High Five: St. John's Moves Up In National Rankings

 

The scene at Madison Square Garden late in St. John's win over UConn on February 23rd. Photo by Jason Schott.

The St. John's Red Storm moved up one spot to No. 5 in the USA Today Sports Coaches Poll, while remaining at No. 6 in the AP Top 25 Men's College Basketball Poll.

The Red Storm won the Big East Regular Season Championship and they finished the regular season with a record of 27-4 overall, and 18-2 in conference play.

They closed the regular season in style with an 86-84 overtime win at Marquette on Saturday.

St. John's will be the top seed in this week's Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

The only other Big East School in the Top 25 is Marquette, which came in at No. 25 in the AP Poll and No. 23 in USA Today.

AP TOP 25 MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL POLL (released March 10):

RANKING - TEAM - RECORD - POINTS - FIRST-PLACE VOTES:

1. Duke - 28-3 - 1516 - 52

2. Houston - 27-4 - 1427 - 5

3. Auburn  - 27-4 - 1407 - 4

4. Florida - 27-4 - 1350

5. Alabama  - 24-7 - 1211

6. St. John's - 27-4 - 1201

7. Michigan State - 26-5 - 1191

8. Tennessee - 25-6 - 1163

9. Texas Tech - 24-7 - 1012

10. Clemson - 26-5 - 949

11. Maryland - 24-7 - 836

12. Iowa State - 23-8 - 792

13. Louisville - 25-6 - 723

14. Texas A&M - 22-9 - 647

15. Kentucky - 21-10 - 629

16. Memphis - 26-5 - 602

17. BYU - 23-8 - 586

18. Wisconsin - 23-8 - 575

19. Saint Mary's - 27-4 - 477

20. Purdue - 21-10 - 339

21. Missouri - 21-10 - 203

22. Michigan - 22-9 - 171

23. Oregon - 23-8 - 140

24. Illinois - 20-11 - 137

25. Marquette - 22-9 - 127

RECEIVED VOTES: Drake (103), Arizona (82), UCLA (52), UC San Diego (39), UConn (38), Gonzaga (28), New Mexico (20), Creighton (18), Mississippi (17), VCU (6), High Point (4), Kansas (3), Akron (2), McNeese St. (1), Xavier (1).

USA TODAY SPORTS COACHES POLL (released March 10):

RANKING - TEAM - RECORD - POINTS - FIRST-PLACE VOTES:

1. Duke  - 28-3 - 770 - 26

2. Houston - 27-4 - 729 - 2

3. Auburn - 27-4 - 704 - 2

4. Florida - 27-4 - 688 - 1

5. St. John's - 27-4 - 618

6. Tennessee - 25-6 - 603

6. Michigan State - 26-5 - 603

8. Alabama - 24-7 - 588

9. Texas Tech - 24-7 - 539

10. Clemson - 26-5 - 466

11. Maryland - 24-7 - 424

12. Iowa State - 23-8 - 415

13. Louisville - 25-6 - 414

14. Wisconsin - 23-8 - 309

15. Saint Mary's - 27-4 - 286

16. Texas A&M - 22-9 - 281

17. Memphis - 26-5 - 278

18. BYU - 23-8 - 266

19. Kentucky - 21-10 - 205

20. Purdue - 21-10 - 195

21. Michigan - 22-9 - 114

22. Missouri - 21-10 - 95

23. Marquette - 22-9 - 80

24. Arizona - 20-11 - 73

25. Illinois - 20-11 - 55

SCHOOLS DROPPED OUT: No. 25 VCU  

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Oregon (48), New Mexico (41), Drake (39), Creighton (38), UC San Diego (32), UCLA (19), Gonzaga (18), VCU (13), UConn (9), Ole Miss (9), Kansas (6), Mississippi State (4), High Point (1).