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St. John's Head Coach Rick Pitino and his players during a timeout on December 17. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The St. John's Red Storm, who hold the top spot in the Big East, returned to the Top 25 rankings on Monday, as they came in at No. 20 in the Associated Press poll and No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches' poll.
St. John's is now 16-3 on the season, including 7-1 in Big East play, their best start in conference play since 1998-99. They have won five straight games and 11 of their last 12.
This is the latest in a season that St. John's has been in sole possession of first place in the Big East standings since January 20, 1986.
The No. 20 ranking in the AP poll is their highest appearance since the 2014-15 season, when it was as high as No. 15 in the Coaches' Poll.
Within this season, it is the first time the Red Storm are in the Top 25 since the ones released on November 11 and 18, with the latter one an appearance at No. 20 like this current one.
The only other Big East schools to appear in the polls are Marquette (No. 10 in both AP and USA Today) and UConn (No. 19 in AP and No. 18 in USA Today).
St. John's guard RJ Luis Jr. was named to the Big East Honor Roll on Monday, after he averaged 21.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in their wins over Georgetown and Seton Hall.
Luis Jr. led St. John's with 19 points on 7-19 shooting, including 2-7 on three-pointers and 3-6 on free throws, with three rebounds and an assist in their 63-58 win over Georgetown on Tuesday, January 14.
On Saturday night in Newark, in St. John's 79-51 win over Seton Hall, Luis led the way once again, as he had 24 points on 9-13 from the field, including 4-5 from behind the arc, with eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
AP TOP 25 MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL POLL (released January 20):
RANKING - TEAM - RECORD - POINTS - FIRST-PLACE VOTES:
1. Auburn - 17-1 - 1550 - 62
2. Duke - 16-2 - 1485
3. Iowa State - 15-2 - 1397
4. Alabama - 15-3 - 1338
5. Florida - 16-2 - 1262
6. Tennessee - 16-2 - 1170
7. Houston - 14-3 - 1151
8. Michigan State - 16-2 - 1109
9. Kentucky - 14-4 - 1057
10. Marquette - 15-3 - 950
11. Purdue - 15-4 - 906
12. Kansas - 13-4 - 902
13. Texas A&M - 14-4 - 794
14. Mississippi State - 15-3 - 731
15. Oregon - 15-3 - 638
16. Ole Miss - 15-3 - 564
17. Illinois - 13-5 - 526
18. Wisconsin - 15-3 - 437
19. UConn - 13-5 - 365
20. St. John's - 16-3 - 320
21. Michigan - 14-4 - 305
22. Missouri - 15-3 - 275
23. West Virginia - 13-4 - 240
24. Memphis - 14-4 - 232
25. Louisville - 14-5 - 125
RECEIVED VOTES: Texas Tech (104), Utah St. (38), Vanderbilt (35), Gonzaga (34), Georgia (30), Clemson (30), Arizona (21), Saint Mary's (12), Cincinnati (4), Baylor (4), UC Irvine (3), Wake Forest (2), Creighton (2), Bradley (1), Maryland (1).
USA TODAY SPORTS COACHES POLL (released January 20):
RANKING - TEAM - RECORD - POINTS - FIRST-PLACE VOTES:
1. Auburn - 17-1 - 774 - 30
2. Duke - 16-2 - 739 - 0
3. Alabama - 15-3 - 672 - 0
4. Iowa State - 15-2 - 668 - 1
5. Houston - 14-3 - 623
6. Florida - 16-2 - 615
7. Tennessee - 16-2 - 584
8. Michigan State - 16-2 - 558
9. Kentucky - 14-4 - 478
10. Marquette - 15-3 - 473
11. Kansas - 13-4 - 467
12. Purdue - 15-4 - 452
13. Texas A&M - 14-4 - 383
14. Mississippi State - 15-3 - 272
15. Oregon - 15-3 - 309
16. Ole Miss - 15-3 - 272
17. Illinois - 13-5 - 266
18. UConn - 13-5 - 230
19. Wisconsin - 15-3 - 194
20. Michigan - 14-4 - 180
21. St. John's - 16-3 - 167
22. Memphis - 14-4 - 130
23. West Virginia - 13-4 - 107
24. Missouri - 15-3 - 77
25. Texas Tech - 13-4 - 53
SCHOOLS DROPPED OUT: No. 16 Gonzaga, No. 22 Utah State, No. 23 Georgia, No. 24 Baylor.
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Louisville (43), Gonzaga (43), Georgia (39), Clemson (28), Utah State (26), Saint Mary's (25), Vanderbilt (16), Oklahoma (16), Maryland (8), Creighton (7), Arizona (6), UCLA (2), UC Irvine (2), Baylor (2).
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