An 86-75 loss for St. John’s against Providence in the Red Storm’s season finale did two things. First, it ended the Red Storm’s three-game winning streak at Madison Square Garden. But second, and likely more importantly, it exposed a weakness that Chris Mullin’s young team will have to improve upon if they want to contend next season.
St. John’s was overmatched and, at times, bullied in the front court throughout the entire afternoon. Providence used its superior size down low to absolutely dominate the paint, out-rebounding the Red Storm 44-34 and scoring 42 points in the paint.
“No energy, no pop, everybody was sleep-walking,” Mullin said on his team’s effort.