There isn’t much worse a team can do than talk the talk and then flop the flop. That’s what St. John’s did last night.
The day after several Red Storm players told The Post they would do everything they could (translation: win) to enhance the chances of coach Norm Roberts being retained, they turned in an awful performance against cross-river rival Seton Hall.
The Red Storm got sucked into Seton Hall’s calculated style of mayhem and fell behind by 22 points in the first half before suffering a 91-81 defeat at the Prudential Center in Newark.
It was the most points surrendered by a Roberts team since the third game of his first season when Niagara posted a 102-81 triumph. This is year five.
“The bottom line is we have to rebound and we have to guard,” said Roberts. “I don’t care if we don’t do anything else. If we do those two things, we got a chance to win every single time.”
Seton Hall turned 11 offensive rebounds into 11 second-chance points and the Pirates shot 51.8 percent from the field. Translation: St. John’s didn’t rebound and didn’t play defense.
“They pride themselves on being a halfcourt defensive team and they keep the game in the 60s,” said Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez. “They score 67 and give up 65. I think we put our will on the game because we made the game go in the 80s and 90s.”
The Pirates (12-9, 3-6 Big East), won their third straight league game. St. John’s fell to 12-10, 3-7 in the league.
The Red Storm really didn’t show much will until 17:24 was left and the Hall held a 49-35 lead. Jeremy Hazell of the Bronx, who had a game-high 31 points for the Hall, and D.J. Kennedy, the player assigned to guarding him, began jawing, and tempers flared.
Roberts and Gonzalez rushed the court and hustled their players to the bench. The bench wasn’t a safe haven for St. John’s, either.
Anthony Mason Jr., who is out for the season after surgery to repair a torn foot tendon, allowed foul-mouthed Seton Hall fans to get under his skin on the bench. Video coordinator Kimani Young asked a security guard to quiet the foolish fans.
Seton Hall comes to Carnesecca Arena on Feb. 22, a fact that irks Gonzalez, who believes his team should play in the Garden. Gonzalez, however, is thrilled with having won the first two games against the Big East’s metropolitan area rivals, beating Rutgers last Thursday night and St. John’s last night.
“Any time we can get rivalry wins back to back, that’s huge for us,” said Gonzalez. “We care a lot about that. I care a lot about that. That means a lot to me personally. I pay attention to that.”
It’s time for St. John’s to pay attention. It’s not what you say; it’s what you do.