Big East Basketball Power Rankings: Butler, Seton Hall secure road wins

St. John’s has been a very pleasant surprise to begin this season. Seemingly from the opening tip of the campaign, head coach Mike Anderson instilled his “40 Minutes of Hell” defensive scheme and the entire roster bought in immediately. This team might not be the most talented in the conference but it is playing with a ton of energy and determination while forcing teams out of their comfort zones.

Although the Red Storm did suffer losses to Vermont and Arizona State earlier in the year, their wins over West Virginia and Arizona showcased how challenging they can be to face.

With regard to the opening week of Big East play, St. John’s was unable to defend its home-court against nationally-ranked Butler in a two-point defeat. With that said, though, SJU did storm back from a 23-point deficit in the second-half to take a lead before surrendering a 7-0 run in the final few minutes to fall short.

On the whole, though, this was an impressive performance by the Red Storm as they were nearly able to take down a Top 15 team while Mustapha Heron was out and LJ Figueroa missed most of the game with foul trouble. More than anyone else, Nick Rutherford is seriously stepping up his game. He recorded 15 points, two rebounds, five assists, and six steals against the Dawgs while showcasing his two-way abilities.

St. John’s looks poised to be one of the Big East’s most dangerous defensive teams this season as they were able to force Butler, an exceptionally careful team, into 24 turnovers. The Dawgs were playing without Kamar Baldwin for an extended period of time (injury) and that contributed to the high TO-rate, but SJU deserves credit as well.

The Red Storm should compete for an NCAA Tournament bid. We will find out more regarding this team, though, as they play five of their next seven games away-from-home. This stretch could prove challenging as SJU is yet to play a true road game.