Big East Basketball Power Rankings: Seton Hall, Villanova leap ahead

St. John’s has performed relatively well on the eye test so far in conference play but that isn’t what shows up in the standings. That pretty much summarizes how the Red Storm have returned to the cellar of my power rankings as they now sit with just a 1-6 record in the Big East.

While the team has played a tough schedule with four of its first six conference games coming on the road, it’s impossible to ignore that W-L, especially when the lone victory came at home over the team ranked No. 9 in this piece.

I am still a fan of the way that the Red Storm have approached this season, though. Head coach Mike Anderson has a tough roster to work with but he is getting contributions from a lot of different places and he has made his mark on the program in just 20 games.

St. John’s plays with a ton of energy and never relents for all 40 minutes on the court. It might not be the most talented team in the conference but it will make life hell for every team that it faces. Even though the Red Storm might be 1-6 in the Big East, they are a team that nobody wants to see.

This is particularly true now that Mustapha Heron has returned to the rotation. The 6-foot-5 wing adds another scoring presence alongside LJ Figueroa and that will be much-needed as conference play continues. St. John’s already does a nice job defensively but needs to find more consistent buckets in order to win games. Heron has scored 18 points in each of SJU’s last two games.