Postgame Shootaround: St. John's vs. UCLA

Steve Lavin, shown here in his earlier years at UCLA, returned to Westwood today for first time since 2003, but didn't get to leave a winner as St. John's fell to Bruins 66-59. (Photo courtesy of uclabruins.com)

The day before the Super Bowl was hyped as a Super Bowl of sorts for St. John's for months before the season even started. When your big-name coach gets a chance to return to the place he called home for seven years as a first-time visitor, not much else can be expected. While St. John's players went into Los Angeles with the intent of winning one for coach Steve Lavin, their opponents had other ideas.

Despite a career-high 32 points from Dwight Hardy, St. John's (13-9) was unable to overcome all the obstacles at Pauley Pavilion, falling to UCLA (16-7) by the final of 66-59. UCLA was led by center Joshua Smith, who paced the Bruins with 19 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Reeves Nelson provided 12 points for the home team, perhaps none bigger than his three-pointer in the final minute that put UCLA ahead 65-59 after the Johnnies had cut a ten-point deficit to three as the second half wore on. Malcolm Lee also chipped in with 15 points for the Bruins, whose NCAA Tournament chances were enhanced about as much as St. John's dreams were potentially dashed.

The game was ultimately decided at the free throw line, where the Red Storm's 23 fouls sent UCLA to the line 41 times during the game as opposed to just seven foul shots for St. John's. Five of the nine players used by Lavin in his homecoming accumulated three or more fouls; and UCLA received the double bonus halfway through the second half, racking up two shots for every infraction over the final ten minutes. St. John's was also outrebounded 37-27 despite a plus-8 turnover margin. (St. John's forced 18 turnovers while only committing 10)

St. John's returns to Big East play Thursday night with a crucial game against perennial adversary UConn at Madison Square Garden before starting an equally pivotal road trip to Cincinnati and Marquette. Before the Huskies come into town, here's a recap of what happened in the City of Angels this afternoon (morning on the West Coast since it was a 10am tipoff there) with some lasting impressions.

• Justin Brownlee, the hero of Wednesday night's game against Rutgers, was a non-factor today with his 1-for-9 performance from the field. Brownlee had two chances to potentially pull St. John's within one in the final two minutes; but was unable to convert on both of his layup attempts, setting the stage for Reeves Nelson's dagger from long-range that gave the Bruins the win.
• The balanced attack Steve Lavin praised in the Rutgers win was nowhere to be found today, as Dwight Hardy outscored the rest of the team 32-27. Hardy's new career high was set on 13-of-24 shooting, but no other Johnny scored more than six.
• Whenever a team gets at least 20 foul shots, they stand a great chance to win the game. UCLA doubled that number and added one more for good measure with their 41 free throw attempts, compared to just seven for St. John's.
• Some experts may argue that St. John's is still an NCAA Tournament team today, but this loss could start a downward spiral if the Johnnies are not careful. With UConn, Cincinnati, Marquette and Pitt up next before DePaul comes into Carnesecca Arena on February 23rd, St. John's has to salvage a split of the next four games in order to maintain their positive outlook with the selection committee. UConn could be easy if Kemba Walker continues to struggle, but playing in Madison Square Garden could be the spark he needs. Two years ago, the Bronx native returned to the Garden for the first time since playing in the CHSAA playoffs at Rice High School under current St. John's director of basketball operations Maurice Hicks, then the coach of the Raiders. Walker led all scorers with 21 points off the bench that night en route to a Huskies victory.