Marquette’s recent offensive struggles, Shaka Smart’s squad knew they would have to play it tight and force turnovers. Unfortunately for them, this led to quick and early foul trouble with their star, Kam Jones. Jones picked up two fouls in the first 5 minutes and quickly headed to the bench. His early replacement, Trae Norman, picked up two fouls of his own in the next four. Having to lean on the depth of the bench early yielded mixed results.
St. John’s was able to maintain a rotating 2-3 zone against Marquette in the first half, limiting paint touches and forcing Marquette into long offensive sets. One of the bench players to step up for the Golden Eagles was sophomore Zaide Lowery. One of the few who found success early, Lowery scored a team-high 10 points in the first half with two makes from long distance and two impressive dribble-drives into the St. John’s zone. On the other end, UMass Junior transfer RJ Luis Jr. found success for St. John’s, scoring a team-high 12 points in the opening session. Marquette would pace most of the half behind an improved 57% shooting and a +2 turnover margin, but would get obliterated on the glass 22-11, and an astounding 11-0 on the offensive glass. Second chances would keep the Johnnies in the mix, as Marquette lead by just 1 at half.
With Kam Jones picking up his third foul late in the first half, Marquette was forced to continue to play off the bench and the substitution game, subbing in Jones off of timeouts and stoppages where Marquette possessed the ball. Jones would pick it up offensively in the second half, but Marquette’s aggressiveness on the defensive end would continue to create even more foul trouble. Four Marquette players would reach 4 fouls, with David Joplin eventually fouling out as the Golden Eagles threw everything they had at stopping the St. John’s physicality in the paint.
The well-traveled grad student, Kadary Richmond, was one of those having success in the paint for St. John’s in the second half. Richmond was able to impose his will with his physical, driving play, drawing all of those fouls while getting to the rim. Since losing the lead, every time Marquette got the game back to one possession, Richmond seemed to get another physical bucket. St. John’s would also continue to clean up on the glass, grabbing a whopping 50 rebounds in total and outrebounding Marquette 21-5 in offensive rebounds.
Within striking distance for the entirety, Marquette couldn’t quite get their stars going to put them over the top. Stevie Mitchell had just 2 points and 1 assist, David Joplin only scored 5, and Ben Gold only attempted 3 shots. Kam Jones did end up with 15 points with some key buckets in the lane to keep it close late, but in total, St. John’s was able to continue to play stout and smart defense, rebound the basketball, and score enough points in the paint to take home a 70-64 victory and first place in the Big East standings.
As far as physical Big East battles in the Garden go, this one was worth the price of admission. Rebounds and foul trouble did Marquette in, and with a statement win, St. John’s proved that they will be more than a handful down the stretch. Marquette drops their first back-to-back games of the season and falls to 18-5 overall and third place in the Big East at 9-3.
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Next up: Marquette remains on the road to take on Creighton in Omaha on Saturday at 1pm CST on FOX
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