No. 13 St. John's beat No. 7 Texas 87-74 in Sunday's men's basketball exhibition. The Red Storm scored 20 points off 16 Texas turnovers, according to St. John's game report. That is a better starting point than the margin alone for understanding how Rick Pitino's team turned a ranked matchup into an 18-point halftime lead.
Eleven Texas turnovers came on St. John's steals. The Red Storm made 29 of 47 shots inside the arc and scored 56 points in the paint. A steal does not automatically become a layup, and the published totals do not identify the result of every stolen possession. Together, they show two ways St. John's made Texas defend under pressure and near the rim. Texas shot 47.9 percent overall, according to the Texas report. It still spent much of the afternoon chasing the game.
Ellis gives the scorers room to work
Keyshawn Hall scored 24 points, Tounde Yessoufou 23 and Ian Jackson 18. Quinn Ellis scored four, then led the team with seven assists and no turnovers in 34 minutes. CBR's preview of this game asked whether Ellis could connect the scorers in a standard 40-minute game after his nine-assist, one-turnover outing against Rutgers required four overtimes. Sunday's line provides an answer for one exhibition. Three teammates reached 18 points while Ellis kept his own mistakes off the box score.
Texas did respond after halftime, scoring 43 points in the second half. Isaiah Johnson finished with 18, Matas Vokietaitis with 14 and David Punch with 11, according to Texas Athletics. St. John's did not need to hold the Longhorns to a low shooting percentage to protect its lead. It kept producing chances for several scorers while Ellis recorded seven assists without giving the ball away.
The box score cannot tell us whether this turnover pressure will travel through a Big East schedule. It does show what the Red Storm can build around as the regular season approaches: several scorers, an available lead guard and extra offense from opponent mistakes. St. John's opens against Monmouth on November 2. Texas opens against Chicago State the same day. Neither team's exhibition record counts toward the regular-season standings.
