Sliding St. John's trying to reverse course vs. struggling DePaul

Field Level Media|published: Mon 5th February, 16:42 2024

Feb 3, 2024; New York, New York, USA; St. John's Red Storm guard Daniss Jenkins (5) drives past Connecticut Huskies guard Hassan Diarra (10) in the second half at Madison Square Garden. credits: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

St. John's is mired in its worst rut of the season, though not nearly as long as DePaul's slide.

Looking to avoid a sixth loss in seven games, the Red Storm can hand the visiting Blue Demons an 11th consecutive defeat Tuesday night in Big East play at Elmont, N.Y.

St. John's (13-9, 5-6 Big East) won four straight from Dec. 30-Jan. 10, with the last three against league foes Butler, Villanova and Providence. However, the Red Storm have dropped five of six since, including the last two at Xavier and at home to No. 1 UConn by a combined 24 points.

During Saturday's 77-64 loss to UConn, St. John's saw the Huskies shoot 49.0 percent while being outrebounded 38-23 and going 4 of 14 from 3-point range.

"We're not a great basketball team," Red Storm coach Rick Pitino said. "We've just got to play better. We have to improve as a team."

St. John's has averaged 68.8 points, shot 25 percent from 3 and allowed 43.6 percent shooting in the last six games, but has a good chance to turn things around against the reeling Blue Demons.

DePaul (3-19, 0-11) must try to avoid losing 11 straight for a second consecutive season. It's also 0-23 in Big East play since a 73-72 win over then-No. 8 Xavier on Jan. 18, 2023.

In their last eight league contests, the Blue Demons have averaged 61.4 points and allowed 50.5 percent shooting while losing by an average margin of 24.6 points. DePaul yielded 47 first-half points and 11 total 3s during Saturday's 93-68 loss to Xavier.

"This group is really trying," interim DePaul coach Matt Brady said. "I think the most valuable thing is to keep these guys' attitude where they know they can win the next game."

DePaul's Da'Sean Nelson averaged 11.9 points in his first 16 games, but just 7.7 in the last six. Blue Demons leading scorer Chico Carter Jr. (11.8 points) has missed the past five games with an injury to his ribs.

Meanwhile, Daniss Jenkins (13.9 points) totaled 44 in the last two games for St. John's, which has won three straight versus DePaul. Teammate Joel Soriano (16.1 points, 9.7 rebounds) scored 38 and recorded 30 rebounds in the last two against the Blue Demons.

—Field Level Media