St. John’s is wrapping up its most successful regular season in 40 years. With just one game remaining (at Marquette on Sunday), the Big East Tournament tips off at Madison Square Garden on March 12.
The Red Storm are outright Big East regular season champions for the first time since 1984-85 thanks to a 17-2 mark in conference play and a 26-4 overall record. The Queens program has never won this many games in Big East play, while the 26 wins are the most in a single season since 1985-86.
With Rick Pitino at the helm in just his second season, St. John’s has risen up to No. 6 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll — the school’s highest since Jan. 29, 1991.
It has created long-lost dreams of deep NCAA Tournament runs that have not been experienced in decades. St. John’s has not made it past the second round since 1999, when it reached the Elite Eight, and has not seen the Final Four since 1985 — one of just two trips to college basketball’s marquee event.
Regardless of how the Big East Tournament plays out, St. John’s will have a high seed at the NCAA Tournament given its current national ranking, which could experience one more bump with a win at No. 20 Marquette on Sunday.
In ESPN’s latest bracketology, St. John’s — despite being No. 6 in the country — is listed as a No. 3 seed in the East regional behind powerhouses Duke (No. 2 in the nation) and Florida (No. 5). It is a seeding where it will likely remain barring major upsets elsewhere.
The other No. 2 seeds listed are No. 10 Iowa State, No. 7 Alabama, and No. 8 Michigan State. All three schools are ranked behind St. John’s.
On the surface, that might seem puzzling to some. Still, all three teams have higher NET ratings — a metric that accounts for game results, strength of schedule, game location, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses — than St. John’s. Alabama’s NET rating ranks sixth, Iowa State ninth, and Michigan State 11th, while St. John’s ranks 19th.
It is one of the pitfalls of playing in the Big East. Alabama, which plays in the SEC, has six teams ranked in the top 25, including No. 1 Auburn, No. 4 Tennessee, and Florida. Iowa State has No. 3 Houston and No. 9 Texas Tech as Big 12 Conference-mates, also in the country’s top 10. Michigan State’s Big Ten counterparts, Wisconsin, Maryland, and Purdue, are nationally ranked.
Marquette is the only other Big East team currently ranked with two-time defending national champions UConn the only other school in the conference even receiving votes.
Alabama is 10-6 in Quad 1 games this season, headlined by wins against then-No. 6 Houston and then-No. 8 Kentucky. The Crimson Tide are a perfect 7-0 against Quad 2 opponents
Iowa State has six Quad 1 wins (6-5) and is 8-1 in Quad 2 matchups. Michigan State is 10-3 in Quad 1 games and boasts wins over Wisconsin, Maryland, and Purdue.
St. John’s has played only seven Quad 1 games and has won three of them, though it is a perfect 8-0 in Quad 2 tilts.
NET rating matters, which is why the Red Storm might not get a top two seed at the Big Dance, but still, it will be their highest seeding in a quarter-century.
