Breaking down St. John's non-conference schedule

A favorable non-conference schedule provides St. John's with many early chances to build wins and solidify its case for NCAA Tournament, allowing for Chris Mullin and fans to potentially enjoy the view as season comes into focus. (Photo by The Athletic)

Released last Thursday, the finished non-conference schedule for St. John's was generally received as a softer slate than any of the previous three that head coach Chris Mullin had either put together or inherited upon his arrival. With four Northeast Conference teams and a traditionally bottom-dwelling RPI program in Maryland Eastern Shore all coming to Carnesecca Arena, the prevailing feeling among both media and fans was that the Red Storm loaded up on cupcakes in order to pad its win total leading into Big East Conference play, which begins in January.

But while the largely favorable opponents are the primary takeaway, one can read between the lines and infer that Mullin has scheduled progressively this season, his program being tested early in a hostile road environment against Rutgers before taking on a high-major team in Cal shortly thereafter, not to mention a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference foes in Georgia Tech and Duke. If the Red Storm can get through its non-league affairs in good order, the roster as it stands -- with or without Mustapha Heron, whose case to receive a hardship waiver is still in line to be heard by the NCAA -- is a potent outfit capable of surprising the Big East to post a double-digit win total that could very well get St. John's into the NCAA Tournament for the third time this decade. However, the pitfall surrounding that hope can be evidenced in last year's Nebraska team -- ironically, one that suffered a blowout loss at Carnesecca last November -- winning 22 games and not having a strong enough resume outside the Big Ten to strengthen its impressive league credentials.

Should St. John's perform as expected, its profile will be thoroughly scrutinized. Until then, the 13 opponents that comprise its non-conference season will be the subject of debate here, broken down in greater detail for each game in which New York's college team takes the floor:

Loyola (Maryland): Tuesday, November 6 - Carnesecca Arena

The Greyhounds, former Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions in 2012 under Jimmy Patsos before leaving in favor of the Patriot League two seasons later, have a new coach for the second time in the last six years, as Tavaras Hardy -- a former Big East assistant under John Thompson III at Georgetown -- takes over in Baltimore after G.G. Smith, who replaced Patsos following his departure for Siena, was shown the door after five seasons. Loyola is still a young team in many ways, but junior guards Chuck Champion and Andrew Kostecka, both double-figure scorers a year ago, will carry the torch while sophomore Isaiah Hart builds off a productive rookie season at the point guard position. Junior forward KaVaughn Scott will have his hands full down low against the likes of Marvin Clark II and Sedee Keita, the latter of whom is eligible this season following his transfer from South Carolina.

Bowling Green: Friday, November 9 - Carnesecca Arena

The Falcons, of the Mid-American Conference, are the second team to come to Queens in an opening homestand that echoes back to Steve Lavin's second year at St. John's, when the Red Storm hosted William & Mary and Lehigh on November 7 and 9, 2011, respectively. Redshirt sophomore Justin Turner will be the player to watch for Bowling Green. A 6-foot-4 Detroit native, Turner averaged nearly 16 points per game as a freshman last year, leading the Falcons with a three-point field goal percentage of .379. Senior forward Demajeo Wiggins averaged a double-double last season, and at 6-foot-10, will be a matchup problem for a St. John's front line that will need to limit its foul trouble early and often this year in order to remain efficient. A 16-16 team last season, Bowling Green returns all but one player from its roster, which will position the Falcons forwardly in the MAC and present a deceptively strong early-season foe for the Red Storm.

Rutgers: Friday, November 16 - Louis Brown Athletic Center, Piscataway, NJ

The latest collision with St. John's former Big East rival is once again a matchup in the Gavitt Tip-Off Games, pitting the Red Storm and Scarlet Knights against one another for the second time in four years after the two met at Carnesecca in November 2015 during Eddie Jordan's last season on the banks of the old Raritan. Jordan's replacement, Steve Pikiell, already owns an exhibition win over St. John's from last year, and will now go about life without Corey Sanders and Mike Williams by entrusting his offense to sophomore Geo Baker, whose Big Ten Tournament showing at Madison Square Garden has scores of Rutgers fans intrigued about a future that seems to only grow brighter with each passing day, highlighted by the arrival of freshmen Montez Mathis and Ron Harper, Jr. Pay close attention to Eugene Omoruyi, a glue guy in the mold of former Seton Hall stalwart Ismael Sanogo that can frustrate the Red Storm and get what will undoubtedly be a raucous crowd at the RAC to come alive.

Did You Know? St. John's sophomore guard Mikey Dixon and Rutgers' Peter Kiss were teammates as freshmen, having started together at Quinnipiac before transferring in the wake of former coach Tom Moore's firing in March of 2017.

California: Monday, November 19 - Barclays Center

The semifinal round of the Legends Classic creates a Big East vs. Pac-12 matchup in the form of the Red Storm and Golden Bears, the latter of whom is looking to regain its footing after rebuilding in the first season under head coach Wyking Jones, a former Rick Pitino assistant at Louisville. Sophomore wing Justice Sueing, Cal's top returning scorer, is a 6-foot-7 slasher who can score and rebound at will, and his three-point shooting should be markedly improved from the 31 percent rate at which he connected as a freshman. Fellow sophomores Darius McNeill and Juhwan Harris-Dyson will be counted upon to make strides on a youthful roster.

Temple or VCU: Tuesday, November 20 - Barclays Center

Assuming it is Temple who faces the Red Storm in the Legends Classic championship, the Red Storm have the potential to score a Quadrant 1 win in the first month of the season against an Owls squad that could be a team to watch in the American Athletic Conference. Fran Dunphy returns both of his leading scorers from last season in senior Shizz Alston and junior Quinton Rose, both of whom will anchor the backcourt while 6-foot-10 senior Ernest Aflakpui will be the target for St. John's in the paint. Roselle Catholic product Nate Pierre-Louis is in line for a breakout sophomore season after averaging over seven points per game while shooting 46 percent from the floor as a rookie. If it is VCU taking on the Red Storm, the Rams will see Mullin for the second time in three seasons, having faced off in the Battle 4 Atlantis in 2016. Head coach Mike Rhoades, now in his second season at the helm of the program he once assisted Shaka Smart at, will have a team that can still contend this year even without all-Atlantic 10 forward Justin Tillman, as VCU loses only one senior -- backup guard Xavier Jackson -- from the roster after this season. De'Riante Jenkins and Issac Vann are prime candidates to be all-conference talents in Richmond this season, not to mention Rice transfer Marcus Evans, eligible again after following Rhoades to VCU and sitting out last year. A guard-heavy team by tradition, the Rams also possess a pair of difference-makers in the interior, as 6-foot-8 sophomore Sean Mobley should make tangible progress from his freshman numbers alongside graduate transfer Michael Gilmore, who returns to the black and gold following a brief stint at Florida Gulf Coast.

Maryland Eastern Shore: Tuesday, November 27 - Carnesecca Arena

Three of the five starters for the Hawks are gone from a team that finished 7-25 last season, but UMES' leading scorer -- 6-foot-7 junior Tyler Jones -- remains. The Atlantic City native averaged a dozen points and five rebounds per game last season. Redshirt junior guard Ahmad Frost is the only other double-figure scorer returning to the fold for head coach Clifford Reed, the former head man at Bethune-Cookman.

Georgia Tech: Saturday, December 1 - AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami

A neutral-site game in the Hoophall Miami Invitational takes place against a Georgia Tech team that may very well return to the postseason two years removed from a National Invitation Tournament runner-up performance. Josh Okogie and Ben Lammers are no longer around for Josh Pastner, but the Yellow Jackets will get to build around former Christ the King standout Jose Alvarado, now entering his sophomore season. In Lammers' absence, 6-foot-9 junior Abdoulaye Gueye will have mounds of chances to improve on his productivity for a team featuring eleven players on its roster that are either freshmen or sophomores.

Mount St. Mary's: Wednesday, December 5 - Carnesecca Arena

The Mountaineers have a new shepherd in Emmitsburg, as Dan Engelstad arrives following the exodus of Jamion Christian to Siena. The Mount will be one of the youngest teams in the nation this season, with no juniors OR seniors on its roster. Omar Habwe, a sophomore who averaged 11 minutes per game last season as a freshman, is the top returning player.

Princeton: Sunday, December 9 - Madison Square Garden

The yet-to-be-announced Holiday Festival will once again feature the Red Storm, who take on a perennial Ivy League contender in Princeton for their MSG debut. The Tigers lose Amir Bell this season, but return two of the best guards in the area in seniors Devin Cannady and Myles Stephens. In his first trip to New York, Cannady singlehandedly won a pivotal late-season game at Columbia as a freshman, with his late three-point shooting giving Mitch Henderson's team the jolt it needed to take down an upset-minded Columbia team that later went on to win the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. Stephens, a former Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, will likely get the first crack at Shamorie Ponds while also sliding over to defend Justin Simon on occasion. Sophomores Sebastian Much and Jerome Desrosiers will be looked to as the tag team that will replace Bell and his impact down low.

Wagner: Sunday, December 16 - Carnesecca Arena

Twice in the past three years, the Seahawks have entered March as the favorites to represent the NEC in the NCAA Tournament. Twice in the past three years, the postseason dreams on Staten Island were instead relegated to the National Invitation Tournament as Wagner was not able to protect its home court against Fairleigh Dickinson or LIU Brooklyn with an automatic bid to the field of 68 hanging in the balance. Head coach Bashir Mason has his work cut out for him this season if he is to replicate last year's success, as he must replace both JoJo Cooper and Blake Francis, the two most integral pieces in the Seahawks' backcourt, and along with the returning Romone Saunders, two of the three leading scorers on Grymes Hill last season. Expect seniors Elijah Davis and Devin Liggeons to take on a greater role in the offense for Mason, whose defensive prowess will surely reveal itself as the season goes on. AJ Sumbry should reprise his role as Wagner's rim protector while Nigel Jackson continues to develop alongside him as he enters his sophomore season, and if freshman guard Jonathan Norfleet is as good as advertised, the Seahawks could give St. John's a game deep into the second half.

St. Francis Brooklyn: Wednesday, December 19 - Carnesecca Arena

Another longtime familiar opponent makes its way into Queens in the form of the Terriers, who scored a 53-52 upset victory on the night that Alumni Hall was officially renamed in honor of Lou Carnesecca, back in 2004. Fifth-year senior and Staten Islander Glenn Sanabria remains the backbone on the corner of Remsen and Court, and he will once again serve as floor general for the likes of sophomore Jalen Jordan, who will be more integral to the machine now that Rasheem Dunn has transferred to Cleveland State and Josh Nurse will be out for the season after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured leg. Brooklyn native Cori Johnson remains in the rotation as he continues to recover from a torn ACL suffered two years ago, and he will be a key cog in the paint for the Terriers, who will welcome junior college transfer Christian Rohlehr to the roster in the hope that he provides the same defensive spark that Amdy Fall did en route to Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Did You Know? Head coach Glenn Braica, now entering his ninth season at the helm at St. Francis, came to Brooklyn from St. John's, where he spent six seasons as Norm Roberts' top assistant and lead recruiter, helping bring the likes of D.J. Kennedy, Paris Horne, Justin Brownlee and Dwight Hardy to Queens.

Sacred Heart: Saturday, December 22 - Carnesecca Arena

he Pioneers will have a tall task in replacing the likes of Joe Lopez and Mario Matasovic, but head coach Anthony Latina's cupboard is by no means bare. Sophomore E.J. Anosike, a Paramus Catholic product from a basketball family, could be the next dominant big man in the NEC, and will be the face of the program by year's end. Guard Sean Hoehn has Big East blood in his lineage, as former Villanova point guard and conference Player of the Year Ryan Arcidiacono -- now of the Chicago Bulls -- is his cousin.

Duke: Saturday, February 2 - Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, NC

The in-conference-season non-conference game against the Blue Devils is reprised one year after Ponds -- in one of his many take-charge performances in the second half of last season -- unleashed a tour de force that led to an upset of the then-fourth-ranked Duke team that was the preseason No. 1 in the nation. As he usually does, Mike Krzyzewski has reloaded, and done so with four of the top seven recruits in the country, getting R.J. Barrett, Tre Jones -- younger brother of Tyus, whose three-pointer at the end of the Duke-St. John's game in 2015 that gave Krzyzewski his 1,000th career win was the dagger -- Cam Reddish and Zion Williamson to take their talents to Durham to play before the Cameron Crazies in his latest attempt to deliver a sixth national championship to the basketball powerhouse. Now juniors, Javin Delaurier and Marques Bolden may be the most experienced players half the country has never heard of, serving as unsung heroes for a program that remains, until proven otherwise, a perennial threat to cut down the nets in April.