St. John's played so well in the first half against Duke on Sunday, I felt compelled to write a special item about it.

Simply put, St. John's looked like the No. 3 team in the country -- not Duke. It was by far the Red Storm's most impressive 20 minutes of the season.

St. John's executed impeccably on the offensive end, hitting some tough shots early, and then creating easy ones late against Duke's full-court press. St. John's shot 16-for 28 from the field (57.1 percent) and 11-for-13 from the foul line (84.6 percent). Dwight Hardy had 12 points, and Justin Brownlee had 11. Also worth mentioning, little-used Sean Evans made a major contribution, with eight points.

On the other end of the floor, St. John's full-court press and half-court trap really bothered Duke. The Blue Devils had 11 turnovers, and could not get into any kind of rhythm offensively. Duke shot just 8-for-27 from the field (29.6 percent), and 1-for-13 from 3-point range -- and the Blue Devils are in the top 20 nationally in 3-pointers per game and 3-point percentage. Leading scorer Nolan Smith, who averages 20.5 points per game, had just five in the first half.

St. John's could not have played a better 20 minutes. The question is, can they hold off the Blue Devils in the second 20? You know Duke will make a run in this game. We're about to find out.