15. St. John’s (6-3)
The start to this season has certainly been an underwhelming for a St. John’s team that picked up three losses back in November. They’re being tested, that’s for sure, as those three losses all came to ranked foes, including a pair of games during that Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. The performances have indicated that the Red Storm have a few issues shooting the ball and on defense, but they at least kept on track this week.
Rick Pitino and his team stayed comfortably at home and dispatched of one of his former programs, winning 91-64 over Iona on Saturday. We weren’t going to learn a ton about the Red Storm, but the lineup played reasonably well, with the team shooting 52% from the floor and handling business. Oziyah Sellers had 19 points while Ian Jackson added 14 points in the win.
This team did exactly what was needed in a solid win, but knocking off Iona isn’t going to answer questions or alleviate concerns. Pitino and his staff built a great lineup using the transfer portal and have the talent to win the Big East and we’ll soon get to see just what they can do. Big East play begins against DePaul in a few days before a big nonconference test against Kentucky this weekend.