Battle For New York Hot Takes, Lava Cakes and Expectation Mistakes

Battle For New York

Holy smokes, Batman! The St. John’s Red Storm beat the Syracuse Orange on Saturday in the commercially branded Battle For New York, 69-57. It was a game where the Johnnies always felt like they were as much in control as they were constantly in it. There were very few moments where the Red Storm felt overmatched or even a little bit overwhelmed with everything going on. In reality, it was the first time in a long time that St. John’s not only beat the Syracuse Orange, but it didn’t feel like an upset. It actually felt — and seems like — St. John’s might be the better team of the two.

The outcome of the game shouldn’t be terribly surprising, though. At least for those who have being paying attention to college basketball for more than a few seconds. St. John’s has more veterans on their roster than any VA Hospital “actual veterans served” list going around. The Orange are not the same Syracuse team they have been over the last few decades either. Many experts have predicted an NIT postseason for them rather than another trip in the NCAA Tournament. That is not to diminish the win by any means. It is just to highlight the idea that St. John’s is probably the better team anyway, and despite playing in the Carrier Dome, probably should have been the favorite going into Saturday’s game.

There is now going to be an amazing fallout from this particular Battle For New York. St. John’s was already receiving top 25 votes after their loss to Gonzaga last week, which probably takes them off the honorable mention this week and into the actual top 25 for the first time in a long time. That will, inevitably, result in people going bonkers with their expectations for St. John’s. Not just the fanbase, though. It will be a little bit from experts who have pined over this Red Storm roster for two years and folks who have longed for the days of a good St. John’s squad having marquee worthy games at Madison Square Garden.

I’m not against any of those things. Maybe this is the start of a great season. With the Red Storm off to a 6-1 start and having five more cupcake-ish games lined up before the start of in-conference play, it is really easy to get excited for the rest of the season. Honestly, despite being a world-renowned pessimist, even I am starting to get wrapped up in all things Red Storm related — unrealistic expectations or not.

We have already done a report card on the Johnnies pretty recently. However, that was before they earned a good victory in the Battle For New York. Now that they have won the keys to the city (that’s what they win, right?) let’s take a gander at what some of the fallout will be.

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