The St. John’s basketball team has been picked to finish in the middle of the Big East.
The expectations on the shoulders of the St. John’s basketball team are not too great entering the season under Hall of Fame head coach Rick Pitino as the Johnnies were picked to finish 5th in the Big East Preseason Coaches Poll.
The poll was announced on Tuesday morning shortly before the league’s Media Day began at Madison Square Garden.
It marked the highest preseason slot for St. John’s in the poll since the Red Storm were pegged to finish 4th ahead of the 2021-22 season. The Johnnies were picked to finish 6th last season but both years yielded 8th place finishes in the conference.
This season should be different for the Red Storm under Pitino and the 12 new players he brought into Queens with St. John’s just outside of the Associated Press Preseason Top-25 Poll.
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However, the one constant remains in standout center Joel Soriano, who was named to the Preseason All-Big East First Team.
It’s the third straight season that a St. John’s player was recognized on the Preseason First Team after he averaged 15.2 points and 11.9 rebounds per game last year which earned him a spot on the All-Big East Second Team.
St. John’s basketball sitting amongst projected elite teams
Marquette was picked to finish first in the Big East, although the major surprise came when Creighton was projected to come in second over UConn, the defending National Champions.
The Huskies did not receive a first place vote in the coaches poll while the Golden Eagles had seven compared to the Bluejays’ four.
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Villanova was the only other team picked ahead of St. John’s while Xavier, Providence, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Butler, and DePaul are behind the Red Storm.
The Johnnies begin its season on Tuesday, November 7 against Stony Brook (7:00p.m. ET, FoxSports1).