College basketball rankings: St. John’s widens gap in Big East, takes control of conference race
St. John’s beat Creighton 79-73 on Sunday to widen the gap between it and the program that has been its biggest threat to winning the Big East for the first time in 33 years. As a result, the Red Storm now have a two-game lead in the league standings with just five contests remaining in the regular season, meaning it’s suddenly more likely that they’ll secure an outright conference championship for the first time since 1985 than it is that they won’t get at least a share of it for the first time since 1992.
In other words, this is happening.
Yes, Rick Pitino is really doing it — and by “doing it” I mean snapping streaks and positioning a once-proud program to take a realistic shot at a run to the Final Four next month in only his second year guiding the Johnnies. It’s the type of stuff that has Pitino a serious part of any sensible National Coach of the Year conversation as his Red Storm are 22-4 overall, 13-2 in the Big East and No. 11 in Monday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings after getting 23 points and 14 rebounds from RJ Luis Jr. in Sunday’s victory that drew another sold-out crowd to Madison Square Garden.
“The only thing I’m really surprised about is the fan base packing The Garden,” Pitino said. “These are now Knicks crowds.”
Indeed, they are. It’s been fun to watch.
Next up for St. John’s is Wednesday’s game at DePaul. After that, it’s Sunday’s rematch at home with UConn. After that, it’s a road game with Butler (Feb. 26), a home game with Seton Hall (March 1) and the regular-season finale at Marquette (March 8). At this point, St. John’s could lose any two of those games and still win at least a share of a Big East championship.
So, again, this is happening.
There’s never just one great story in college basketball, if only because the sport is too grand for that. So I won’t insist that what Rick Pitino is doing at St. John’s is undeniably our best story because what Bruce Pearl is doing at Auburn is obviously also great — not to mention what Jon Scheyer is doing at Duke and what Kelvin Sampson is doing at Houston. There are great stories all over the place. But you cannot tell the story of the 2024-25 college basketball season to date without spending a little time on New York City’s top program.
The Red Storm are very good again and Rick Pitino is responsible. It’s amazing. As you likely know, no coach has ever taken four different schools to the Final Four. But, as you likely also know, Pitino has already done it with Providence, Kentucky and Louisville — and he appears to have a team good enough right now to also do it at St. John’s.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 
| Johni Broome finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds in Saturday’s 94-85 win at Alabama. The Tigers’ next game is Wednesday against Arkansas. | — | 23-2 |
2 | 
| Mark Sears was 4-of-17 from the field in Saturday’s 94-85 loss to Auburn. The Crimson Tide’s next game is Wednesday at Missouri. | — | 21-4 |
3 | 
| Denzel Aberdeen finished with 22 points and three assists in Saturday’s 88-67 win over South Carolina. The Gators’ next game is Tuesday against Oklahoma. | — | 22-3 |
4 | 
| Tyrese Proctor finished with 23 points and four assists in Saturday’s 106-70 win over Stanford. The Blue Devils’ next game is Monday at Virginia. | — | 22-3 |
5 | 
| Milos Uzan finished with 19 points and five assists in Saturday’s 62-58 win at Arizona. The Cougars’ next game is Tuesday at Arizona State. | — | 21-4 |
6 | 
| Zakai Zeigler finished with 22 points and eight assists in Saturday’s 81-76 win over Vanderbilt. The Vols’ next game is Saturday at Texas A&M. | — | 21-5 |
7 | 
| Wade Taylor IV finished with 18 points and nine assists in Saturday’s 69-61 win over Arkansas. The Aggies’ next game is Tuesday at Mississippi State. | — | 20-5 |
8 | 
| Curtis Jones finished with 22 points and six rebounds in Saturday’s 81-70 win over Cincinnati. The Cyclones’ next game is Tuesday against Colorado. | — | 20-5 |
9 | 
| John Tonje finished with 32 points and six rebounds in Saturday’s 94-84 win at Purdue. The Badgers’ next game is Tuesday against Illinois. | — | 20-5 |
10 | 
| Braden Smith was 2-of-10 from the field in Saturday’s 94-84 loss to Wisconsin. The Boilermakers’ next game is Tuesday at Michigan State. | — | 19-7 |
11 | 
|
St. John’s beat Creighton 79-73 on Sunday to widen the gap between it and the program that has been its biggest threat to winning the Big East for the first time in 33 years. As a result, the Red Storm now have a two-game lead in the league standings with just five contests remaining in the regular season, meaning it’s suddenly more likely that they’ll secure an outright conference championship for the first time since 1985 than it is that they won’t get at least a share of it for the first time since 1992. In other words, this is happening. Yes, Rick Pitino is really doing it – and by “doing it” I mean snapping streaks and positioning a once-proud program to take a realistic shot at a run to the Final Four next month in only his second year guiding the Johnnies. It’s the type of stuff that has Pitino a serious part of any sensible National Coach of the Year conversation as his Red Storm are 22-4 overall, 13-2 in the Big East and No. 11 in Monday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings after getting 23 points and 14 rebounds from RJ Luis Jr. in Sunday’s victory that drew another sold-out crowd to Madison Square Garden. “The only thing I’m really surprised about is the fanbase packing The Garden,” Pitino said. “These are now Knicks crowds.” Indeed, they are. It’s been fun to watch. Next up for St. John’s is Wednesday’s game at DePaul. After that, it’s Sunday’s rematch at home with UConn. After that, it’s a road game with Butler (2/26), a home game with Seton Hall (3/1) and the regular-season finale at Marquette (3/8). At this point, St. John’s could lose any two of those games and still win at least a share of a Big East championship. So, again, this is happening. There’s never just one great story in college basketball, if only because the sport is too grand for that. So I won’t insist that what Rick Pitino is doing at St. John’s is undeniably our best story because what Bruce Pearl is doing at Auburn is obviously also great – not to mention what Jon Scheyer is doing at Duke and what Kelvin Sampson is doing at Houston. There are great stories all over the place. But you cannot tell the story of the 2024-25 college basketball season to date without spending a little time on New York City’s top program. The Red Storm are very good again and Rick Pitino is responsible. It’s amazing. As you likely know, no coach has ever taken four different schools to the Final Four. But, as you likely also know, Pitino has already done it with Providence, Kentucky and Louisville — and he appears to have a team good enough right now to also do it at St. John’s. | — | 22-4 |
12 | 
| Kam Jones finished with 19 points and four assists in Tuesday’s 68-58 win over DePaul. The Golden Eagles’ next game is Tuesday against Seton Hall. | — | 19-6 |
13 | 
| Vladislav Goldin finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds in Sunday’s 86-83 win at Ohio State. The Wolverines’ next game is Friday against Michigan State. | 1 | 20-5 |
14 | 
| JT Toppin finished with 32 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday’s 93-55 win at Oklahoma State. The Red Raiders’ next game is Tuesday at TCU. | 1 | 20-5 |
15 | 
| Jaxon Kohler finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday’s 79-65 win at Illinois. The Spartans’ next game is Tuesday against Purdue. | 1 | 20-5 |
16 | 
| Koby Brea was 0-of-6 from the field in Saturday’s 82-78 loss at Texas. The Wildcats’ next game is Wednesday against Vanderbilt. | 1 | 17-8 |
17 | 
| RJ Melendez finished with 17 points and five rebounds in Saturday’s 81-71 win at Ole Miss. The Bulldogs’ next game is Tuesday against Texas A&M. | 1 | 18-7 |
18 | 
| Sean Pedulla was 4-of-14 from the field in Saturday’s 81-71 loss to Mississippi State. The Rebels’ next game is Saturday at Vanderbilt. | 1 | 19-7 |
19 | 
| Jaden Bradley was 1-of-6 from the field in Saturday’s 62-58 loss to Houston. The Wildcats’ next game is Monday at Baylor. | 2 | 17-8 |
20 | 
| Tyler Bilodeau finished with 12 points and five rebounds in Friday’s 72-68 win at Indiana. The Bruins’ next game is Tuesday against Minnesota. | 2 | 19-7 |
21 | 
| Caleb Grill finished with 15 points and five rebounds in Saturday’s 87-74 win at Georgia. The Tigers’ next game is Wednesday against Alabama. | 2 | 19-6 |
22 | 
| Isaac Traudt was 1-of-5 from the field in Sunday’s 79-73 loss at St. John’s. The Bluejays’ next game is Sunday against Georgetown. | 2 | 18-8 |
23 | 
| Chucky Hepburn finished with 16 points and six assists in Sunday’s 75-60 win at Notre Dame. The Cardinals’ next game is Saturday against Florida State. | 1 | 20-6 |
24 | 
| Ja’Kobi Gillespie finished with 26 points and seven assists in Sunday’s 101-75 win over Iowa. The Terrapins’ next game is Thursday against UCLA. | 1 | 20-6 |
25 | 
| PJ Haggerty was 4-of-18 from the field in Sunday’s 84-79 OT loss at Wichita State. The Tigers’ next game is Sunday against Florida Atlantic. | 12 | 21-5 |
26 | 
| Dillon Hunter finished with 17 points and four assists in Saturday’s 72-46 win at Florida State. The Tigers’ next game is Saturday at SMU. | — | 21-5 |
