Shamorie Ponds scores season-high 32 points as St. John's tops California in Legends Classic at Barclays Center

On the heels of three consecutive losing campaigns under school legend Chris Mullin, St. John’s was projected to finish fourth in the Big East Conference in the preseason poll.

Those expectations might need to be updated.

St. John’s overcame a seven-point second-half deficit to notch its fourth straight non-conference win to open the season, downing California, 82-79, in the opener of the Legends Classic at Barclays Center on Monday night.

“We got back on our heels a little bit tonight, but I was happy the way we regrouped and got the win,” Mullin said. “[Tuesday] will be nice. It’s always nice to play a high-stakes game early in the season against a good team, and we’ll be jacked up.”

St. John’s will face Virginia Commonwealth, a 57-51 winner over Temple, in the championship game on Tuesday.

With powerhouse Villanova tumbling out of the national rankings this week — from its No. 8 spot one week earlier — after a blowout loss to visiting Michigan and an overtime loss to Furman, there suddenly isn’t a single Big East team ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time since January 1982.

Might another couple of wins change that for St. John’s?

“Even when I played, I’ve never, ever paid attention to [rankings],” Mullin said. “But I think the Big East will be tough, I don’t think that’s even a question.”

Brooklyn native Shamorie Ponds netted 16 of his 32 points in the final 6:56 and Mustapha Heron added 13 for the Red Storm. Darius McNeill led Cal (1-2) with 21 points and Justice Sueing finished with 19.

St. John’s trailed by seven with barely seven minutes left, but Ponds nailed his next three shots, including a three-pointer from the top of the arc, and Justin Simon’s putback with 3:52 remaining gave St. John’s a 69-68 lead.

The lead changed a few times thereafter, but Ponds sank four straight free throws and then drained another straightaway three for a four-point lead with 1:02 left.

“It felt good to be home, and it definitely feels good to get the win at home,” said Ponds, who scored only eight points in Saturday’s win over Rutgers. “With this team, we’ve got so much depth now that it can be anybody on any given night.

“ . . . But I got hot and just wanted to stay hot.”

Notes & quotes: Junior college point guard Cameron Mack signed a national letter of intent to attend St. John’s next season. He currently attends Salt Lake Community College . . . NBA legend Julius Erving was at the game. His son Jules is a sophomore forward at Cal but didn’t play . . . St. John’s assistant coach Matt Abdelmassih was not at the game because of the birth of his son, Shea Matthew.