It’s merely one loss, on the road to a quality opponent. There’s no reason for St. John’s to be alarmed about Wednesday’s defeat at Seton Hall — for the time being.
St. John’s is a very healthy 11-2, with a number of quality victories and a solid RPI. The team is in great position to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years. But St. John’s is now under .500 in the Big East, 0-1 entering Saturday’s game against Butler, a game the Red Storm desperately need to have, because Butler is followed by No. 6 Villanova visiting the Garden on Tuesday and then a trip to Providence on Jan. 14.
“Butler is the most important game to us right now,” senior guard D’Angelo Harrison said after the loss to Seton Hall. “We’re 0-1 in the league, so we have to try and tie it up.”
That one loss could snowball, and then all the questions will creep up about last season’s slow start in the league, the 0-5 record out of the gate that ultimately doomed this group’s NCAA Tournament hopes.
The No. 15 Red Storm didn’t play poorly against Seton Hall, but they weren’t very good, either, in dropping their Big East opener for the third straight season. Only Harrison brought his ‘A’ game. The defense, this team’s strength, was porous, allowing 78 points, the second most they have given up this season. Chris Obekpa and Sir’Dominic Pointer were non-factors in the paint, out-scored and out-rebounded by the Pirates duo of Angel Delgado and Brandon Mobley, 26-11 and 22-12, respectively. Rysheed Jordan continues to struggle, scoring 11 points on 10 shot attempts off the bench, committing more turnovers (two) than assists (one).
“In this league this year, you’re going to have to bring your ‘A’ game, and even that doesn’t guarantee you victory,” Lavin said. “But it does give you the opportunity. … There are no guarantees, no ‘gimmes’ from top to bottom. This conference is dramatically improved compared to last year. We need to go back to work and improve on areas Seton Hall exposed.”
An improved Butler team, with the return of forward Roosevelt Jones after he missed all of last season because of torn ligaments in his wrist, has wins over Georgetown and North Carolina but has lost three of its previous five, including Wednesday’s Big East opener at Villanova. The Bulldogs will be hungry, as desperate as St. John’s is.
For now, it’s just one Big East loss. But St. John’s knows all too well it could quickly mushroom into a crooked number. And the Johnnies need to avoid another ugly start in the conference.
