Before the St. John’s/ Maryville game (a 71-57 win) began, fans shared their expectations for the upcoming season, which ranged from cautious optimism to “this is the year”. Some fans added that even a deep run in the NIT tournament would not be enough for the Johnnies coaching staff to retain their support. The general consensus was that a spot in the NCAA tournament with at least one win is needed for the program to move forward.
With that in mind, last night’s performance was certainly a “tune-up”, and for a season that comes with high expectations, there were many aspects of the Red Storm’s game that needed tuning.