St. John's finalizes 2018 Non-Con
As classes begin, kickstarting the start of the fall semester, St. John’s athletics department announced Monday the program has finalized its 2017-18 non-conference schedule. As the team enters year three under coach Chris Mullin, postseason expectations have begun to mount in Queens with a roster returning its top scorers, Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett, alongside newly eligible transfers Justin Simon (Arizona) and Marvin Clark (Michigan State).
A year removed from a 14-19 season, which saw the Red Storm mark a six-win improvement in conference play — going 7-11 against Big East foes — Mullin is expected to break the school’s two-year hiatus from the NCAA tournament after rebuilding the roster upon taking over in April 2015.
In addition to shaping the roster to his imagination, Mullin likely had more control over this season’s schedule as he’s stated in years past he didn’t have much leeway in terms of selecting games to participate in due to previous agreements. Nevertheless, the upcoming schedule seems within the St. John’s scheduling philosophy in terms of difficulty, shying away from overmatched opponents while dealing with a relatively young team.
Below find their opponents and game dates, in addition to each opponent’s finish in the Ken Pomeroy Ratings and NCAA RPI rankings from the previous season (All dates at Carnesecca Arena unless otherwise noted):
Nov. 10 New Orleans (20-12 record; KenPom-178 + RPI-161)
Nov. 14: Central Connecticut (6-23; 341 + 344)
Nov. 16: Nebraska (12-19; 107 + 111)
Nov. 20: Molloy - (18-11; Division II)
AdvoCare Invitational in Florida
Nov. 23: Oregon State (5-27; 264 + 287)
Nov. 24: Missouri (8-24; 156/253) OR Long Beach St (15-19; 225/213)
Nov. 26: Marist (8-24; 312/277) or West Virginia (28-9; 7/20) or Nebraska or Central Florida (24-12; 68/64)
Dec. 2: Sacred Heart (13-19; 301 + 299)
Valley of the Sun Shootout in Phoenix
Dec. 5: Grand Canyon (22-9; 152 + 124)
Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Los Angeles
Dec. 8: Arizona State (Staples Center) (15-18; 125 + 126)
MSG Holiday Festival
Dec. 17: Iona (MSG) (22-13; 117 + 84)
Basketball Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase
Dec. 20: St. Joe’s (Mohegan Sun - Connecticut) (11-20; 183 + 203)
Feb. 3: Duke (MSG) (28-9; 14 + 10)
*Note: For context, 41 out of the top 43 teams in KenPom rankings qualified for the 64-team NCAA tournament/*
