With the NFL taking the weekend off before next Sunday’s Super Bowl, college basketball starts to take center court for most fans.
And the good news for middling teams like St. John’s, Rutgers and Seton Hall is that they are still alive for the NCAA Tournament. The bad news for college basketball is the reason why that’s the case.
“I think the college basketball is the worst that it’s been ever,” said CBS Sports analyst Doug Gottlieb, who blames the one-and-done rule for the diluted talent.
“It’s watered down, any coach will tell you it’s not great. They have too many Division I teams and too many guys run to the pros . . . I am not taking anyone out of the NCAA Tournament because the bubble is so soft.”
That means these local schools’ inconsistent starts to the season can be overcome with noteworthy wins down the stretch. There will be no shortage of opportunities in the final season of the Big East, as we know it.
They can follow the example of Big East rival Villanova, whose win over Louisville on Tuesday vaulted it into the tournament conversation.
The young Red Storm had to adjust to the loss of Moe Harkless, who entered the draft after his freshman year, and the addition of Jamal Branch, who joined the team in December after transferring from Texas A&M. But they have now won three in a row after avenging an early-season loss to Rutgers with a 72-60 win in Piscataway on Wednesday, and have two resume-building wins at Cincinnati and against Notre Dame.
St. John’s sits at 4-3 in the Big East with winnable games upcoming against Seton Hall on Sunday at Madison Square Garden and DePaul at Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday. The Johnnies are currently tied for sixth in the conference and if they maintain that position they have a solid chance at the Big Dance.
“[D’Angelo] Harrison, Branch, [Jakarr] Sampson that’s a pretty good little combo,” Gottlieb said. “Their problem is they can’t shoot. They have to create offense off their defense, hit the boards for them to win. Seriously, they are a pitiful shooting team. The good thing is Lav [Steve Lavin] has them convinced they don’t have to shoot 3’s. That’s actually really good coaching.”
Rutgers is 3-4 in the Big East and Seton Hall is 2-4. Those two teams still have some work to do, but it isn’t impossible. Not if they can find a way to go on a run and beat a team like Syracuse, Louisville or Marquette.
St. John’s also hasn’t played any of those teams yet, so the Red Storm is a slight product of its schedule. But if the Johnnies had pulled out tight losses to Villanova and Rutgers, this could be a whole different conversation. The only team to beat St. John’s handily was Georgetown.
“What they have to do is pluck off one or two of these teams that have a quality resume,” Gottlieb said. “Then all of a sudden you have a chance.”