St. John’s return to Big East play also a return of recurring issues as Johnnies lose to Villanova

St. John’s 11-point lead disappeared late in first half as Red Storm lost to Villanova, yet Mike Anderson tried to remain positive addressing where Johnnies go from here. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

VILLANOVA, Pa. — Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by, water flowing underground

Into the blue again, after the money’s gone

Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

— Talking Heads, “Once in a Lifetime”

As St. John’s returned to Big East Conference play Wednesday, it found itself in another part of the world against perennial league kingpin Villanova to start the game. The Red Storm came into Finneran Pavilion and, behind the hot early hands of Montez Mathis and AJ Storr, took smart, efficient shots and forced the Wildcats into uncharacteristic turnovers in the opening stanza, building a 29-18 lead with less than six minutes to play before the intermission as the Johnnies were cruising behind the wheel of a large automobile.

After that, however? A flurry of rushed shots, missed layups, and a physical Villanova team that made adjustments to the Red Storm’s helter-skelter style contributed to a 17-2 run that flipped the script on a potential upset and gave the Wildcats all the momentum in the world in a building where they have only lost twice since the Big East assumed its current form in 2013. Anderson watched, not calling a timeout until most of the damage was done, a telling sign as St. John’s (11-2, 1-1 Big East) was outscored by a commanding 60-34 margin over the final 26:16 of a 78-63 loss that was deflating in every sense of the word.

And you may ask yourself: Well, how did I get here?

“First and foremost, congratulate Villanova,” Anderson began. “I thought they did what they were supposed to do, they took care of their home court. It was one of those nights where we didn’t shoot the ball well. When you don’t shoot it well, you could see the results of it. We got off to a pretty good start, they made their run, and I thought we were in good shape being only four down (at halftime). It seemed like we came out in the second half and continued to dig a hole. But one thing our guys didn’t do was they didn’t stop playing. But we’ll learn from it, we’ll get better.”

While the Red Storm did not stop playing, it seemed as though the efficiency certainly did. Mathis, whose early stroke helped build the aforementioned 11-point lead, finished 3-of-11 from the floor, as did Andre Curbelo. Posh Alexander was no better, only mustering a 3-for-12 line. Storr, whose 15 points arrived on a 6-of-9 effort, played only seven minutes in the first half, but was nowhere to be found during the game-changing run Villanova went on, leaving St. John’s to perform at a ghastly minus-13 clip without the talented freshman on the floor.

“He was tired,” Anderson conceded, somewhat half-heartedly. “The guy had been out there for a while. He was tired.”

Tired could also describe the state of a St. John’s fan base still clamoring for a winner, yet beyond agitated with enduring the same cycle whenever even the slightest glimmer of hope presents itself only to be extinguished at the mere drop of a hat. Anderson tried to put a positive spin on what amounted to a tale of two halves, yet glossed over the fact that — yet again — his team was out-toughed for a fair majority of the contest.

“I thought we just kept them out of their sweet spots,” he said of the Red Storm’s first-half defense of Villanova. “I thought we were just keeping them out of the lane, but in the second half, they did a good job of getting in there and making some tough shots. Even the last three makes, we played defense with the shot clock burning down. I thought we had the ball moving, we had guys stepping up and making shots. We didn’t make them in the second half, and that was a big difference. We missed a lot of layups. You’ve got to be able to finish. I just don’t think we matched their physicality for the 40 minutes of the game.”

Of Alexander and Curbelo, he acknowledged that they had a tough night against the Wildcat backcourt before placing the blame on a general inability to execute.

“They’ve got to be better,” Anderson lamented. “Conference play, whether we play at home or on the road, they’ve got to be better. Consistency is the thing in this game here. Sometimes, a little impatience takes place and I think that’s what took place. We were right there within striking distance, I think it was like a 12-point game, and we came down and we shot three quick shots. We’ve been much better at that in terms of understanding, but we did not do a good job of that. Give Villanova some of the credit for that as well with their defense. I think our decision making, at times, was not where it should be.”

“We’ve got to be better, I think that’s the bottom line. I think we’re a much better team than we put on display tonight. I think the tempo was to their liking, but at the same time, we had a lot of shots that we missed. You’ve got to have the extra effort.”

Same as it ever was.