INDIANAPOLIS — In all five of St. John’s losses, the Johnnies led after halftime. Twice in those games, they held double-figure leads in the second half. On three occasions, they were ahead with fewer than 10 minutes remaining.
Clearly, something is missing with this group in crunch time. The Post’s Zach Braziller takes a look at three factors holding the Johnnies back in winning time:
Lacking a closer
St. John’s had two of them last year in RJ Luis Jr. and Kadary Richmond, playmakers who could take over a game. It was a major factor in the program’s best season in 25 years. That player has yet to emerge. The thought entering the year was that at least one of Bryce Hopkins, Ian Jackson or Joson Sanon could be that guy. But all three have been inconsistent.
Hopkins is in the midst of an offensive slump. He is averaging 11.2 points on 37.5 percent shooting over the past eight games, and has lacked the explosion to finish at the rim in recent games. Sanon has struggled to create separation from defenders, and is coming off a 1-for-12 shooting performance in the loss to Providence. Jackson is learning to play point guard and has made positive strides in recent weeks. But it’s hard to close out a game when there is so much uncertainty about where to go with the ball. Zuby Ejiofor is St. John’s best player, but the opposition has looked to take him away late in games with double-teams. St. John’s has had a different leading scorer in the final 20 minutes of four of the five defeats.
