Kris Dunn dunks through traffic, No. 12 Providence tops St. John's

By foxsports
Published

It's no secret Providence's Kris Dunn is good . . . really good.

The reigning Big East co-Player of the Year scored 26 points and added nine rebounds, six assists and three steals as the 12th-ranked Friars dispatched the visiting St. John's Red Storm 83-65 on Saturday.

"Every game Kris plays, this whole city is getting on his shoulders. That's why he came back to school," Providence coach Ed Cooley said of the redshirt junior guard after the victory, per The Associated Press. "He wants to be the leader. He wants to be the guy, and I'm going to help him do that."

Of his 16 second-half points, he scored 12 in a row for the Friars — including a sweet driving dunk through traffic (see video above at the 47-second mark).  

"He's one of the best players in the country," former NBA star and current St. John's coach Chris Mullin told The AP. "He's got the total package. He can post up and play off the dribble. He's an impressive player. We tried to crowd him a little bit but he's so good in transition."

Saturday's performance was Dunn's second-highest point total of the season — he tallied a career-high 32 in an opening 74-64 win vs. Harvard. He's averaging 17.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 7.3 assists. His stats likely would be better had he not only played 15 minutes vs. Boston College and missed two games (vs. Bryant and Rider) because of a stomach illness.

The Friars — who were favored by 16½ points with an over/under of 141 on Saturday-* — improved to 14-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big East. The Red Storm dropped to 7-8 and 0-2.

(*-Odds courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook).