To the winner goes the spoils, and in the case of the men’s Big East Basketball Tournament that began last night at Madison Square Garden, that means an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament field of 68.
For the St. John’s Red Storm, a win over the Seton Hall Pirates in their quarterfinal matchup today at 2:30 p.m. is likely to solidify an at-large spot for them in the NCAA Tournament. The Red Storm are the No. 5 seed and the Pirates, 20-11 overall and 13-7 in the Big East, are No. 4. St. John’s is 19-12, including an 11-9 record in conference play. They have won five in a row heading into today’s game.
St. John’s last appeared in the NCAA Tournament five years ago, losing to Arizona State.
St. John’s was dominated by the Pirates the first time they met this season, on January 16, when they trailed by 14 at the half and went on to lose 80-65.
The Red Storm’s February 18 loss to Seton Hall at the UBS Arena was a turning point in their season. After the 68-62 defeat, in which St. John’s blew a 19-point lead, their head coach, Rick Pitino, harshly criticized his team’s lack of athleticism, defense, and effort. They haven’t lost since then.
The Red Storm are likely to face the defending NCAA Tournament champions, the Connecticut Huskies, tomorrow if they defeat the Pirates today. UConn will take on the winner of yesterday’s pairing of No. 8 seed Butler versus No. 9 seed Xavier today at 12 p.m.
If the Red Storm make it to the field of 68, the season would be viewed as successful in Pitino’s first year of leading the program. A possible exclusion from the NCAA Tournament would be considered a disappointment after the Red Storm’s 12-4 start. Another sign of progress and a positive outlook for next season would be sophomore guard RJ Luis returning for his junior season.
The rapidly improving Luis was a major part of Saturday’s 86-78 Senior Day win over the Georgetown Hoyas, scoring 16 points off the bench, while senior Daniss Jenkins led the team with 23. “(RJ Luis is) a great defensive player,” Pitino said. “He saved us on the offensive glass, saved us with scoring, and saved us with great defense on (Jayden) Epps, so [I’m] real proud of him. He’s got unlimited potential in almost every phase of the game.
“He’s a terrific young man and I’m very excited about the way he played tonight defensively because he’s so [strong]. He’s actually a very cerebral basketball player.”
Pitino also expressed his enthusiasm about looking ahead to the Big East tournament and the prospect of making the NCAA Tournament.
“I love the East Tournament,” Pitino said. “My players are getting ready to find out how great a tournament it is. We realize that we have a chance to go to the NCAA (tournament.). That’s why these guys came here, so we are getting better and better.”