Less than a month away from March Madness, the talk of the Big East conference has been St. John’s. Their six-game winning streak not only helped turn around their season, it also placed them on the national radar for an NCAA Tournament bid.
This week, however, their 76-73 overtime loss at Butler snapped their win-streak and tempered any talks of dancing within the field of 68.
It’s amazing what can happen in a New York Minute. And maybe that’s the primary lesson the young Red Storm can take from this.
Last month, a painful 73-71 loss to Marquette dropped St. John’s to a 2-6 record in the conference. There wasn’t any talk of an NCAA Tournament bid, just a young team taking their lumps.
But when the Johnnies began to win, they went from hunters to the hunted.
Was St. John’s feeling themselves too much heading into the Butler game?
I don’t believe that was the case. But a loss like this one will humble any team, at least it should.
This was a winnable game for St. John’s. They held a 16-point lead and blew it. They had an opportunity in the final seconds to win the game and came up empty.
Moreover, the Red Storm have now lost seven in a row at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The venue has become their own house of horrors. Butler’s win also denied a 400th career victory to St. John’s head coach Mike Anderson.
“They’re hurting right now, but they’ll learn from it,” Anderson said afterwards. “One game doesn’t make a season; one game doesn’t kill your season. We know we can play better.”
And St. John’s has already shown they can indeed play better. There’s plenty to like about this team. Julian Champagnie, at 19.7 points per game, leads the Big East in scoring. Posh Alexander is a freshman sensation at point guard. And senior guard Rasheem Dunn plays the game without fear and has embraced a mentorship role.
Anderson has plenty to work with and there’s a reason he’s one career win away from 400 with 15-plus seasons without a losing record. The Red Storm have the right person leading this team’s development.
Meanwhile, like Anderson said, lessons are being learned. And, yes, while one game doesn’t make a season, in a New York Minute, the narrative can change just like that.
