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The Jayhawks were smoldering early against the St. John's Red Storm, mainly due to the condensation on the hardwood at the Garden. In case it seemed lots of players were falling down Friday night, they were. The major reason for this was the ice underneath the court at Madison Square Garden. The New York Rangers call the Garden home and have a home game Sunday, hence the floor being placed over the ice. Early on, the Red Storm seemed to have a youthful exuberance mixed with home-court advantage, taking a lead which seemed to stun KU. Drew Gooden was found on the bench at tip-off. Nick Collison and Eric Chenowith were meant to fill in where Gooden left off last night against the UCLA Bruins. Thanks to Dick Vitale it was easy for me to see Kansas was spreading out the St. John's defense, forcing defenders to travel for a double team, opening up the arc and the paint. KU did not have the success behind the three-point line they enjoyed against UCLA, but then St. John's is a decidedly different defensive squad then the Bruins. For the this game it was important the Hawks got the ball inside to the big men, Chenowith, Gooden, and Collison. And so they did. Gooden had 22 points as he has become the go-to guy for the Jayhawks, something missing since the days of Raef LaFrentz. The only knock against Gooden for the entire night would be his inability to shoot free-throws when they were crucial in the last minutes of the game. Granted the final outcome was not decided by single points, but if Gooden should retain his "go-to" title, he must become consistent from the charity stripe. Kenny Gregory, while not as trigger happy from the arc, was still consistent, tallying 17 points and 10 rebounds. The Columbus native put his hops to uses other than dunking. Gregory will be the most happy to receive the week off, following two consecutive nights of leading the Jayhawks in minutes played. Having Luke Axtell back in the fold will help in giving Gregory a greater chance to rest, and take pressure off Bryant Nash who seemed unsure of himself in only three minutes of play. St. John's did find something to start playing for toward the middle of the second half. It had appeared Kansas would coast maintaining a 10 point advantage. St. John's turned on the heat and pulled within a handful of points, before the Rock Chalk Chant could safely be heard in the Garden. The entire team had a problem with turnovers, totaling 26 for the night. Chenowith will need to make an adjustment with the tougher foul calls being made so he can stay in games longer. Tonight the big man fouled out with four minutes left in the game, after bowing out early against UCLA with less than a minute left. He did manage 8 points in 15 minutes of play. Once Axtell makes a return, I would not be surprised to see Eric really need to turn up his intensity to continue to rate serious time.

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