CINCINNATI — It was an evening RJ Luis Jr. would like to forget.
The explosive wing struggled mightily in his 14 minutes off the bench.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that St. John’s lost, falling to Xavier, 88-77, at Cintas Center on Wednesday night.
When Luis scores in double figures, the Johnnies are 5-1. When he doesn’t, they are 1-4.
Against Xavier, he was held to five points on 2-of-7 shooting along with three turnovers and no assists or rebounds.
“I think RJ’s got to start to play better within the confines of running an offense,” coach Rick Pitino said. “It’s really difficult with RJ not practicing. It’s really difficult.”
It has been a star-crossed season for the 6-foot-7 UMass transfer.
He missed time early in the season with a broken left hand, then after playing in one game was sidelined again by chronic shin splints.
The injury has prevented him from practicing more than once in between games, which has limited his development.
“He didn’t play well defensively or offensively,” Pitino said. “But I don’t think you’re going to see RJ play [his best] because he never practices. He doesn’t get his reps, he doesn’t know the offense like the other guys know it. It wasn’t one of his best nights.”
St. John’s has started a new plan with Luis.
He practices fully once, then takes a day off before the game to rest his shins. Initially, he was only taking part in practices on a limited basis.
With the loss, St. John’s fell into a four-way, fifth-place tie in the Big East with Butler.
Xavier and Providence at 5-5.
All four teams are one game behind Seton Hall in the loss column for fourth.
The top five teams receive a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament.
Senior guard Nahiem Alleyne (right ankle) returned after missing the last game.
He logged 11 minutes and scored two points on 1-of-4 shooting.
Sophomore wing Sadiku Ibine Ayo will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing knee surgery.
An Iona University transfer, Ibine Ayo appeared in just five games for St. John’s this year as a seldom-used reserve.