Indiana State 73, St. John's 67: Ray Floriani's Tempo-Free Analysis

The Carnesecca Arena video board tells us even overtime has a sponsor. (Photo courtesy of Ray Floriani)

QUEENS, NY ­- A double overtime thriller saw Indiana State capture the Chartwells Holiday Classic at St. John’s. The Sycamores downed the host St. John’s 73­-67 in a game featuring 13 ties and 11 lead changes.

The numbers.....

Possessions:
St. John’s 86

Indiana State 84

Offensive Efficiency:
Indiana State 87 
St. John’s 78

The Four Factors:
eFG%: St. John's 38, Indiana State 36
FT Rate: St. John's 71, Indiana State 35
OREB%: Indiana State 32, St. John's 30
TO Rate: St. John's 29, Indiana State 18

What St. John’s did well: Get to the line. A total of 40 free throws against 56 field goal attempts yielded an excellent 71% free throw rate. The Red Storm dribble penetration was largely responsible for drawing fouls. On the flip side, St. John’s did not use the charity stripe to their advantage. They shot just 24-of-40 for a 60% mark. Definitely a major factor in this two-overtime affair.

What Indiana State did well: Care for the ball. The turnover rate was an above average 18%. By contrast, St. John’s coughed the ball up 25 times with a 29% turnover rate.

Stat that jumped off the page: Bench scoring saw Indiana State with a 54­-0 edge. That is no misprint. St.John’s starters went from 36 to 49 minutes playing time. Crystal Simmons, with 16 minutes of action, led St. John’s reserves in playing time. Not one reserve got in the book for a point. The Sycamores utilized their reserves. In fact, the leading scorer was Jasmine Grier, with 21 points in a relief role.

The scoring leaders:
Indiana State: Jasmine Grier 21 points, 14 efficiency
St. John’s: Aliyyah Handford 27 points, 23 efficiency

The Sycamores’ efficiency leader was Joyce Marshall with 15. Marshall was aided by a 7-rebound, 12-point performance. And, to little surprise, she came off the bench to log 27 minutes. Grier earned tournament MVP honors. Both Indiana State and St. John’s are 10-­1.