11. St. John’s (21-4)
Rick Pitino’s influence at St. John’s has been nothing but magical as the Red Storm are having by far their best season in recent memory. Sitting atop the Big East standings after last week’s success, this program has certainly turned the corner and should be a major player in the NCAA Tournament next month. Even with this recent success and a 10-game winning streak, things are never easy in this conference.
Even after last week’s clutch wins over Marquette and Connecticut, the Red Storm saw their streak come to an end on Wednesday night. St. John’s took a late lead at Villanova, but a Tyler Perkins 3-pointer handed the Red Storm a 73-71 loss on the road. Aaron Scott scored 22 and Kadary Richmond was excellent with 17 points and 10 assists, but they just couldn’t get one more play late in the game.
Regardless of that tough moment in Villanova, St. John’s remains a great story and an intriguing team in the national landscape. Pitino has clearly done some of his best work in his long distinguished career and the Red Storm remains one of the heavy favorites in the Big East. Hoping to get back on track, they’ll be back on the court on Sunday against a Creighton team that handed them their first conference loss nearly two months ago.