NEW YORK, NY — The talk leading up to Saturday’s marquee top-15 nationally ranked matchup between No. 15 Alabama and No. 5 St. John’s at Madison Square Garden revolved around the fast tempo Nate Oats’ Crimson Tide displays on the offensive end of the floor and how Rick Pitino’s Red Storm would respond.
A high octane offensive system, one of which ‘rolls’ on a quick pace of play and three-point shooting while letting it fly in the early portions of the shot clock.
As well as the Tide forcing its way to the rim and free throw line since opponents are more times than not, caught off guard, and out of sorts, attempting to get back on defense. This successful approach out of Tuscaloosa has resulted in Oats and Alabama appearing in five consecutive NCAA March Madness Tournaments dating back to 2020.
St. John’s practiced with an 18-second shot clock in preparation for Alabama’s high octane offensive approach – Image Credit: Alabama Crimson Tide Athletics
Pitino and his coaching staff attempted to prepare the team to maintain the Crimson Tide’s offensive approach ahead of the showdown—to the point where St. John’s practiced with an 18-second shot clock compared to the standardized 30 earlier in the week.
“It’s really difficult keeping them out of the lane and from shooting threes,” the 73-year-old Hall of Fame coach said in pregame media availability. “They shoot the ball, on average, within 15 seconds and we have not seen anything like that in the three years that I’ve been here.”
Despite acknowledging it and simulating the fast style of play, St. John’s (1-1) was unable to keep Alabama (2-0) in check, falling by a final score of 103-96—the most points surrendered by the Red Storm in a game under Pitino, who took the helm in Queens in 2023.
Rick Pitino and St. John’s opted for a difficult non-conference schedule this season to prepare the Red Storm for several different styles of play and talent they may potentially see come the time for March Madness – Image Credit: St. John’s Men’s Basketball
“Anytime you lose, you’re disappointed, but they were a better basketball team than us tonight,” he said, noting Alabama’s effectiveness in creating immediate problems for opposing defenses off the bounce.
“We could not guard them off the dribble. Very few teams can, they got excellent offensive talent. We played these early games so we can find out where we need to get better and obviously we know we have to get better with one on one defense. (Alabama was) the better team. They outplayed us.”
No. 15 Alabama defeated No. 5 St. John’s by a final score of 103-96 Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden in front of a crowd of 17,319 – Image Credit: Alabama Crimson Tide Athletics
Recording its first loss of the early College Hoops season, an early litmus test, going up against a legitimate national championship contender, the Johnnies made six three pointers as a team (6-17, 35.3%), but allowed the Crimson Tide to pull up from as far as Rockefeller Center, banking 11 threes (11-35, 31.4%).
Additionally, St. John’s failed to crash the glass, losing the rebound battle slightly, 43-42, offensive board contest, 14-10, and same goes for points scored in the paint, yet by a much larger margin of 54-40.
And the difference on the free throw line? Alabama: 14-22 (63.6%) and St. John’s: 28-40 (70%).
“He’s got one of the best teams in the country, they’ll be one of the best teams when it comes down to it,” Oats said of St. John’s and Pitino. “Whether we won or lost, this was great for us.”
The key contributors for the Crimson Tide in the scoring column were guard-duo Labaron Philon (25 points) and Aden Holloway (21 points), combining for 46 points, which was matched on the home side from the Red Storm big man pairing of Zuby Ejiofor (27 points) and Bryce Hopkins (19 points).
What’s Ahead?
With a week off until its next time out, St. John’s (1-1) will host William & Mary (2-0) on Saturday, November 15th, at Carnesecca Arena, with tipoff scheduled for 6:00PM ET on TRUTV.
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