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St. John’s Basketball: Duke victory is program defining

By Holden Walter-Warner

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 03: Players of the St. John's Red Storm react from their bench during their game against the Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden on February 3, 2018 in New York City. St. John's won 81-77. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 03: Players of the St. John's Red Storm react from their bench during their game against the Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden on February 3, 2018 in New York City. St. John's won 81-77. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
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St. John’s secured their biggest win in a long time when the Red Storm upset the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday afternoon.

Nobody in their right mind predicted a St. John’s victory on Saturday afternoon. The Red Storm don’t even have a single win in Big East play so far.

But the team stepped up under the bright lights of New York City, upsetting the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils 81-77.

Much of the focus in the coming days will be on the Duke side of this game. People will question what the loss means for their hopes of being a top seed in the NCAA Tournament and whether or not they’re even built to succeed during the Big Dance.

The spotlight should be shined upon the Red Storm for a moment. After all, it’s been a long time since they’ve had a win as good as this one.

They managed to beat an NCAA Tournament-worthy Nebraska by 23 points earlier in the season. Since Big East play began, however, the Red Storm have folded.

That’s why this victory is so significant. It won’t push St. John’s to the NCAA Tournament – they’re now 11-13 on the year. It will instill some confidence into the program going forward, though.

For starters, the team found a star on Saturday. Shamorie Ponds played every minute for the second consecutive game, scoring 33 points in the upset. It was the third time he scored at least 30 points in the last five games.

The Brooklyn sophomore is averaging 19.7 points per game. He could be the program’s best player since Mo Harkless.

More importantly, the win signals that program legend Chris Mullin is building something in New York. In his three years as head coach, the team has yet to finish within five games of a winning record and have only defeated one ranked opponent.

Now, St. John’s is instilled with the knowledge that they can do it.

In all likelihood, this is the last we’ll hear from the Red Storm this season, unless they can upset Villanova on Wednesday.

Next: 3 team turnarounds

Saturday could mark the start of a new chapter for St. John’s, though – a storm is brewing.

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