COACH: Steve Lavin, one year at St. John's, first year in NCAA tournament.
HOW THEY GOT IN: At-large bid.
GO-TO GUYS: All-Big East first-team selection Dwight Hardy is the biggest scoring threat, as well as the most consistent. He has to be considered the most capable of busting out for a 30-point night that carries the team the victory. Justin Brownlee averages 12 points per game, and is also second on the team in rebounding. Paris Horne's scoring numbers are down as a senior, but with swingman D.J. Kennedy out with a knee injury suffered in the Big East tournament, he'll likely be counted on to be more of a factor in the offense.
X FACTOR: The Red Storm lost Kennedy, a versatile senior, to a torn ACL in the Big East quarterfinal loss to Syracuse. Kennedy was the team's leading rebounder and averaged 10.4 points per game, but was among the team leaders in pretty much every category. Replacing his overall level of production will be challenging, and his loss cast a pall on the first NCAA bid of this senior-laden team's careers.
STRENGTHS: St. John's relies defensively on not allowing its opponents to get off shots. It averages eight steals per game and was tops in the Big East in turnover margin. Though it's Lavin's first year at the helm here, he's enjoyed NCAA Tournament success in the past and has a senior-dominated team that knows each other's strengths and weaknesses very well. The Red Storm shot 71 percent from the free throw line, so are tough to beat by fouling late.
WEAKNESSES: Surprisingly for a team that's this long and athletic, St. John's isn't great defensively. Opponents are making 36.6 percent of their 3-point attempts against the Red Storm, so a hot-shooting perimeter team could cause it problems. No one on the SJU roster has ever been in the NCAA Tournament, so postseason experience is lacking. While everyone on the team can put the ball in the basket, Hardy is the only player who's shown the ability to carry the team. Anyone stopping him can likely bottle up the St. John's attack.
