St. John’s Is Going To Be A Tough Matchup
“I think the biggest thing is just how physical they are,” Boozer said about the Red Storm’s defense earlier today via Heavy.com. “They pressure you full court, and on the offensive side, they play really fast and try to get as many offensive rebounds as they can.”
Still, Boozer projects to start his sixth straight game, and he has been very good over this stretch. While not the 3-point shooter that Foster is, Boozer is a better scorer and distributor, and he is solid defensively.
Boozer has produced 13.4 points, 3.2 assists, and 3.4 rebounds while making 48.2% from the field over the five games that Foster has been sidelined. He has totaled at least 16 points on three occassions during this stretch, including a season-high 19 versus Siena in the Blue Devils’ NCAA Tournament opener.
Foster’s return would also allow Scheyer to lessen the load on freshman Nikolas Khamenia. Khamenia, who has struggled this year, has not been very efficient over the last five games despite seeing a significant uptick in minutes as Scheyer has gone to a seven-man rotation. He has averaged 8.0 points and 4.2 rebounds over this stretch. He also has knocked 1.3 treys a game with shooting splits of .400/.368/.750 while seeing 28 minutes a game. However, he is just 2-for-9 from the field in the NCAA Tournament.
Regardless of Foster’s ultimate status, this Duke and St. John’s matchup has all the makings of a great contest. 6.5 points favor the Blue Devils, but I believe the matchup is certainly more of a toss-up. So, take the points and I be surprised if the Red Storm pull off the upset.
Similarly, both Duke and St. John’s are elite defensively. I also like the under (140.5 points).
