Boasting the preseason Big East Player of the Year in Zuby Ejiofor, defending regular season and tournament champ St. John’s was picked to win the league again in the preseason coaches poll. But like Creighton, they took a while to find themselves against a tough non-conference slate and lost to KenPom #2 Iowa State, #14 Alabama, #30 Kentucky and #38 Auburn. Unlike Creighton, they did pick up wins over #34 Baylor and #70 Ole Miss, so their non-con wasn’t a complete washout.
And now that league play has began, both teams look a lot closer to what everyone expected them to.