TOO LATE: St. John’s coach Steve Lavin drags Sir’Dominic Pointer to the sideline to teach him how to play defense on an inbounds play during last night’s 66-53 loss to Villanova in the second round of the Big East Tournament at the Garden. (Paul J. Bereswill)
TOO LATE: St. John’s coach Steve Lavin drags Sir’Dominic Pointer to the sideline to teach him how to play defense on an inbounds play (inst) during last night’s 66-53 loss to Villanova in the second round of the Big East Tournament at the Garden. (
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St. John’s might have walked off the Garden court for the last time this season.
After losing to Villanova 66-53 Wednesday night in a Big East Conference Tournament second-round game, the Johnnies crossed a threshold no team ever wants to cross in March: It no longer controls its own fate.
If it’s true that doubts are more cruel than the worst of truths, then the Johnnies have crossed into a postseason basketball purgatory that will not end until late Sunday night. That’s when they will learn if they even have a postseason.
Until then, it’s wait, worry and wonder about what might have been.
“It’s going to be very difficult to just sit around a lot and wait,’’ freshman forward JaKarr Sampson said. “We didn’t want to be in this position.’’
The Red Storm have a 16-15 record overall (8-10 in the Big East). Their RPI was 81 before the loss, and their strength of schedule was 40.
So after the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee chooses what it considers to be the top 37 at-large teams in the nation, the NIT will take the next 32. That’s 69 slots. St. John’s is at 81 before the loss, their fifth straight and seventh in the past eight games.
When point guard Jamal Branch was called for a second personal foul early in he first half, Lavin went with walk-on David Lipscomb, who scored zero points all season. The Johnnies fell behind 18-6 and it looked grim.
But going to a full court pressing, swarming defense, the athletic Johnnies fought back to a 24-24 halftime tie. The press masked their weaknesses, most notably an inability to shoot from outside.
“They lost their leading scorer [D’Angelo Harrison],’’ Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “And you’re not going to just go find one.’’
Midway through the second half, star Wildcats guard Ryan Arcidiacono found his stroke. His 3-pointer and jumper ignited a 17-7 run that gave ’Nova a 50-40 lead with eight minutes left. The Johnnies just didn’t have enough offense.
Villanova, which will play No. 2 Louisville today, got its 20th win of the season, all but assuring it of an NCAA spot. Louisville (26-5) is aiming for a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance.
“I knew there was a chance we could lose this one,’’ Wright said. “And it would be a long week at home waiting.’’
The last time the Johnnies got an NIT berth was the 2010 season. The Johnnies were 17-15 that year, but a source told The Post that members of the NIT Selection Committee had to lobby hard for one of the last berths.
The NIT, which was bought out by the NCAA, no longer is based in New York, so St. John’s is on its own.
“Tough to sit not knowing,’’ said forward Sir’Dominic Pointer, who was suspended for the last game of the season for fighting in the Red Storm’s 66-40 loss at Notre Dame. “It’ll be very tough, waiting around to see if we’re going to the NIT or not.
“But it happens. When you don’t guarantee your spot, that’s what happens, so we have to wait around and see what happens.’’
What happened in the last third of the season would have broken a lot of teams. Coach Steve Lavin’s father died and he left the team for losses at Syracuse and Louisville. Harrison, the team’s leading scorer who scored 36 points in a 98-86 overtime loss at Villanova on Jan.2, was suspended by Lavin for the rest of the season for conduct detrimental to the team.