One more win.
That's all it will take for St. John's to secure a share of its first Big East regular-season title since 1992 — just one more win (or one more Creighton loss, to be exact). So, like I said on Sunday's episode of the Eye On College Basketball Podcast, after St. John's beat UConn 89-75 to improve to 24-4 overall and 15-2 in the league, this is happening.
St. John's is going to be a Big East champion — either a co-champion for the first time since 1992 or an outright champion for the first time since 1985. And, at this point, an outright conference championship is the more likely scenario.
"We want this Big East crown badly," said St. John's coach Rick Pitino, "not only for the players but [also] for the fans who came back."
Boy, have the fans ever come back. Did you see Madison Square Garden on Sunday? It was filled to capacity and mostly red, which hasn't always been the case when UConn visits. But, yes, the back-to-back champs' fans were outnumbered at MSG this time, which is one of many ways to illustrate how far Pitino has taken the Red Storm in just two short years.
St. John's moved to No. 8 in Monday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, which resulted in Iowa State and Wisconsin being pushed down one spot each, no fault of their own. Meantime, Auburn remains No. 1 for the 48th consecutive day. Bruce Pearl's Tigers are 25-2 overall and 14-2 in Quadrant 1. That means they have at least five more Q1 wins than anybody else and also fewer total losses.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Johni Broome finished with 31 points and 14 rebounds in Saturday's 82-70 win over Georgia. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday against Ole Miss. | -- | 25-2 |
| 2 |  | Cooper Flagg finished with 16 points and five assists in Saturday's 110-67 win over Illinois. The Blue Devils' next game is Tuesday at Miami. | -- | 24-3 |
| 3 |  | Rueben Chinyelu finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds in Saturday's 79-65 win at LSU. The Gators' next game is Tuesday at Georgia. | -- | 24-3 |
| 4 |  | Mark Sears finished with 30 points and four assists in Saturday's 96-83 win over Kentucky. The Crimson Tide's next game is Tuesday against Mississippi State. | -- | 22-5 |
| 5 |  | L.J. Cryer finished with 28 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 68-59 win over Iowa State. The Cougars' next game is Monday at Texas Tech. | -- | 23-4 |
| 6 |  | Chaz Lanier finished with 30 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 77-69 win at Texas A&M. The Vols' next game is Tuesday at LSU. | -- | 22-5 |
| 7 |  | Jase Richardson finished with 21 points and six rebounds in Friday's 75-62 win at Michigan. The Spartans' next game is Wednesday at Maryland. | -- | 22-5 |
| 8 |  | Zuby Ejiofor finished with 18 points and nine rebounds in Sunday's 89-75 win over UConn. The Red Storm's next game is Wednesday at Butler. | 2 | 24-4 |
| 9 |  | Joshua Jefferson was 1 of 9 from the field in Saturday's 68-59 loss at Houston. The Cyclones' next game is Tuesday at Oklahoma State. | 1 | 21-6 |
| 10 |  | John Blackwell was 2 of 9 from the field in Saturday's 77-73 loss to Oregon. The Badgers' next game is Tuesday against Washington. | 1 | 21-6 |
| 11 |  | Solomon Washington was 1 of 6 from the field in Saturday's 77-69 loss to Tennessee. The Aggies' next game is Wednesday against Vanderbilt. | -- | 20-7 |
| 12 |  | JT Toppin finished with 22 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 73-51 win over West Virginia. The Red Raiders' next game is Monday against Houston. | -- | 21-6 |
| 13 |  | Roddy Gayle was 1 of 6 from the field in Friday's 75-62 loss to Michigan State. The Wolverines' next game is Monday at Nebraska. | -- | 20-6 |
| 14 |  | Caleb Grill was 4-of-14 from the field in Saturday's 92-85 loss at Arkansas. The Tigers' next game is Tuesday against South Carolina. | 1 | 20-7 |
| 15 |  | Cameron Matthews was 1 of 5 from the field in Saturday's 93-87 loss at Oklahoma. The Bulldogs' next game is Tuesday at Alabama. | 1 | 19-8 |
| 16 |  | Otega Oweh was 1 of 9 from the field in Saturday's 96-83 loss at Alabama. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday at Oklahoma. | 1 | 18-9 |
| 17 |  | Braden Smith was 2-of-8 from the field with six turnovers in Sunday's 73-58 loss at Indiana. The Boilermakers' next game is Friday against UCLA. | 3 | 19-9 |
| 18 |  | Chucky Hepburn finished with 29 points and five steals in Saturday's 89-81 win over Florida State. The Cardinals' next game is Tuesday at Virginia Tech. | -- | 21-6 |
| 19 |  | Jaden Bradley was 0 of 2 from 3-point range with three turnovers in Saturday's 96-95 loss to BYU. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday against Utah. | -- | 18-9 |
| 20 |  | David Joplin was 2 of 10 from the field in Friday's 81-66 loss at Villanova. The Golden Eagles' next game is Tuesday against Providence. | -- | 20-7 |
| 21 |  | Matthew Murrell was 1 of 5 from the field in Saturday's 77-72 loss at Vanderbilt. The Rebels' next game is Wednesday at Auburn. | -- | 19-8 |
| 22 |  | Steven Ashworth finished with 20 points and seven assists in Sunday's 80-69 win over Georgetown. The Bluejays' next game is Wednesday against DePaul. | -- | 19-8 |
| 23 |  | Rodney Rice finished with 22 points and four rebounds in Thursday's 88-71 win over USC. The Terrapins' next game is Wednesday against Michigan State. | -- | 21-6 |
| 24 |  | Dain Dainja finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds in Sunday's 84-65 win over Florida Atlantic. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday against Rice. | -- | 22-5 |
| 25 |  | Jaeden Zackery finished with 19 points and seven assists in Saturday's 79-69 win at SMU. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday against Notre Dame. | -- | 22-5 |
| 26 |  | Mikey Lewis finished with 18 points and two rebounds in Saturday's 74-67 win at Gonzaga. The Gaels' next game is Thursday at Loyola Marymount. | -- | 25-4 |
