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Preview: Penn State vs. St. John’s
St. John’s has spent the early days of the season making life miserable for opponents who venture close to the basket, and the Red Storm hope to continue their strong interior defensive play when they battle Penn State in the Barclay’s Center Classic on Friday in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Red Storm tied a school record with 15 blocked shots for the second consecutive game in Tuesday’s 65-47 over Longwood, and lead the nation with 11.2 blocks per game. The Nittany Lions routed Monmouth 84-52 on Tuesday, riding strong backcourt play to their second 5-1 start in the past three seasons.
Both squads ride a four-game winning streak into Friday’s meeting, with the winner moving into the tournament title game Saturday against either Georgia Tech or Mississippi. St. John’s Chris Obekpa leads the nation with 5.4 blocks per contest. Senior guards Tim Frazier and Allen Roberts combined for 36 points in Penn State’s victory Tuesday, and guard D.J. Newbill fell one rebound shy of a double-double for the second consecutive game.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, N/A
ABOUT PENN STATE (5-1): Strong backcourt play has sparked the Nittany Lions through six games. Frazier leads Penn State in scoring at 18.3 points and assists at 7.3, while shooting 54.3 percent from the field, and Newbill is second on the team in scoring (18.0), rebounding (7.2) and assists (3.5). The Nittany Lions have shot 50 percent or better from the field in three of their six games.
ABOUT ST. JOHN’S (4-1): Obekpa blocked six shots Tuesday and is playing well on the other end of the floor, shooting 72.7 percent from the field in his past three games. St. John’s overcame a sluggish offensive performance against Longwood by forcing 17 turnovers and grabbing a season-high 46 rebounds. D’Angelo Harrison has scored in double figures in all five games this season and leads the Red Storm at 19.4 points.
TIP-INS
1. Both teams take care of the basketball: Penn State is ninth nationally at 9.2 turnovers per game; St. John’s is 20th at 9.8.
2. Frazier is sixth in the nation in assists, and needs 15 assists to move into third place on Penn State’s all-time list.
3. The two teams have met just once, a 25-17 St. John’s victory on Dec. 15, 1911.
PREDICTION: St. John’s 67, Penn State 61
