#St. John’s routs Mississippi Valley State in season-opening win

The crowd at Carnesecca Arena was in a celebratory mood leading up to tipoff Tuesday night, a combination of excitement over the first St. John’s home game with fans in 618 days and the hopes of a long-awaited breakthrough season.

Then the game started and the revelry didn’t just continue — it went up several notches.

For one night, at least, anything seemed possible. The new pieces fit. The returning stars appeared comfortable. There was more size, length and shotmaking. The Red Storm wiped out an overwhelmed opponent that made for a poor sparring partner.

The 119-61 final result was never in doubt, nor should it have been. Mississippi Valley State, coming off a 2-22 season and projected to be one of the worst teams in the country, put up very little resistance and was unable even to cover the whopping 42.5-point spread.

St. John’s coach Mike Anderson went 11-deep in the first half alone, mixing and matching with big and small lineups. Julian Champagnie, the junior star and face of the program, scored a game-high 20 points. His running mate, Posh Alexander, controlled the tempo and notched 18 points, seven assists and three steals. All five experienced transfers had strong moments, particularly Tareq Coburn (13 points) and Joel Soriano (11 points, 13 rebounds).

Freshmen Rafael Pinzon and O’Mar Stanley seemed capable. Sophomore Dylan Addae-Wusu, a game-time decision because he had a minor ankle procedure recently, looked healthy. If there were any nerves, St. John’s did well in hiding them.

There was so much to like about this opener, starting with the atmosphere and the one-sided victory. A year ago, no fans were allowed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and St. John’s needed a late rally to avoid a season-opening loss to Saint Peter’s.

Expectations are different this year and so are the circumstances surrounding this team. There was even a “We want Kansas” chant, a reference to the Dec. 3 showdown against the Big 12 powerhouse Jayhawks, who ware No. 3 in the AP preseason poll.

It was a festive night in Queens, and St. John’s gave its fans reason to believe this was only the start of the fun.

Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley was in attendance to watch Montez Mathis, his close friend and former high school teammate, make his St. John’s debut.