Looking at St. John'sNew York -- In one of those scheduling quirks that seem to pop up from time to time, MU will be making its first regular-season appearance at Madison Square Garden as a member of the Big East almost three full seasons after joining the league.
It's not as if the Golden Eagles haven't played at 'The World's Most Famous Arena' before; in fact, they've played five games there over the past six seasons, including a pair (both victories) against tonight's opponent, St. John's.
In 2002-'03 MU beat Villanova to open the season in a matchup that featured the first-ever collegiate game for the likes of Randy Foye, Allan Ray and Curtis Sumpter for the Wildcats.
In 2003-'04 MU beat St. John's to once again open the season in the Coaches vs. Cancer event. Both teams had a horrible night shooting the basketball.
In 2005-'06 MU lost to Georgetown in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. The Golden Eagles had earned a first-round bye after finishing fourth in the regular-season standings.
Then last season, MU won its first post-season conference tournament game in five years by knocking off St. John's in the opening round. The Golden Eagles went on to lose to Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals.
"Any time you can play at Madison Square Garden it's a special thing," said coach Tom Crean. "You know you're there. Obviously you know you're in New York. But when you get to that building and you go up the freight elevator and on the court, you know you're there.
"Anybody that follows basketball even a little bit knows about the importance of Madison Square Garden, and our players follow basketball a lot. I think it's important any time you can be in there. Certainly having the experience of being in there, it doesn't hurt when we get back to New York in March."
As far as St. John's (10-14, 4-9), the Red Storm have had another forgettable year under coach Norm Roberts, who's on the hot seat.
They have talent, beginning with forward Anthony Mason Jr. and including freshman forward Justin Burrell. But with Mason just now getting back to form after missing three games with an ankle contusion, and Roberts having to rely heavily on Burrell and a number of other newcomers, it just hasn't translated well enough to the court.
The Red Storm are the lowest-scoring team in the Big East and the second-worst shooting both overall and from three-point range.
"We have watched film from when Anthony Mason wasn't in, but we're going to focus a lot more when he has been in because now he's back," said Crean. "They've got good young players; Justin Burrell's got six double-doubles, he's the second-leading scorer on their team.
"We're well aware of what (Eugene) Lawrence and Mason are all about, so we have to really be on top of it. And I think our guys have done a good job of locking into each and every game."
This is the first of two very winnable games this week for MU, which also hosts last-place Rutgers on Saturday. Win both, and MU would be looking at a four-game winning streak heading into a challenging week that will include a game at Villanova and a home game against co-league leader Georgetown.
I asked Crean if he had to caution his players about being overconfident heading into this week. He said he didn't, because he doesn't believe in overconfidence.
"I think what happens is one of three things: a lack of interest, a lack of focus, or you get distracted. And all three of those things should never equate with what we're trying to do," he said. "We're right in the league hunt right now, we're playing for a lot. We're playing not only for February, but we're playing for March. There's no reason to have a lack of focus because we're getting better.
"I think everybody on the team can see that they're improving individually, and that the team is improving, and you just have to fight off distractions. And overconfidence should ever be one of them. I don't think that word qualifies with what we're trying to do. The guys have been through the league enough now to know that every team is capable. Certainly you can throw out a score 3-4 times a week that might get the guys' attention, and you can get even more from around the country. But our focus so much is on how we're competing in practice and getting better, and the improvements that they're making, and I think that's the storyline for us, and that's what they're buying into.
"Now, with that being said, we have to keep the same mind set we've had of late in these games because there's been times this year we've been our own worst enemy."
http://blogs.jsonline.com/muhoops/archive/2008/02/20/looking-at-st-john-s.aspx
