The St. John’s basketball program was hoping to be ranked inside this week’s Associated Press Top-25 Poll but fell one spot short of seeing a number next to its name again.
Listed as the No. 26 team, receiving 83 points to be included, the Johnnies saw two familiar foes go from unranked to ranked this week in the Georgia Bulldogs (No. 23) and Baylor Bears (No. 25).
Both teams defeated the Red Storm in the Bahamas this season and ultimately cost St. John’s its spot in the Top-25 after its 1-2 weekend five weeks ago.
The Johnnies were No. 22 for two weeks, from November 11 until November 25, before dropping out.
Georgia (14-2, 2-1 SEC) has not been ranked inside the AP Poll since 2011 and continues an incredible season, only suffering losses on a neutral floor in the Bahamas against Marquette and on the road against Ole Miss.
For St. John’s (14-3, 5-1 Big East), this week presents an opportunity to earn its spot back in the rankings when hosting Georgetown on Tuesday night (7:30 p.m. ET, Peacock) inside Madison Square Garden before it goes back on the road Saturday evening (8:00 p.m. ET, FS1) when battling local rival Seton Hall.
“We know what it takes to win and be in the Top-25,” Devion Smith said. “Each and every one of us want to make the [NCAA] Tournament.”
Smith suffered a shoulder sprain late in the first half of St. John’s victory over Villanova this week and remains day-to-day for its upcoming games.
“We are trying to get back in that Top-25 again, just working really, really hard.”
The AP Poll had not been released when Smith met with the media on Monday morning but said seeing the Johnnies be included would be “super rewarding.”
“I feel like we put in a lot of work, we watch a lot of film…we still have some teams to play that are ranked higher than us, regardless, so I think it just gives us more goals, more aspirations on our season.”
Two teams from the Big East were included in the poll, Marquette (No. 7) and UConn (No. 14), while one of St. John’s biggest wins, New Mexico, received two points to be included in the rankings.