TKR Preview: Rutgers Basketball versus St. John's Red Storm
After a two solid wins this past week against Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday and Drexel on Sunday to open up the men’s basketball season, the Rutgers men's basketball team is back in action on Friday night to take on the St. John's Red Storm. This will arguably be the toughest out of conference matchup for the Scarlet Knights this season.
TKR will have you covered from the tip to the final buzzer and then some.
Here's everything you need to know about the game.
WHEN: Friday at 7pm EST, BTN
WHO: Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs. St. John's Red Storm
WHERE: Rutgers Athletic Center - Piscataway, New Jersey
KENPOM RANKINGS: Rutgers - 120 / St. John's - 39
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
#2 G Shamorie Ponds (2018-19 stats): 20.5ppg, 2.0rpg, 3.5apg, 2.5spg
THE SKINNY: Ponds is most known for being the number 32 overall recruit in the country from the class of 2016. There was one point this past offseason where Ponds did exactly what Corey Sanders did after his sophomore year. Ponds declared for the NBA Draft, but decided to come back for his third year at St. John's after being a projected mid second round pick. Today Ponds is considered the Johnnies top scoring threat and last year put up some impressive performances against Duke (33), Villanova (26) and Marquette (44).
#14 G Mustapha Heron (2018-19 stats): 20.5ppg, 6.5rpg, 1.5apg
THE SKINNY: The former Auburn player transferred into St. John's this past offseason and had to wait some time before being declared immediately eligible by the NCAA. Now that he is eligible, Heron has shown off some unique scoring abilities to help the Johnnies start off the season with a record 2-0. It will be interesting to see how he matches up against Peter Kiss and Montez Mathis on Friday night.
RECORD LAST SEASON: 16-17 (4-14) / Significant wins against Duke and Villanova
SERIES HISTORY: This will be the 42nd contest between the two schools and St. John's leads the series 27-14 after a recent 61-59 victory in 2015.
TKR will have you covered from the opening tip to the final buzzer.
