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Johnnies looking to bounce back
St. John’s men’s hoops team hopes to turn things around in conference play after tough stretch
BY STEPHEN LEPORE
The St. John’s men’s
basketball team has lit up
a typically dim winter of
basketball in the New York
area, making everyone take
notice with some big wins
and occasionally sneaking
in to the top 25.
But as of late, the team has
begun hitting some snags,
dropping four of their last
five games culminating in an
89-78 loss to Georgetown at
home Saturday after beating
the Hoyas in Washington
just a few weeks earlier.
The Johnnies were down
just two with over a minute
to go, but missed shots
sank the team as they saw
the Hoyas pile on from the
line in the game’s waning
seconds.
The losses to Georgetown,
Villanova, DePaul and Butler
leave St. John’s with a 3-5
conference record after an
excellent start to the season.
After the loss to
Georgetown, coach Chris
Mullin was resolute in the
face of these stumbling
blocks.
“I wouldn’t say we’re
desperate,” he said. “We
have to take it one game at a
time. We know that we have
a tough three-game stretch
coming up. We know that we
can win these games. We just
have to get back to winning
ways.”
However, this should not
necessarily sound alarm
bells, as the Big East has
consistently eaten its own
tail in conference play this
season.
Aside from 7-0 Villanova
and 7-1 Marquette, no school
in 10-team league has a
better record in the Big East
than 3-4. While the Johnnies
sit in ninth place, they’re no
more than a game and a half
out of third place with more
than half the conference
season to go.
That means there’s still
plenty of time for the Red
Storm to get back on track
to a post-season bid that
seemed fairly assured before
the beginning of 2019.
The next week sees a
three-game road trip that
includes conference foes
Creighton and Marquette
and a special test at Cameron
Indoor Stadium as the
Johnnies try to repeat their
2018 upset of No. 2-ranked
Duke. Mullin relishes the
challenge.
“These are great
opportunities,” he said.
“What else would you
rather do? We’re gonna go
to Creighton and play in a
packed house. Should be
a close game. We’re gonna
go to Duke. I haven’t been
there since 1981 when I
visited there so I’m excited
about that. Then we play
Marquette, one of the best
offenses in the country. What
else would you rather do than
Shamorie Ponds and the St. John’s men’s basketball team must improve in conference play as the
season progresses. Courtesy of St. John’s Athletics
that? If you’re not excited
about that, jeez. Every day is
an opportunity.”
At 15-5 overall and
with nearly two months
of conference play (not
to mention the Big East
Tournament), there’s still
plenty of time for the Red
Storm to make the statement
necessary to keep them
on track for an NCAA
Tournament bid.
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