PROVIDENCE — Selection Sunday is just a month away and 17th-ranked St. John’s is rolling. The Red Storm on Saturday beat Providence, 79-69, at Amica Mutual Pavilion for their 11th straight victory.
St. John’s (20-5, 13-1) is even in the loss column with No. 6 UConn (24-2, 14-1) atop the Big East standings. And the Red Storm’s 7-0 record in conference road games suggests they have the kind of character that could be a benefit in NCAA Tournament play.
So with six Big East games and the conference tournament awaiting, it might be time to take the measure of the Red Storm.
What are the positives and negatives on St. John’s NCAA Tournament resume right now and how could it change?
The Red Storm finally notched the kind of high-profile victory they needed on Feb. 6 when they beat then-No. 3 UConn at the Garden. Entering Saturday, St. John’s was ranked No. 24 in the NCAA NET ranking metric and was No. 22 in the metric-heavy kenpom.com rankings.
That said, St. John’s also has a Quad 3 loss — considered a “bad loss” — on its ledger, the Jan. 3 loss to Big East cellar-dweller Providence. Among the Top 25 teams in the NET, the Red Storm are the only one from a power conference with a Quad 3 loss.
St. John’s has at least two more opportunities for Quad 1 wins in the regular season: Feb. 25 at Connecticut and March 6 at Seton Hall. The Feb. 28 game could turn into another if Villanova racks up some wins beforehand. But they also have a pair of dangerous Quad 3 games they cannot afford to lose, next Saturday against Creighton at the Garden and their final home game against Georgetown.
What kind of NCAA Tournament seeding and location could the Red Storm be looking at?
According to bracketmatrix.com, St. John’s looks like a No. 5 seed right now. The fact that the Big East is looking like a three-bid conference unless a dark horse wins the conference tournament doesn’t help. Nothing would be bigger for the Red Storm than completing a sweep of UConn; it could open the door to a No. 3 or No. 4 seeding as long as they don’t stumble.
When the NCAA bracket is assembled, each of the top 16 seeds is atop a group of four — or a pod — and the selection committee tries to keep them close to home. Philadelphia would be a good situation. Maybe even Buffalo, though Big Ten teams might land there.
If St. John’s is a No. 5 or No. 6 seed, it’s anyone’s guess.
Which St. John’s players could be all-conference selections?
Zuby Ejiofor is the only sure-fire lock for the first team; he is the odds-on favorite to be Big East Player of the Year. After the win over the Friars, he is averaging 16.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.9 blocked shots, all team highs.
If Ejiofor follows RJ Luis Jr. as conference player of the year, it will be the first time St. John’s has accomplished that in consecutive seasons since it did it four straight times from 1983-86. Chris Mullin was the top player in the first three seasons and Walter Berry did it in the fourth.
One could envision Dillon Mitchell and/or Bryce Hopkins receiving some sort of all-conference selection. Hopkins is second on the team in scoring with a 13.6-point average plus 5.8 rebounds. Mitchell ranks second on the team in rebounding average (7.1) and assists (2.8).
