WASHINGTON — The sentence you are about to read is true: The eyes of the college basketball world will be upon St. John’s today.
Such a sentence was inconceivable less than three weeks ago, when the Johnnies were coming off a 67-51 loss to Georgetown at the Garden. The Red Storm were 9-7 overall, 1-3 in the Big East and their RPI was lower than Bernie Madoff’s approval rating.
“We were lunch meat basically,’’ said St. John’s guard Jamal Branch. “They were hungry. They came off a 30-point loss or whatever so they were pretty hungry.”
Yet today, the Johnnies get another crack at Georgetown and the Hoyas may not recognize the team in red and white. St. John’s has won five straight since getting run through the deli slicer and believes it is ready.
“This time we’re ready to come out and match the intensity of the last time they played us,” Branch said. “We’re really focused and ready.’’
They had better be, because the 4 p.m. tip-off (WBBR, 1130AM) will air nationally on CBS, home of March Madness. Members of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee are eager to see the Johnnies against a high-quality opponent.
Other network officials will be interested to see if these two Big East founding members can carry the new league into the next landscape of conference realignment.
“It’s St. John’s-Georgetown, it’s two of the most important media markets in the country,’’ said one television consultant who asked not to be identified. “You can call this a money game.’’
For the Johnnies, it is the most important game they have played since Jan. 30, 2011. That day, fresh off a 77-52 lunch-meat special loss at Georgetown, the Storm sliced up Duke, 93-78, on national TV. That game sparked a nine-game stretch in which the Johnnies won six straight and eight of nine to emerge as an NCAA Tournament team.
St. John’s posted its five most recent wins against an uninspiring lineup of opponents. Georgetown (15-4, 5-3) begins a grueling four-game stretch that continues with a home game against Connecticut and road games at Syracuse and Louisville. It’s put-up-or-shut-up time for the Johnnies.
“I think they’re aware we’re playing a stretch of games that will be very challenging,’’ St. John’s coach Steve Lavin said. “But we’re looking forward to finding out where we are.’’
The Johnnies could be on the cusp of something special, but more questions than answers remain. Remember, this is the same group that blew a 17-point lead at home to UNC-Asheville. And this is the same group that seemed as if it never showed for the opening tip against Georgetown on Jan. 12.
“They beat us pretty bad and I think we all kept that in mind as a team,’’ forward Amir Garrett said. “We’re all very focused on Georgetown right now and I think that loss left a sour taste in our mouths and we kept that bottle up inside us so we’re just going to come out and play.’’
The nation will be watching.