St. John’s Basketball Rises From the Ashes

St. John’s basketball is having a season for the ages.

St. John’s basketball has been an afterthought in the Big East Conference for the past 20 years. The conference has been primarily run by Villanova and UConn as of late but a new contender has emerged. St. John’s in Rick Pitino’s second season with the team has tied a program record with 27 regular season victories. This has positioned St. John’s as the number one seed in the Big East Tournament and they have won both games convincingly to advance to the Championship round for the first time since 2000.

By playing so well throughout the season, St. John’s basketball is poised to capture a top 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and is one of the betting favorites to make the Final Four. The St. John’s Red Storm have not advanced past the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament since the 1998-1999 season. This team appears to have all the makings to end this streak, and here is why.

It all starts on the defensive end.

The biggest advantage for St. John’s basketball is the length they have on the perimeter. Kadary Richmond is 6’ 6”, Aaron Scott is 6’ 7”, and RJ Luis is 6’ 7” which is a huge advantage as they are able to have relentless on ball pressure which wears teams down. This is evident as only two power conference schools (Iowa State and Missouri) average more steals per game than St. John’s who are at 9.3 per game.

It’s not just the on ball pressure that is elite for St. John’s basketball, they are also one of the best teams in the country at contesting shots and have forced opponents to shoot just 40% from the field, which is the 17^th best across college basketball.

A star-studded cast.

New York is known for it’s star power and this St. John’s basketball team is not short on this. They are led by Big East Player of The Year RJ Luis who averages an impressive 18.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg, and 1.4 spg. St. John’s basketball has also seen tremendous growth from Zuby Ejiofor who has seen his scoring totals increase from 4.3 ppg to 13.8 ppg which contributed to the big man winning the Big East’s Most Improved Player award.

RJ Luis and Zuby Ejifoor were both rewarded with first team all conference honors for their performances and were also joined by key transfer Kadary Richmond who made second team all conference. Kadary Richmond provides so much experience as he has been coached by Syracuse legend Jim Boeheim, and has had several great years at Seton Hall before joining St. John’s for his final season of college ball.

A steady team can go a long way in March.

St. John’s basketball has been in every single game this season which will go a long way in March. They have been able to close out several close games in Big East play which helped contribute to their 18-2 regular season conference record, which ties the juggernaut UConn team from last season for the most wins in Big East Conference play in a season.

No team has been able to blow them out either as their only four losses have been by a combined seven points. This is a recipe for success in March as teams who can play consistently have a tendency to advance very far.

A coach who knows what it takes to win.

Rick Pitino is clearly one of the best coaches in the history of college basketball. He has taken three different programs to the Final Four, something only John Calipari has also done.

This St. John’s team is rolling and very well could be the 4^th school Rick Pitino will be coaching in the Final Four. After their victory over Marquette in the Big East Tournament, Rick Pitino said “there’s no panic in this stock market.” It’s safe to say you should invest in St. John’s basketball now and for the next several seasons Rick Pitino will be at the helm.