As St. John’s was dominating the second half on New Year’s Eve against Georgetown, owning the paint and drilling open 3-point shots, I couldn’t help but think this felt familiar.

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Familiar to some of their losses, only the roles were reversed. St. John’s was the team that had another gear. St. John’s was the athletically superior team. St. John’s was the team that, once it turned it on, cruised to a win.

It was a reminder that, despite a disappointing non-conference slate, Rick Pitino’s Johnnies are still pretty talented. They may not be Kentucky, Alabama or Iowa State, but now that conference play is here, the Red Storm are back to being a big fish in a small pond.

They are 2-0 in league play, haven’t come close to playing a complete game in either win, yet haven’t had to sweat in comfortable victories over DePaul or Georgetown. St. John’s played a shaky opening 13 minutes in the nation’s capital, trailed by seven, then flipped the switch Zuby Ejiofor requested earlier in the week from his teammates.