St. John’s University Rejoins AP Top 25

After a streak of six consecutive wins, St. John’s University has made its way back into the Associated Press Top 25, landing at No. 25 this Monday.

Initially, the Red Storm kicked off the season impressively at No. 5, the highest rank in the program’s history. However, following a setback on December 22, they dropped out of the rankings, only to make a comeback now after about a month.

With a record of 15-5 and 8-1 in the conference, St. John’s is vying for its second consecutive Big East regular-season title, currently trailing Connecticut by just one game. These teams are set to clash twice in February — once at Madison Square Garden on February 6 and again in Hartford on February 25. But before the first face-off, St. John’s is scheduled to host Butler on Wednesday, followed by a trip to DePaul the following Tuesday.

Things were looking shaky after a disappointing home loss to Providence that left St. John’s with an overall record of 9-5. Coach Rick Pitino mentioned that his team was at a turning point. Since then—well, let’s just say they haven’t lost. He introduced a larger lineup featuring Dillon Mitchell, Zuby Ejiofor, and Bryce Hopkins, and they’ve dominated the conference ever since.

Thanks to this winning streak, St. John’s stands at 4-0 on the road. This marks the first time since the 1982-83 season that they’ve started a season with five road wins, and they’ve recorded eight consecutive conference wins on the road. That’s more than any other program in the league since Villanova secured 13 straight from January 31, 2015, to February 9, 2016.

In a noteworthy display last week, the Red Storm came back from a 15-point deficit against Seton Hall and then a 16-point deficit against Xavier. The latter game marked a significant milestone for Pitino, as it was his 900th career win.

“When you have a team that stands tall in the face of pressure, it’s remarkable how well they’re playing right now,” Pitino expressed with pride after that milestone. “I’m really proud of them.”

A key factor in this turnaround has been their improvement on the defensive glass. Early in the season, St. John’s struggled against tough competitors, securing just 60.1 percent of defensive rebounds—falling short of the national average. During this current winning streak, that figure climbed to 75.7%. In victories against Butler, Creighton, Marquette, and Xavier, they allowed just 11 second-chance points total.