St. John's has mostly held serve so far. Johnny was winning the matches they expected him to, and usually in an empathetic way.
Their nine wins have been by an average margin of 21.6 points. The two losses, against NCAA Tournament-bound teams Baylor and Georgia, were decided by a total of four points.
They pass the eye test. They look like they're up to the task. They have strong metrics, ranking 13th in KenPom and 27th in the NET Rankings, a sorting tool used by selection committees to differentiate teams. They are in the top 21 in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
But now, for the first time since his trip to the Bahamas a month ago, his schedule has tightened. In fact, St. John's University will be playing a road game for the first time, against Providence in one of its halls of horrors, the normally hostile Amica Mutual Pavilion (formerly Dunkin' Donuts Center). On New Year's Eve, the Red Storm will visit Creighton, another location that historically has not been kind to the program. St. John's last won in Providence with fans in the stands in 2015. Omaha last won in 2019. The aforementioned opponents are weaker than last season due to injuries and star players leaving for the pros.
