Rick Pitino doesn’t anticipate St. John’s to go 18-2 in Massive East play once more.
However the head coach believes his Johnnies have what it takes to repeat as convention champions, even when this season’s staff stays a piece in progress.
“We’re not as good as UConn right now, but you wouldn’t expect that because UConn had three really pivotal players back,” Pitino mentioned after Saturday’s 91-64 win over Iona. “But by the end of the year, I would hope we’re at that level.”
No. 22 St. John’s (6-3) begins its title protection on Tuesday evening when it hosts DePaul at Carnesecca Area in its first sport towards a convention opponent.
Final season, St. John’s received its first outright Massive East regular-season championship since 1985 and its first convention match championship since 2000.
Between its 18-2 file in convention play and its 3-0 file within the convention match, St. John’s went 21-2 towards Massive East opponents final season.
“The Big East is going to be tougher this year,” Pitino mentioned, describing Butler, Georgetown and Windfall as being “significantly better” than they have been final season.
“We’re not going to win like we did last year. But I think we can defend [the conference championship] with our defense getting a lot better.”
The Massive East coaches pegged St. John’s because the preseason favourite to win the convention, however No. 5 UConn (10-1) has been the superior staff to this point.
UConn, which received back-to-back NCAA championships in 2023 and 2024, took a step again final season, however it has benefited this 12 months from the continuity supplied by the returns of Solo Ball, Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr.
St. John’s, in the meantime, is 0-3 towards ranked opponents, prompting it to fall from No. 5 within the AP’s preseason ballot to its present No. 22 rating.
The Purple Storm introduced again just one starter from final season’s staff in senior ahead Zuby Ejiofor, although many lauded a switch class headlined by Bryce Hopkins, Ian Jackson, Joson Sanon and Oziyah Sellers to be the most effective within the nation.
The brand new-look roster has struggled defensively for a lot of the season, although St. John’s held its previous two opponents — Ole Miss and Iona — to below 65 factors in back-to-back victories.
“We have a lot of things to clean up, but it’s early still,” Jackson mentioned. “We’re only gonna get better as it goes.”
UConn and St. John’s are the one Massive East groups presently ranked throughout the AP’s prime 25, although Seton Corridor (10-1) was among the many others receiving votes this week.
Creighton (5-5) opened the season as No. 23 however fell out of the rankings amid a disappointing begin.
DePaul is 8-3, however it’s but to face a ranked staff and misplaced in blowout trend to its hardest opponent, LSU. The Blue Demons are 0-4 towards St. John’s since Pitino turned head coach and simply 7-53 in convention play over the previous three years, together with 4-16 final season.
Tuesday evening’s assembly with DePaul is one thing of a one-off, as St. John’s will then play two extra video games towards non-conference opponents earlier than it begins the remainder of its Massive East slate.
Tuesday’s sport can be set to be the one Massive East conflict at Carnesecca Area this season. St. John’s is scheduled to play its different 9 house video games towards convention opponents at Madison Sq. Backyard.
“You can’t take any games lightly in this conference now,” Pitino mentioned. “It’s gotten back to where it should be.”
