Could St. John’s Surprise Everyone and Dominate This Matchup?

St. John’s was highly regarded coming into the season, and after a bit of a rocky start, they have found their footing. They are 22-5 and are 15-1 in the Big East with a #15 ranking at the moment. The Red Storm, ahem, have weathered the storm, and found themselves back in the conversation as one of the best teams in the nation. I really don’t think this should be a surprise to anyone, but there is some credit that needs to be given to the team. Some of these squads struggle early and never put it together. Rick Pitino, their head coach, has done an admirable job of getting everything to fire on all cylinders. They were just 9-5 on January 3rd, and now have won 13 straight games. Their losses weren’t necessarily bad – seven points at home to Alabama early in the year, one point on a neutral court to Iowa State, losing by 11 to Auburn on a neutral site, and dropping a game by 12 to Kentucky on a neutral site. However, the one game that does stand out is the loss to Providence 77-71 on their home court. If that was what they needed to turn the season around, though, they will take it.