St. John's climbs its way back into AP Top 25 national rankings
St. John's Bryce Hopkins rises for a shot as Xavier's Filip Borovicanin defends on Saturday. Credit: AP/Kareem Elgazzar
The Red Storm is rising once again.
A little more than a month after St. John’s fell out of the national rankings in a stunningly fast descent from its preseason No. 5 perch, the Red Storm is back in the AP Top 25.
St. John's came in at No. 25 when the poll was released on Monday afternoon on the heels of a week where it staged a pair of come-from-behind Big East victories — at home over Seton Hall and at Xavier — to extend its winning streak to six games.
In the victory at Xavier on Saturday, St. John’s (15-5, 8-1) overcame a 16-point second-half deficit for an 88-83 win at Cintas Center. On Tuesday, it rallied from 15 points down in the second half for a 65-60 win over the Pirates at the Garden.
The Storm host Butler at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Garden.
St. John’s lost four non-conference games against teams that are or were nationally ranked in an almost meteoric slide down the national rankings. It was still receiving votes until the Jan. 3 upset loss to Providence at the Garden. In the poll two days after, it didn’t get a single vote.
But as the wins piled up St. John’s began to climb. In the Jan. 19 poll, it was tied for 26th place, one spot out of the national rankings.
No. 2 UConn is the only other Big East team in the AP poll. Villanova received two points in voting.
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.
