St. John's can clinch top seed in Big East Tournament with win over Seton Hall
St. John's head coach Rick Pitino directs his players during a timeout against the Georgetown Hoyas during a Big East men’s basketball game at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
St. John’s is in position to clinch the top seed in next week’s Big East Tournament with a win on Friday night at Seton Hall after Creighton and Marquette posted large road victories on Wednesday night.
The 18th-ranked Red Storm (24-6) and No. 4 Connecticut (27-3) are both heading into their final game of the regular season with 17-2 conference records. The teams split their two head-to-head games, but St. John’s suffered a loss to Providence and the Huskies a loss to Creighton.
If the teams share the regular-season title, St. John’s will be the top seed because the Huskies’ other loss is to a team higher in the standings. Creighton’s 76-59 victory at Butler Wednesday night assured the Bluejays (15-16, 9-11) will finish ahead of Providence. The Friars (14-16, 7-12) lost at home to Marquette, 78-56, Wednesday.
St. John’s faces fourth-place Seton Hall 9 p.m. Friday at Prudential Center. The Storm beat the Pirates, 65-60, at the Garden on Jan. 20 by overcoming a 15-point deficit with 16 minutes left. A Storm win would give it at least a share of the regular-season title.
UConn plays at Marquette at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. The Huskies won their first meeting, 73-57, on Jan. 4.
St. John’s is the defending Big East regular season and tournament champion. It last won or shared the regular-season title in consecutive seasons in 1984-85 and 1985-86.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
