Tonight-- St. John's vs Sacred Heart, 7.30 ET

It's good to see that the New York Post, in their fact and spell checking wisdom, can't spell the name of St. John's leading scorer and returning scholarship player, Larry Wright. They report Anthony Mason is out for tonight's game with a high ankle sprain that worries the fans more with each missed practice and contest.

Supposedly the athletic Mason, who the Johnnies are supposed to be built around might return by Sunday's game against Fairleigh Dickinson, but this is the paper that can't spell the players' names right, and is known for their half-truths and scraped from the bottom innuendo, so we'll see Mase when he's on the court.

Also, there was a rumor flitting about that freshman guard from Queens Mike Cavataio would redshirt... but Coach Roberts denies that report. He may be keeping Cavataio active until the team knows when and how well Anthony Mason returns.

They keys to the game are basic. Sacred Heart is supposed to be a quality NEC team, come on, it's Sacred Heart! It's the NEC! This team has to be able to whoop up on them.

- Rebounding. A smaller St. Francis team beat the Red Storm on the boards, despite the supposed rebounding prowess of freshman Justin Burrell and the size of Tomas Jasiulionis and Dele Coker. DJ Kennedy pulled down 14 rebounds last week.

- Holding the lead. This one was all coaching, as Norm Roberts put 5 freshmen on the floor at different times, and the lead trickled away. The freshmen need to get their minutes, for sure, and if Justin Burrell is sidelined with foul trouble, his backup is raw. But the kids have to hold the lead, or get out and score.

- Shot selection, especially from Paris Horne. He likes to jack up threes, but in the exhibition and in the opener, I think he's hit 1 of 8. His shot is flat. He's a fast, active athlete, and needs to use that to his advantage rather than take Nate Robinson ill-advised-shot practice.

DJ Kennedy, despite not shooting well, was phenomenal. Here's one of his drives.