By Noah Zimmerman
noah@queensledger.com
The St. John’s Red Storm are ranked no more, and it was a long time coming. After a brutal defeat to Kentucky over the weekend, the Johnnies finally lost their spot in the national rankings, one they’ve held since January. After ranked losses to Alabama, Iowa State, and Auburn, it was the 78-66 loss to unranked Kentucky that ended the St. John’s stint in the Top-25.
The second half was nothing short of a disaster in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta, GA. After holding Kentucky to 25 first half points, St. John’s was outscored 53-34 in the second frame, scoring nearly half of those points from the free throw line.
Head Coach Rick Pitino and his captains have committed to growth more than a few times this season, and now their words are starting to feel a little familiar and repetitive with that promised growth still to be seen.
‘I’m disappointed in any loss, but it’s not my job to be disappointed. My job is to make the team better,” said Pitino after the defeat. “We can be a good team, and we can get better and better and better.”
There isn’t much time left for St. John’s to get better, and following Tuesday’s matchup against Harvard, all that’s left in the Johnnies schedule is their BIG EAST slate. Their final 19 games include two against the #4 UConn Huskies, as well as matchups with a much improved Seton Hall squad.
Additionally, Creighton, Butler, Georgetown, Xavier, Villanova, and DePaul have all started the season with 8 or more wins, a sign that the BIG EAST will be a fiery contest this season and in the conference tournament next year.
Senior big man Zuby Ejiofor is well aware of the challenge and time constraint as he looks to lead his team to a conference title defense and a return to the NCAA Tournament, but acknowledged that they can’t let their focus drift far from the next game on the schedule.
“It’s important to take one game at a time and take things one day at a time,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of opportunities, so we’ve got to stay focused and keep working.”
This season is far from over for St. John’s, but if they don’t see improved performances and consistency, it’s hard to envision Pitino’s group reaching the same heights as last year’s team.
