23. St. John’s (15-5)
The early word on St. John’s was pretty clear as the Red Storm blew opportunities and showed they weren’t doing enough on defense to be a serious contender. After losses against Alabama, Auburn, and a few other contenders, the team entered Big East play hoping to avert further disaster and get back on track. For the most part, ignoring an early January stumble, Rick Pitino’s squad has done just that.
Their recent winning streak continued this week with a 65-60 home win against Seton Hall. A solid team performance featured a 17-point, 11-rebound game from Dillon Mitchell as they outworked the Pirates for another win. Saturday was a special game for Pitino, leading his Red Storm over Xavier in an 88-83 win over his son’s team. Bryce Hopkins scored 18 points, Mitchell had another 17 points, and Pitino picked up the 900th win of his coaching career.
The long-range shooting hasn’t exactly been electric but St. John’s has still found their way to six wins in a row and are up to 8-1 in the conference race. After winning the league last season, the Red Storm entered with high expectations and seem to finally be living up to them in these recent weeks. We’ll certainly see this team tested again soon, but it’s just Butler at home on the docket in the week ahead.