Scouting St. John's - Season Finale

Steve Lavin has St. John's back on the map, does USF have a chance on Saturday night? (Picture:www.nydailynew.com)

It's finally here, the season finale for the USF Bulls. The 2010-2011 regular season has been one to forget for Heath and his team, but they will have to take on #15 St. John's before the regular season officially comes to an end. The St. John's Red Storm team has come back to life under 1st year head coach Steve Lavin, but lost last night to Seton Hall and won't have a double bye in the opening round of the Big East tournament. St. John's (19-10 (11-6)) will be ready to defend home court on Saturday night and the Bulls (9-21(3-13)) have to be ready for a tough game.

The Bulls fell apart in the second half to Pitt. Leading at half time, the Sun Dome was alive and momentum was on the side of the Bulls, but the poor shooting led the Bulls to another defeat. Now they have to travel to St. John's. The Bulls are 1-11 on the road (thanks to DePaul) and will be facing a St. John's team that is not happy about the loss to Seton Hall and will be ready to defend home court.

Here are the players to watch for during this game as the Bulls hope they aren't run out of the building. [keep reading]

The Red Storm are led by guard Dwight Hardy (6'2" 190-pounds). Hardy averages 17.9 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game, and 2 assists per game. He can create his own shot by either driving to the hoop or creating space for an open jumper. He will be a tough match up for Crater and the other guard (Noriega, Poland, or someone else). Forward Justin Brownlee (6'7" 219-pounds) is a big presence on the wing and in the paint for St. John's. He averages 12.1 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game, and 2.1 assists per game. Gilchrist will have his hands full trying to match up with him. Guard/Forward D.J. Kennedy (6'5" 214-pounds) averages 10.5 points per game and 6 rebounds per game. Anderson and Famous will have to keep him out of the paint and try to win the battle of the boards. Guard Paris Horne (6'3" 189-pounds) averages 7.7 points per game and 2.9 rebounds per game. Forward Dwayne Polee Jr. (6'7" 193-pounds) averages 4.5 points per game and 2.5 rebounds per game.

Other players to watch:

Forward - Justin Burwell - 6'8" 244-pounds - 6.7 PPG 5.1 RPG

Forward/Center - Dele Coker - 1 PPG 1.2 RPG (has size to match up with USF big men)

Guard - Malik Boothe - 5'9" 184-pounds - 4.4 PPG 2.9 RPG

Outcome of the game: This game could get ugly. The Bulls fell apart in the second half to Pitt and the team is simply bad. They don't have enough on offense and the guard play has been poor at best all season. The Bulls are on the road and are only 1-11. St. John's just lost to Seton Hall and will be trying to get ready for the Big East tournament and the NCAA tournament. Lavin and his team are looking at USF as a tune up game before they face some real competition. This first half may be a close game, like it always is for USF. The Bulls have the size in the paint and should be able to out rebound the Red Storm and keep the game close for the first half. But the game is at home for St. John's and they have tremendous guards, something USF dreams it had. The second half could turn ugly for the Bulls because they won't be able to match the speed and scoring of St. John's. Expect the second half to get a bit messy for USF.

Final score prediction (the last regular season one!): St. John's 78 USF 59