Rick Pitino made it a point to make the St. John’s basketball schedule as tough as possible entering this season after the Red Storm were overwhelmed by the length and athleticism of Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament last year.
After struggling to score in its season ending loss, the Johnnies booked dates with three SEC programs – which ended up being four based on how the Players Era Championship schedule unfolded.
However, St. John’s has been unsuccessful in its two attempts against Alabama and Auburn and saw another marquee non-conference opportunity slip through its fingers with its loss to Iowa State in Las Vegas.
It leaves the Storm with very little margin for error in the remainder of its non-conference schedule starting with Ole Miss on Saturday night (8:00 p.m. ET, Peacock) inside Madison Square Garden, especially when considering the struggles of Big East teams in the opening weeks of the season.
The Rebels are reeling, and that might be an understatement. They’ve lost three straight games including a one-point loss on a neutral floor to Utah, which was picked 13-of-16 in the Big 12 Preseason Poll, and a nine-point loss at home to Miami in which the final score was much closer than the game indicated.
After the game head coach Chris Beard’s comments went viral after he cut off AJ Storr, a former St. John’s player, when asked how his team can play with more effort. Beard suggested he will use players who are willing to give extra effort.
It’s still an early December game for St. John’s but given its only resume victory is against Baylor, a middle of the pack Big 12 team, Saturday night is as close to a ‘must win’ game that you’ll see during this part of the season.
The Johnnies are also closing in on its matchup with Kentucky, who is dealing with its own unique problems.
The Wildcats dropped a heartbreaker to North Carolina on Tuesday night and have seen its high-profile schedule chew them up and spit them out this season with convincing losses against Louisville and Michigan State.
Given its injuries, there is still time for Kentucky to get its act together and win some meaningful games against Gonzaga and Indiana before playing St. John’s in two weeks, but a once daunting non-conference slate is looking vulnerable for the Red Storm.
If Rick Pitino’s squad cannot find a way to beat Ole Miss and/or Kentucky it will be putting a lot of stock in its February matchups against UConn, assuming no one else in the Big East emerges as a serious contender, since the Huskies look to be back to championship form.