Big East Bonanza: A closer look at St. John's, stat leaders, power rankings

Big East Bonanza returns today with a special Tuesday edition, one of four this season, in its usual three-segment format. Stat leaders and power rankings will, as always, comprise the latter two sections, but in place of an advanced-stat look inside the numbers of the Big East Conference to open our recap, we will use the table-setter to instead take a closer look at St. John's and the problems that have plagued the Red Storm during their 0-4 start to conference play, casting a pall on what appeared to be a season with mounds of upside and promise when the ball was first tipped in November.

The scoring numbers may not indicate a struggle at home for St. John's, but the shooting percentages; especially in Big East play, tell a different story. The Red Storm shot over 45 percent from the floor in close contests at Seton Hall and Creighton, where they battled the Pirates and Bluejays to the wire with a shorthanded roster. However, that figure dipped to just under 44 percent in the conference-opening loss to Providence at Carnesecca Arena on December 28, and an even more cataclysmic 40 percent this past Saturday in an uncharacteristic loss to DePaul that left two of the team's more experienced players searching for answers.

"I think we're not playing for each other right now," Marvin Clark II proposed, a telling indictment for a team that appeared to be in sync both prior to and immediately following the Advocare Invitational over the Thanksgiving holiday. "We're not scrambling for each other like we're capable of doing, not playing together offensively."

And while the play of Tariq Owens and Justin Simon has kept St. John's in games and added an extra layer of value to their already indispensable production, the sophomore slump for Shamorie Ponds has become an increasingly alarming cause for concern. The Brooklyn native reportedly battled a hand injury heading into the season opener against New Orleans in November, which was seemingly put to rest amid the Red Storm's 8-1 start. However, whatever discomfort may have lingered has had a profound effect in Ponds' lethality from the three-point line. As a freshman, Ponds shot over 37 percent from long distance. This season, he is a meager 20-for-99 when dialing it up from deep, and only twice; in neutral site contests against Missouri and Grand Canyon, has he eclipsed 30 percent shooting from beyond the arc. In home contests, his line from outside checks in at just 10-for-54, and the consensus all-Big East preseason pick will be looking to erase the stigma of a 7-for-24 effort against DePaul when he takes the floor tonight against Georgetown. On the bright side, his production on the scoreboard has remained consistent, while his rebound and assist numbers have gone up significantly as he has seen more time on the ball in a backcourt where Ponds and Justin Simon have served as the primary ball handlers in Marcus LoVett's absence. Nevertheless, the rough patch has not been lost on Ponds, who took to social media over the weekend to remind the St. John's fan base that he holds himself to a much higher standard:

I AM LETTING MY TEAM DOWN!!! I HAVE TO STEP IT UP!!! I SUCK RIGHT NOW!!! ITS JUST HOW AM I GOING TO BOUNCE BACK!! #HEADHIGH

— Shamorie Ponds (@ShamorieP) January 6, 2018

Speaking of LoVett, the redshirt sophomore continues to rehab a knee injury that has already taken on a life of its own. Sidelined since November 26 against Central Florida, LoVett's saga has been chronicled in great detail by Zach Braziller, who has done an excellent job of staying on top of the situation as part of his work covering the Johnnies for the New York Post. Naturally, head coach Chris Mullin was asked of a return date for his explosive guard following the loss to DePaul Saturday, to which he offered the following response:

"I'm supposed to see the doctors after the game today," he told Roger Rubin of Newsday after the question was posed in his postgame press conference. "I was supposed to see them, so I haven't had an update with them (yet)."

Braziller tweeted Monday, even while on assignment covering the College Football Playoff national championship in Atlanta, that LoVett did not practice during the day, and was still listed as day-to-day for the Georgetown game. Stay tuned.

Scoring Leaders

1) Markus Howard, Marquette (23.5 PPG)

2) Andrew Rowsey, Marquette (21.0)
3) Kelan Martin, Butler (19.8)

4) Jalen Brunson, Villanova (19.4)

5) Trevon Bluiett, Xavier (19.4)

6) Shamorie Ponds, St. John's (19.2)

7) Max Strus, DePaul (18.8)

8) Marcus Foster, Creighton (18.8)

9) Desi Rodriguez, Seton Hall (18.6)

10) Jessie Govan, Georgetown (18.1)

Rebounding Leaders

1) Angel Delgado, Seton Hall (11.8 RPG)
2) Jessie Govan, Georgetown (11.7)

3) Martin Krampelj, Creighton (8.2)

4) Omari Spellman, Villanova (7.7)

5) Justin Simon, St. John's (7.6)

6) Ronnie Harrell, Jr., Creighton (7.3)

7) Marcus Derrickson, Georgetown (7.3)

8) Rodney Bullock, Providence (6.7)

9) Kelan Martin, Butler (6.5)

10) Tre'Darius McCallum, DePaul (6.3)

Assist Leaders

1) Kyron Cartwright, Providence (6.3 APG)

2) Quentin Goodin, Xavier (5.6)

3) Jalen Brunson, Villanova (5.2)

4) Shamorie Ponds, St. John's (4.9)

5) Justin Simon, St. John's (4.8)

6) Jonathan Mulmore, Georgetown (4.1)

7) Eli Cain, DePaul (4.1)

8) Andrew Rowsey, Marquette (4.0)

9) Khadeen Carrington, Seton Hall (3.9)

10) Aaron Thompson, Butler (3.6)

Field Goal Percentage Leaders

1) Tyler Wideman, Butler (.689)

2) Tyrique Jones, Xavier (.685)

3) Martin Krampelj, Creighton (.656)

4) Nate Watson, Providence (.614)

5) Jalen Brunson, Villanova (.590)

6) Kaleb Johnson, Georgetown (.581)

7) Jessie Govan, Georgetown (.553)

8) Marin Maric, DePaul (.550)

9) Kerem Kanter, Xavier (.545)

10) Marcus Derrickson, Georgetown (.543)

Free Throw Percentage Leaders

1) Markus Howard, Marquette (1.000)

2) Marcus Derrickson, Georgetown (.923)

3) Andrew Rowsey, Marquette (.899)

4) Marin Maric, DePaul (.886)

5) Kelan Martin, Butler (.877)

6) Quentin Goodin, Xavier (.867)

7) Trevon Bluiett, Xavier (.859)

8) J.P. Macura, Xavier (.855)

9) Shamorie Ponds, St. John's (.854)

10) Khyri Thomas, Creighton (.842)

Three-Point Field Goal Leaders

1) Jalen Brunson, Villanova (.493)

2) Sam Hauser, Marquette (.484)

3) Kyron Cartwright, Providence (.478)

4) Marvin Clark II, St. John's (.477)

5) Jalen Lindsey, Providence (.471)

6) Omari Spellman, Villanova (.465)

7) Mikal Bridges, Villanova (.452)

8) Marcus Foster, Creighton (.433)

9) Andrew Rowsey, Marquette (.432)

10) Myles Powell, Seton Hall (.429)

Steal Leaders

1) Justin Simon, St. John's (2.6 SPG)
2) Shamorie Ponds, St. John's (2.5)

3) Mikal Bridges, Villanova (1.9)

4) Kamar Baldwin, Butler (1.8)

5) J.P. Macura, Xavier (1.7)

Blocked Shot Leaders

1) Tariq Owens, St. John's (3.4 BPG)

2) Omari Spellman, Villanova (1.6)

3) Jessie Govan, Georgetown (1.4)

4) Mikal Bridges, Villanova (1.3)

5) Matt Heldt, Marquette (1.3)

Power Rankings

1) Seton Hall (14-2, 3-0 Big East)

Last Week: 2

Last Game: Saturday 1/6 at Butler (W 90-87)

Next Game: Tuesday 1/9 at Marquette, 9 p.m. (8 p.m. CT)

2) Villanova (14-1, 2-1 Big East)
Last Week: 3

Last Game: Saturday 1/6 vs. Marquette (W 100-90)

Next Game: Wednesday 1/10 vs. Xavier, 8 p.m.

3) Xavier (15-2, 3-1 Big East)
Last Week: 1

Last Game: Saturday 1/6 at Providence (L 81-72)

Next Game: Wednesday 1/10 at Villanova, 8 p.m.

4) Creighton (13-3, 3-1 Big East)

Last Week: 4

Last Game: Saturday 1/6 at Georgetown (W 90-66)

Next Game: Tuesday 1/9 vs. Butler, 7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. ET)

5) Butler (12-5, 2-2 Big East)

Last Week: 4

Last Game: Saturday 1/6 vs. Seton Hall (L 90-87)

Next Game: Tuesday 1/9 at Creighton, 8:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. CT)

6) Providence (11-6, 2-2 Big East)

Last Week: 7

Last Game: Saturday 1/6 vs. Xavier (W 81-72)

Next Game: Friday 1/12 at DePaul, 8:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. CT)

7) Marquette (11-5, 2-2 Big East)

Last Week: 6

Last Game: Saturday 1/6 at Villanova (L 100-90)

Next Game: Tuesday 1/9 vs. Seton Hall, 8 p.m. (9 p.m. ET)

8) Georgetown (11-4, 1-3 Big East)

Last Week: 9

Last Game: Saturday 1/6 vs. Creighton (L 90-66)

Next Game: Tuesday 1/9 at St. John's (MSG), 6:30 p.m.

9) DePaul (8-8, 1-3 Big East)

Last Week: 10

Last Game: Saturday 1/6 at St. John's (W 91-74)

Next Game: Friday 1/12 vs. Providence, 7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. ET)

10) St. John's (10-6, 0-4 Big East)

Last Week: 8

Last Game: Saturday 1/6 vs. DePaul (L 91-74)

Next Game: Tuesday 1/9 vs. Georgetown (MSG), 6:30 p.m.