The Red Storm opened their season with a nervy 76-75 win over Saint Peter’s. It was a game where some things went well for St. John’s, but overall, the team did not look cohesive on either end of the court.
Considering that more than half of the team’s minutes were used by players who were not on campus last year, and that Julian Champagnie was sidelined with an injury, “cohesive” would have been a surprise. But the defense had some poor moments, struggling to impose chaos on the Peacock ball handlers. Plus, the team could not score inside the arc (12/31 at the rim, 39%), and the returning players combined for 15 points on 4/22 shooting.