Wagner @ St. John's preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 16, 2018 ) Wagner 58, St. John's 73

It has not been the smoothest start to the season for St. John's, but new coach Mike Anderson has taken one positive from the first seven games: his bench. The Red Storm expect their reserves to play another big role Saturday when they host Wagner in non-league play.

St. John's has played one notable opponent to this point and lost by 13 to Arizona State, plus a two-point home loss to Vermont wasn't ideal either. The team did defeat Massachusetts last weekend, but the reserves did much of the heavy lifting in that one to the delight of Anderson, who has not gotten much from Mustapha Heron of late. “That can only make them quality players,” Anderson said of his reserves. “I’m still trying to figure out what I do have.” The two best players for the Red Storm - Heron and L.J. Figueroa - scored a combined 13 points, and Anderson hopes that number increases against a Wagner team that has lost four of its first six.

TV: Noon ET, Fox Sports 2

ABOUT WAGNER (2-4): The Seahawks are coming off an 87-84 home loss to Stony Brook, which made the decisive basket late in overtime. Nigel Jackson had a team-high 22 points on 6-of-8 3-pointers off the bench for Wagner, while Tyrone Nesby IV was 5-of-9 beyond the arc for 19 points. Curtis Cobb III is the team's leading scorer at 21.6 points and he shoots over 44 percent from 3-point range for a Seahawks team that connects at 38.7 percent beyond the arc as a squad.

ABOUT ST. JOHN'S (5-2): Figueroa averages 15.3 points and Heron isn't far behind at 14.3 points, plus the duo shoots a combined 48.4 percent from 3-point range. The rest of the team, however, shoots just 22.9 percent from long range with only one other player making more than three 3s on the young season. That player is David Caraher, who made three 3-pointers in five attempts en route to 17 points off the bench in the win over UMass.

TIP-INS

1. Heron has just 11 points on 3-of-13 shooting over the last two games.

2. Cobb is 18-of-19 from the foul line.

3. Figeroa has posted games with four, five and six steals - and has zero steals in each of the other four games.

PREDICTION: St. John's 79, Wagner 59