Rick Pitino is aware of St. John’s missed a chance.
Had his red-hot Purple Storm defeated unranked Villanova on the street Wednesday, the Johnnies may have positioned themselves for a top-seven rating in subsequent week’s AP ballot.
As a substitute, No. 9 St. John’s dropped a nailbiter, 73-71, behind an uncharacteristically porous defensive efficiency and a few essential missed field outs. The loss snapped the Purple Storm’s 10-game win streak.
However St. John’s doesn’t have to attend lengthy for a primary bounce-back alternative.
Sunday afternoon’s assembly with No. 24 Creighton at Madison Sq. Backyard marks the Johnnies’ largest recreation of the season up to now — with first place within the Massive East Convention on the road.
“I’m just taking it one game at a time,” Pitino mentioned. “Taking nothing for granted.”
St. John’s enters Sunday in sole possession of first place within the Massive East with a 12-2 convention file, however Creighton is just a recreation behind at 11-3.
Creighton received the groups’ first assembly — a 57-56 thriller in Omaha on Dec. 31 — and would clinch the head-to-head tiebreaker with a victory Sunday.
“We understand the magnitude of how important it is, not just for ourselves, but we’re playing for something that’s bigger than just ourselves,” junior ahead Zuby Ejiofor mentioned. “We’re playing for a Big East championship for the whole community.”
St. John’s is 15-0 in dwelling video games this 12 months, together with 6-0 on the Backyard.
Wednesday’s loss was the Purple Storm’s first since that New 12 months’s Eve defeat in Omaha. Within the 10 wins in between, St. John’s imposed its will with a smothering, high-effort protection.
However Villanova discovered cracks in that protection, taking pictures 53.1% from the sector and going 11-of-24 from 3-point vary. Creighton doesn’t possess the shooters that Villanova has, however the Bluejays current a mismatch that few different groups rival.
Ryan Kalkbrenner, a 7-1 heart in his fifth season at Creighton, ranks third within the Massive East with 19 factors per recreation and second with 8.5 rebounds.
Kalkbrenner had his method with St. John’s in December, scoring 16 factors on 8-of-12 taking pictures to go along with 9 rebounds and 5 blocks.
Ejiofor, at 6-9, is the Johnnies’ tallest starter.
“We already know the presence he brings and how tough a matchup it is going to be,” Ejiofor mentioned. “It’s going to take a complete team effort to pull out this victory.”
With enviable dimension on the wings, St. John’s leads the Massive East in rebounding. However within the groups’ earlier assembly, Creighton received the rebounding battle, 41-34, and got here away with 11 offensive boards.
On Sunday, St. John’s expects to be with out senior level guard Deivon Smith, who’s coping with a tweaked neck after lacking time final month with a shoulder damage.
Smith, a superb athlete who’s among the many Johnnies’ greatest offensive weapons, significantly in transition, might be out for the rest of the common season, Pitino mentioned.
Nonetheless, St. John’s has loads of offense. Junior guard RJ Luis Jr. is averaging 17.4 factors per recreation in a breakout season, whereas Kadary Richmond, a prized offseason switch from Seton Corridor, is averaging 17.2 factors over his final six video games.
The Purple Storm’s largest downside has been an absence of 3-point taking pictures. They rank lifeless final within the Massive East in 3-point proportion at 29.2% — a deficiency Villanova exploited by difficult St. John’s to beat them from deep.
St. John’s, which averages 20.6 makes an attempt from 3-point vary, went 11-of-37 (29.7%) in Wednesday’s loss.
“If we’re going to be a decent tournament team, we need to get our 3-point shooting back,” Pitino mentioned. “We’ve got to be a good shooting team where people aren’t just going to dare us to shoot. They’re not going to give us anything else if we don’t start making them.”
Now in its second season underneath Pitino, St. John’s (21-4) is closing in on its first NCAA Match berth since 2019. St. John’s has not received the Massive East’s regular-season title since 1992, when Lou Carnesecca was head coach.
It’s already been a particular season for St. John’s, which final week cracked the highest 10 within the AP ballot for the primary time since 1999-2000. It boasts wins over No. 11 Marquette and No. 19 UConn, the latter of which got here on the street.
The Johnnies’ 4 losses have been by a mixed seven factors.
“Never [giving] up, even though it’s not going well, is a remarkable trait,” Pitino mentioned. “They have a lot of weaknesses as a basketball team, but it’s a remarkable trait to have. I’d rather have that trait than anything else in basketball.”
