Lavin: For NCAA berth, we just need to win
St. John's University's Paris Horne gets underneath during the Rutgers vs. St. John's men's basketball game. (Feb. 2, 2011) Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
Upsetting defending national champion Duke on Sunday at Madison Square Garden wiped away a multitude of sins for the remaining nine St. John's seniors still hoping for their first NCAA bid. But it also put more pressure on the Red Storm to play well in the second half of its Big East schedule, which began with a late game against Rutgers Wednesday night at Carnesecca Arena.
Having lost three straight in Big East play, including a winnable game against Cincinnati in its last appearance at Carnesecca, St. John's came into the Rutgers game with a 4-5 conference mark. If the Red Storm can finish regular-season play in the Big East with at least a 9-9 record, it would go a long way toward boosting its already impressive NCAA Tournament credentials.
Scoring a 15-point blowout over Duke when it had a 19-1 record and was rated No. 3 in the country basically erased bad losses earlier this season to weak St. Bonaventure and Fordham. Besides beating Duke, the Red Storm owns wins over three other ranked teams, West Virginia, Georgetown and Notre Dame.
After the Duke game, St. John's coach Steve Lavin was asked to put on his old ESPN analyst's hat to explain what the Red Storm still needs to do to make the NCAAs. "They've got to keep winning games," Lavin said in the third person. "They've got to keep making progress. It's up to St. John's to determine their fate by winning enough games. At the end of the day, what they're going to look at is your body of work, your overall resume and who did you beat.
"At this point, we're pleased with quality wins at West Virginia, Notre Dame, Georgetown and Duke. Those would be four , and then, you add the No. 2 strength of schedule and a high RPI , now you've got some positive things.
"But I would also say you just have to keep making progress and continue to accumulate wins. That's where you separate yourself. Otherwise, it comes down to Selection Sunday and you're sweating it out because you don't know whether you have enough wins to get in that field of 68."
Coming between Duke and a nationally televised game Saturday at UCLA, where Lavin coached for seven years, the Rutgers game could be ripe for a letdown by the Red Storm. But in the end, defeating Rutgers likely is more important than winning at UCLA.
St. John's final eight games after UCLA are all in the Big East with four home and four away. They include three ranked opponents (Connecticut and Pitt at the Garden and at Villanova). Winning any of those three will be difficult, so it's imperative for the Red Storm to win its last three at Carnesecca Arena (Rutgers, DePaul and South Florida) plus two of three other road games (Marquette, Cincinnati, Seton Hall). A win over any of the ranked opponents, means one less road win is necessary for a .500 Big East record.
