After two consecutive weeks of standing put at No. 17, St. John’s finally enjoyed upward movement in the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll.
The Red Storm jumped two spots to No. 15 in the latest poll released on Monday afternoon, overtaking Texas Tech and North Carolina after they suffered road losses to unranked teams during the week. They were also ranked 15th in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
St. John’s is coming off another undefeated week that included a six-point win over Marquette and a 29-point drubbing of Creighton at home. As winners of their last 13 games, the Red Storm currently own the second-longest winning streak in Division I men’s college basketball, and the longest among power-conference teams. The Red Storm’s 15-1 record in Big East play is the program’s best mark through 16 conference games since the 1984-85 team, which went to the Final Four.
Conference rival UConn dropped one spot to No. 6 following their shocking 91-84 upset loss to Creighton last Wednesday. St. John’s and UConn were the only two Big East teams ranked for a fifth consecutive week. Villanova received 15 points in the poll, which was the third-highest total among unranked teams receiving votes.
The 15th-ranked Red Storm will take on the UConn Huskies (25-3, 15-2 Big East) on Wednesday, February 25 at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Connecticut. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., and the game can be streamed on Peacock.