St. John’s Breaks into The AP’s Top-10

For the first time in 26 years, the team will play with a single digit next to their name.

James Williams, Sports Editor • February 11, 2025

St. John’s Men’s Basketball’s latest achievement in a historic season is a spot in the top-10 of the AP Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Poll. A staggering 1058 points were awarded to the Red Storm after an impressive week.

The No. 9 Johnnies earned their prestigious spot after victories over two formidable Big East opponents, Marquette and UConn who were previously ranked No. 11 and No. 19 respectively.

The last St. John’s team to be ranked in the top 10 were the 1999-2000 Johnnies. Led by future NBA first-round draft pick Erick Barkley, The Johnnies finished 25-8 as Big East Champions before being upset by Gonzaga in the round of 32 in the NCAA tournament.

Rick Pitino’s 19th career team to enter the top 10 has championship aspirations with a 21-3 record. With stars like Kadary Richmond and Big East Player of the Week RJ Luis Jr. those goals seem possible.

The Red Storm hopes to keep this ranking during their six in-conference games.

After a date at Villanova, No. 24 Creighton comes to Madison Square Garden on Feb. 16 for a battle between two ranked Big East teams.

Following a game at DePaul, a rematch against UConn in Madison Square Garden on Feb 23 is another test for the Johnnies.

After a road trip to Indiana to face Butler, the final regular season game in Carnesecca Arena will be against Richmond’s former team Seton Hall on Mar. 1.

And the regular season ends in Milwaukee for another matchup against No. 18 Marquette on Mar. 8.

The final stretch of the season begins in Philadelphia against Villanova on Feb. 12 at 6 p.m.

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About the Contributor

James Williams, Sports Editor

James is a sophomore journalism student serving his first year as Assistant Sports Editor. Outside of writing for The Torch, James can be found rooting for every Philadelphia sports team, watching a wide variety of shows and movies or listening to his favorite artists Beach House and Bob Dylan while on runs. James can be reached at goatnj0@gmail.com.