25. St. John’s (14-3)
This St. John’s team is making more headlines in Rick Pitino’s second season in town and they’re showing it each and every week. All three of their losses were one possession games and all against quality opponents and the wins have gotten a fair bit more impressive in recent weeks. An early win over New Mexico cannot be forgotten and they’ve gotten off to a hot start in Big East play.
The Red Storm looked good on the road early in the week, getting an 82-72 win at Xavier on Tuesday night. Zuby Ejiofor had 18 points and 12 rebounds, while RJ Luis Jr. added 18 points and 10 rebounds in the win. Another great performance came this Saturday, as the Red Storm took care of business, beating Villanova 80-68 at home. Luis was on full display with 30 points and 10 rebounds in a phenomenal game, moving St. John’s to 5-1 in league play.
This team not only moved into attention for these rankings but also got two important wins for maneuvering in the Big East standings. This team has had some awful shooting performances in recent weeks but has still found a way to stick in and win these important games. They rebound, take the ball away, and do the little things well, but can they do enough to finish near the top of the league standings? We’ll see them against Georgetown and Seton Hall next week.