St. John's BACK in Top 25

St. John’s is back — inside the Associated Press Top 25. The Red Storm are ranked for the first time since the 2014-15 season, debuting at No. 24 in the latest poll that was released Monday afternoon.

At 14-1, the Johnnies were just outside the bubble for most of the season after going undefeated through a less-than-rigorous non-conference schedule that placed them at 12-0 heading into conference play. A questionable loss against Seton Hall paused their momentum but they’ve responded nicely since turning over the calendar.

On New Year’s Day, St. John’s hammered No. 21 Marquette at home then went to D.C. last Saturday and held off Georgetown in overtime to move to 2-1 in Big East play. In that stretch, preseason Big East player of the year Shamorie Ponds averaged 31.5 points, 5.5 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals en route to winning conference player of the week.

The return to the Top 25 marks the latest barometer of progress under the rebuild during coach Chris Mullin’s tenure. In his first 3 seasons, Mullin has endured a 38-60 (.388) record highlighted by marquee wins against Duke, Villanova and Syracuse, among others, but also includes a pair of double-digit losing streaks (16 in 2016, 11 in 2018).

St. John’s peaked as high as No. 15 among the 64 voters in this week’s poll. No. 24 was the most common landing spot, with 9 votes. Only 16 ballots did not have St. John’s on it, a remarkable difference from last week which only saw St. John’s on a single ballot.

This season, St. John’s is already tied for the second-most wins under Mullin and there’s still 2 months left in the regular season. It’s the program’s best start since 1985-86, which ended in a Big East title.