RJ Luis Jr. scores 30 to hand Villanova its second conference loss | Villanova vs. St. John’s Recap
Written by David Szczepanski on January 12, 2025
NEW YORK, NY—Despite many Villanova fans chanting “Let’s Go Nova” at Madison Square Garden, the Wildcats could not pull off the upset against St. John’s. RJ Luis Jr. had a career performance under the lights at the World’s Most Famous Arena on Saturday evening.
St. John’s defeated Villanova, 80-68, on Saturday in New York City. Luis Jr., a junior guard from Miami, FL, finished the game with 30 points, the most for him in a St. John’s uniform. He scored 23 points in the final twenty minutes.
St. John’s defeated Villanova, 80-68, on Saturday night at a packed Madison Square Garden. The Red Storm improved to 2-0 in games at MSG this season.
Aaron Scott was four-for-11 from the field for 12 points. Deivon Smith, who led all scorers with 12 points in the first half, did not play much in the second half with an injury. He accumulated 12 points in 17 minutes.
Villanova’s head coach, Kyle Neptune, discussed Luis Jr.’s skill set after his strong 30-point performance.
“He’s long,” Neptune said. “He’s athletic. He’s aggressive. He is just determined. He gets things done. He’s just an all-around tough player.”
The Red Storm converted 40% of their field goal attempts. St. John’s knocked down seven of its 24 three-point attempts for a 29% success rate. The Red Storm entered the game with a 30% success rate from behind the arc.
Villanova scored less than 70 points in its second consecutive game. Wooga Poplar, a senior guard from Philadelphia, PA, led Villanova with 22 points. He has scored at least 17 points in his last five games. Poplar talked about his mindset after the tough loss to the Red Storm.
“It was a great challenge, but I think we got to just go back to the drawing board and get ready for our next game,” Poplar said. “Just get better overall.”
Eric Dixon had one of his most inefficient games of the season but still scored 18 points. He was six-for-19 from the field in 38 minutes. After the game, Dixon discussed St. John’s defense and credited Coach Pitino and the Red Storm’s defensive scheme.
“Pitino is a great coach,” Dixon said. “They were well coached, stepping up and getting into the rotations, so credit to them.”
Villanova made 39% of its field goal attempts. However, the Wildcats were 10-for-26 (38.5%) from behind the arc. They took advantage of St. John’s poor three-point defense. Jhamir Brickus, Wooga Poplar, and Eric Dixon combined for nine threes on Saturday evening.
Both teams committed nine turnovers at Madison Square Garden. St. John’s narrowly won the assist battle, 11-10.
Villanova’s bench really struggled on Saturday night in New York City. Tyler Perkins, Josiah Moseley, and Kris Parker combined for five points. They were two-for-six from the field against the Red Storm.
Key Takeaways
Villanova’s Poor Rebounding
In the end, Villanova lost this game because of its rebounding, especially down the stretch. The Red Storm dominated the glass with 44 total rebounds compared to the Wildcats’ 28 rebounds. St. John’s also won the offensive rebounding contest, 17-8. The Red Storm’s physicality was difficult for the Wildcats to handle effectively for all 40 minutes, especially down the stretch in the paint.
Free-Throw Success for St. John’s
Villanova’s poor rebounding also led to many free-throw attempts for St. John’s. On Saturday evening, the Red Storm attempted 39 free throws, finishing the game 29-for-39 from the charity stripe. Luis Jr. converted 16 of his 20 free-throw attempts. Despite St. John’s struggles from the charity stripe this season, the Red Storm were successful from the free throw line against the Wildcats.
The Wildcats’ Foul Trouble
The Wildcats accumulated 29 fouls against the Red Storm. Villanova fouled very late in the game when St. John’s had basically secured the victory. However, Brickus and Dixon fouled out of the game. Enoch Boakye, Jordan Longino, Tyler Perkins, and Kris Parker finished the game with four fouls.
Away Struggles for Villanova
Despite playing great basketball at Madison Square Garden since 2017, Villanova could not add another win at the World’s Most Famous Arena on Saturday. It turned out to be another road loss for the Wildcats. Villanova is just 1-3 in away games this season.
Villanova has lost to Saint Joseph’s, Creighton, and St. John’s on the road. The Wildcats’ lone road win came on January 1st against Butler. They have allowed at least 80 points in all three of their road losses this season. Villanova’s defense did not play well down the stretch at Madison Square Garden.
The Wildcats tied the game at 61 with 4:19 left in the second half. Villanova was outscored, 19-7, in those final four minutes.
Villanova will play St. John’s again on February 12th at the Finneran Pavilion.
What’s next for Villanova? The Road Ahead leads to Cincinnati
With the loss to St. John’s, Villanova fell to 11-6 in 2024-25. The Wildcats are 4-2 in Big East play. Their next contest will be on Tuesday night at 6:30pm against Xavier at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. The game can be watched on FS1. WXVU will not have live coverage of Tuesday’s matchup, but there will be social media coverage.
