Concerning trend emerging for No. 14 St. John’s

It was a thrilling back-and-forth affair on Monday between No. 15 Iowa State and No. 14 St. John’s in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. In the end, the Cyclones prevailed in an 83-82 thriller, handing the Red Storm their second loss of the season.

With the loss, St. John’s falls to 3-2 and is in search of some answers defensively after giving up more than 80 points for the second time in as many losses.

In their second game of the season, the Red Storm fell to then-No. 15 Alabama, 103-96, allowing the Crimson Tide to hit 11 threes and put up 54 points in the paint. While the paint advantage actually fell in favor of St. John’s, it allowed the Cyclones to shoot 44% from the floor and 9-of-22 (41%) from deep.

Defensive issues are becoming a problem for St. John’s

St. John’s is tied for 117th in the country in points allowed (71.5 PPG). However, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, the Red Storm are giving up an average of 93 PPG against power conference opponents this season ahead of their meeting with Baylor on Tuesday.