St. John's Is Back: How Deep Can It Go In March Madness?
After 25 years of largely mediocre play from St. John’s, this tiny catholic school from Jamaica, Queens finally reclaimed the Big East Conference regular season, and title of “New York’s Team.” Much of their new-found success has come from the hiring of Rick Pitino. The legendary basketball coach was familiar with the New York area, serving as the Knicks coach for several years in the 1980s. After several stints among basketball schools, he returned to the Big Apple in 2023.
More than any other statistics, it’s defensive efficiency that serves as the best indicator for March Madness success. This is where St John’s excels, ranking third in the country allowing just 0.899 points per possession. Only Duke and Houston rank higher. The Red Storm’s best defensive player is probably senior guard Kadary Richmond, who transferred from Seton Hall to play for Rick Pitino. His 2.1 steals per game this season ranks third in the Big East. Amazingly, Richmond also averages 0.9 blocks per game, the most by any guard in the conference.
The star of the team, however, really has been the team’s leading scorer, RJ Luis. The junior guard has been slashing with 18 points, seven rebounds, and two assists throughout the year. His marquee moment came in the team’s final game on the road at Marquette, where he led the team’s overtime thriller win with 28 points. It was the team’s fourth quad one win, and 27th overall. Their only four losses were quad one games.
The Big East Tournament starts this Wednesday, the 12th. St John’s, being given the number one seed and a first round bye, must wait to learn their opponent. The Big East Tournament reseeds, so the worst seed will face the Red Storm at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. The entire tournament will be exclusively streamed on Peacock. St John’s has opened as the tournament favorite at +155. If they can keep their red hot play going through the tournament, I see no reason why St John’s shouldn’t be considering anything less than a heavy favorite going into making a Final Four run for March Madness.
