G'town / SJU Recap

Probably could describe this game in 2 words - complete domination! Not sure my fellow VBB were able to catch this one on TV or not, but in my opinion, it was sort of like watching the training clips of Ivan Drago's sparring sessions from Rocky IV. I just sort of felt bad for St. Johns. Mrs. Stallion opined that the Johnnies resemebled the high school JV team that she played on many years ago. Honestly, after the first timeout, I would have put Roy on a train back to DC to get some sleep. The G'town / St. John's matchup has definitely lost some of the luster since the Sweater Game.

Before going further, Johnny Shades and I discussed the 10 point spread pre-tipoff and Johnny predicted that the Hoyas were set to unload on somebody and that somebody would be St. Johns. Props to Johnny for his bold prediction; I wonder if he bet the spread.
Aside from the solid conference victory, apparently the worst in St. John's history, here are a few of my favorite moments / thoughts of the game -

1. The "Bronx" cheer that rippled through the Garden when the Johnnies hit their second shot of the game (with 4:40 to go in the first 1/2). Incidentally, I had a side bet going w/ Mrs. Stallion as to whether the Johnnies would end the first half with more fouls than points. It was a close one.
2. St. John's Dance team - they put on an effort that was quite nice & worthy of recognition
3. Witnessing Byron Jansen knock down a 3 at the buzzer. That sent the G'town bench up in the air cheering. JT3 even seemed to join the celebration. The Garden erupted for that as well. It sort of reminded me when we witnessed dough boy Brendan's high scoring game.

An honorable mention goes to the dude in The Aeropostale Half-time Shootout who narrowly missed the half-court toss.

Aside from the above which will stick with me for quite some time, I think overall it was clear that the Hoyas needed to blow off some frustration. They played with the most intensity I've seen them exhibit all season. Based on the showing against Rutgers, I was pleaseantly surprised by the intensity they showed. The Defense looked great although it always helps when your opponent shoots 21% from the floor. St. Johns was never permitted to look comfortable and the Hoyas kept them out of sync all night. Some the St. John's shots looked like Yates desparation tosses. But, nonetheless, the defense played solid all game long; however, we did commit a number of dumb fouls.

Those with Knicks affiliation played tough. Ewing Jr threw down a couple of nice dunks & given his pointing to the crowd, appeared to dedicate them to Papa Ewing. Despite only chipping in 5 points, Jeremiah was over the court and some of his 9 boards were nice grabs. On the flip side, Mason Jr had a box score line like his dad with 9 points & 7 boards; however, he didn't rack up enough fouls to bear enough resemblace to the 'Mace in yo face' attitude that his dad brought to the mid-90s Knicks.

Roy was efficient with 11 points in 19 minutes. Had 3 fouls, but I honestly think at times he was duped into playing at the level of the Johnnies. Kudos to JT3 for using him sparingly; he got enough work in to regain his comfort for the Garden but he got a nice night off. Also, his fro is coming in quite nicely.

One area that was interesting to watch was Macklin's play tonight. Based on the various combos on the floor, it looked as if JT3 sat him down during pre-game and told him to run with the game. He looked solid and had 2 very impressive looking dunks, the second of which seemed to elicit the only life out of St. Johns. On one of the next possessions, Mason Jr threw down one of his own dunks in retaliation. Overall, Macklin had a decent night, even went 40% from the line. However, JT3 did have to sit him down for a while in the 2nd half as he picked up his 4th foul with around 8 minutes to go in the game. That makes me a bit nervous - if you nearly foul out of the St. John's game, will he be able to stick around in a closer more meaningful game (especially given the unknown & tenuous nature of Summer's injury)? I'm willing to chalk it up to just being dragged down to the level of your opponent. But, while no doubt that he has the tools, he is still very raw & needs to play smarter.

Hopefully G'town continues the level of play over the remainder of the year. It'd be quite nice to lock down the regular season Big East title.