To start the latest Big East showdown, St. John's fans rallied around Davon Smith.
The senior guard made three straight 3-pointers, the first of which answered a go-ahead deep shot from Eric Dixon, the nation's leading scorer and St. John's main opponent.
But just as quickly as a jolt of excitement passed through the raucous crowd of 18,178 at Madison Square Garden, a sense of unease spread just as quickly when the star fastbreak maestro collapsed with nearly two minutes left in the first half. It has spread.
While chasing a pass for a steal, Smith collided with Villanova's Uga Poplar, hitting him in the right shoulder. Moments later, he collapsed to the ground clutching his shoulder in pain and walked from the court to the locker room.
After St. John's won 80-68, head coach Rick Pitino said Smith's shoulder “popped in and out” but was not dislocated. X-ray results were negative, and St. John's Hospital does not believe an MRI is necessary.
“He's not going to be out for a long time. He might miss Georgetown, but I don't think it'll be after that. But he's a pretty tough kid,” Pitino said.
Prior to his exit, the Loganville, Ga., native was St. John's leading scorer, making 4 of 6 from the field, including 3 of 5 from deep in 17 minutes, and scoring 12 points in the first half. was.
His absence was immediately felt by his teammates.
“Yes, of course,” Simeon Wilcher said after the game. “Just knowing what kind of player he is and how much he means to the team. For him to hurt, it kind of hurt for all of us. But we've got to step up. We knew it had to happen, and it was like the next guy. …Of course we felt that way, too.”
Smith was stabilized with wraps wrapped around his shoulders and torso, and only returned for three minutes in the second half.
He didn't want to use his right arm, so he was pulled again. Robert Szabo of the New York Post
In his first year with Queen's after transferring from Utah State, Smith averaged 10.7 points on 43.8 percent shooting and 38 percent from deep.
“He wanted to get back in the game because he felt they didn't have any subs,” Pitino said. “When I realized he wasn't going to make the shot, I pulled him right away. He's going to be fine. He's a warrior.”
