15. St. John’s (17-3)
Even with a few close losses on the resume, things are going rather smoothly for St. John’s to this point in the season. This team has been a hot streak in recent weeks and is looking to prove that they’re one of the best in a Big East that looks challenged for depth. The Red Storm entered this week with a five-game winning streak, but did they keep themselves in that good position?
Considering that they’re still included in these rankings, you can be that the Red Storm did enough this past week. They earned that sixth win in a row on Wednesday night, coming back from a 10-point halftime deficit to knock off Xavier 79-71 in overtime. St. John’s held serve on their homecourt again, getting 19 points and 7 rebounds from Kadary Richmond while three other starters all scored 16 points.
On a night when just a single 3-pointer went in the basket, St. John’s still found enough offense to win this game as they continue to lean heavily on their starting five. This team will need more production from the bench and consistency shooting the ball if they’re going to knock off a top team in the Big East, but they still have time. They’ll be at Georgetown next week before a weekend rematch against Providence.