For the first time this season, Joel Soriano is not in the starting lineup as St. Johns looks to snap its month-long woes and play its way back into NCAA Tournament consideration.

It seems daunting, maybe even unrealistic.A 6-0 finish after losing seven of nine games?Dont tell St. Johns that. Rick Pitino said the Johnnies are intending to win out and his players feel the same way.

Just less than a minute remained when Joel Soriano exited the game for the last time.St. Johns held a big lead over Villanova and his work was done....

Lets get this out of the way: This isnt a must-win game for St. Johns. Not in January, certainly not when youre a projected NCAA Tournament team.

In an alternate universe, Rick Pitino is touting his backcourt as among the countrys best. Instead of Walter Clayton Jr., St. Johns landed Penn transfer Jordan Dingle, the second-leading scorer in the country last year who has fallen well short of expectations.

St. Johns maddening inability to close out a game continued Saturday night in a frustrating 86-75 loss to No. 7 Marquette that saw the Johnnies blow a 15-point, first-half lead at sold-out Fiserv Forum.

You can twist yourself into a pretzel agonizing over the close losses.Wondering what might have been had St. Johns found a way to steal one of those close games against No. 1 Connecticut, No. 7 Marquette and No. 19 Creighton, defeats by a combined six points.

Rick Pitino sees the fabrics of college basketball crumbling and wants to help fix it. Writing on X on Tuesday morning, the 71-year-old St. John's head coach proposed a salary cap.

The Johnnies are nearing the end of a weeklong break in the schedule, fresh off a blowout win against Villanova.