It was Jan. 3. St. John’s had just suffered a brutal home loss to Providence that dropped them to 9-5 on the season.

Rick Pitino said his team’s backs were against the wall, and he was noticing some “frailties” in his players.

This was an inflection point in the Johnnies’ season, I wrote at the time. They could go one of two ways — pick themselves off the mat or let the season spiral.

Fast-forward to the present day, and we have another such moment.