St. John’s continues to surge to heights not seen in a long time.
Contemporary off of Sunday’s commanding victory over UConn, the red-hot Pink Storm got here in at No. 7 on this week’s AP Ballot.
It’s the varsity’s highest rating since Dec. 2, 1991, when St. John’s was additionally No. 7. It’s three spots increased than final week, when St. John’s was No. 10.
Earlier than this month, St. John’s had gone almost 25 years with out cracking the highest 10. However Monday marked the third week in a row that St. John’s ranked No. 10 or higher.
The most recent recognition adopted per week by which St. John’s pulverized DePaul, 82-58, on the street, then dominated UConn, 89-75, at Madison Sq. Backyard.
St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino described Sunday’s win over the two-time defending NCAA champion Huskies as his staff’s “best game of the season.”
The Johnnies are actually 24-4, together with 15-2 in Huge East play, and boast a 2.5-game lead over Creighton (12-4) within the convention with three video games to play.
“We want this Big East crown badly, not only for the players, but for the fans who came back like I never expected,” Pitino stated Sunday. “We’re very excited about being in the hunt.”
Now in its second season below Pitino, St. John’s can clinch a share of the Huge East regular-season title with a win Wednesday at Butler (6-10 in convention play).
A win over Butler coupled with a Creighton loss to last-place DePaul (2-15) that very same evening would lock up the outright Huge East championship for St. John’s.
St. John’s has not gained an outright Huge East title since 1984-85 — a season that culminated in a visit to the Remaining 4 below Lou Carnesecca.
The final time St. John’s earned even a share of the convention’s regular-season crown was 1991-92.
St. John’s leads the Huge East in factors (78.7) and rebounds (41.0) per recreation whereas limiting opponents to a conference-best 65.7 factors per recreation.
It’s a outstanding turnaround for a program closing in on its first NCAA Event berth since 2019.
“They’ve got a championship-level defense,” UConn head coach Dan Hurley stated after St. John’s held his Huskies to 39% capturing. “I think they have championship-level offensive rebounding.”
On this week’s ballot, St. John’s jumped Iowa State, Texas Tech and Texas A&M. Auburn was No. 1 for the seventh week in a row, whereas Duke climbed one spot to No. 2 after per week that included Saturday’s 110-67 win over Illinois on the Backyard.
St. John’s has gained 13 of its final 14 video games and is 17-0 at residence, together with 8-0 on the Backyard, the place a capability crowd of 19,812 witnessed Sunday’s victory. The ultimate residence recreation of the season is scheduled for Saturday afternoon towards Seton Corridor on the Backyard.
“I’m really happy for the guys on the team,” Pitino stated Sunday. “I advised them earlier than the sport, ‘Guys, do you understand you’re taking part in in sold-out Madison Sq. Backyard, the world’s most well-known enviornment?’
“I said, ‘A lot of you guys aren’t from New York, but you’re going to have every seat filled. The whole town loves the way you play, so you deserve all the credit in the world, because you’re making it happen.’”
Initially Printed: February 24, 2025 at 4:40 PM EST
