It was 80 hours that St. John's will want to forget.
They lost to No. 18 Creighton in the last minute.
No show at Seton Hall.
Meanwhile, Johnny's coach Rick Pitino and guard Jordan Dingle tested positive for the coronavirus.
The news has gotten much better since the lopsided defeat in Newark, N.J.
Pitino is recovering and will be out.
The virus did not spread to other players, but Dingle will not return for Saturday's game against No. 17 Marquette at the Garden.
Now, St. John's must bounce back and quickly turn the page from a 15-point loss in Seton Hall.
“There were just some nights where I didn’t bring it,” Pitino said. “If this team isn't clicking on all cylinders from an effort standpoint, they're going to lose. We don't have the talent or the stature or the athleticism to overcome without extraordinary effort.”
Although disappointed with the performance, Pitino joked that he felt sick once the match started and only felt worse as the match continued. He didn't want to think about it.
He chooses to treat it as an anomaly. It was a night where St. John's (12-6, 4-3) was less athletic and physically prepared for the challenge presented by Seton Hall.
They were outscored by 21 points on the glass and on the wrong side of the Pirates' 28-0 run from the end of the first half to the beginning of the second half.
Pitino didn't feel the need to beat the team any further.
They were already hurt.
There were no typical post-game film breakdowns.
“We're not going to change our minds on one game,” Pitino said. “They had a bad night, but we had a lot of good nights. You can't base everything on that game. Just throw it away and move on to the next game.”
It won't be easy to recover.
Marquette has reigning Big East Player of the Year Tyler Kolek and dynamic guard Cam Jones on the roster, despite an unremarkable start to Big East play with a 3-3 record. , is still considered a Final Four contender.
If St. John's isn't ready to play, Pitino said, “Marquette is a team that will easily embarrass you.”
I'm sure his players will respond.
After all, this is a team that has played well for most of the past six weeks, but lost on the road to top-ranked Connecticut and Creighton by a combined five points.
That means, according to almost every prediction on Bracketology, they're safely in the NCAA Tournament right now.
Not counting the disastrous duo of Georgetown and DePaul, Big East teams are a combined 22-8 at home in league play.
Johnny's has a perfect record of 3 wins and 0 losses.
“We'll just bring it tomorrow,” star center Joel Soriano said. “Obviously, we're definitely shaken up, but I don't think any of us have lost confidence in ourselves or in the team. … We definitely need to step it up now. Overall, we need more I need to get better.”
“Every game is important all season long, but the games are starting to become even more important,” forward Chris Ledrum said.
With that in mind, it feels like this could be a crossroads into St. John's season.
This is the first time this year that they have lost two games in a row.
Until recently, the Johnny's were on the rise as a team.
They are now in a difficult situation.
Mike Tyson once said: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.”
St. John's has now absorbed multiple bullets to the head.
It's time for Pitino's team to stand up and start throwing their own right hands.
“We're a good basketball team,” Soriano said. “I'm definitely going to prove it tomorrow.”
