One night, St. John’s puts a scare into No. 1 Villanova, the next it nearly stuns fifth-ranked Xavier, then it trails almost wire-to-wire at woeful DePaul — the same Blue Demons the Red Storm crushed for their only Big East win.
Such is life for coach Chris Mullin and the Johnnies, who visit Creighton on Sunday in Omaha, Neb. Youth brings potential and the promise of greater days ahead (when February has meaning and March may bring Madness), but also inconsistency.
The past three games are an apt example. It began with a 15-point rout of DePaul, followed by a near upset of Seton Hall at the Garden — two of St. John’s better performances. But next was one of its worst, Wednesday night’s 83-75 loss to the Blue Demons in Chicago, a step back after recent steps forward.
“To sum it up, it’s [been] motivational,” Mullin said Friday, as part of the Big East coaches’ conference call, regarding his first season. “We are taking all these lessons, will continue to work hard and [we’re] going to flip the script. That’s what the offseason will be focused on.”
With two games left, St. John’s (8-21, 1-15 Big East) is in the cellar in Mullin’s first year on the sideline, but there have been positives, particularly the play of the four freshmen — guards Malik Ellison and Federico Mussini, and forwards Kassoum Yakwe and Yankuba Sima.
Ellison and Yakwe have stood out the most of late. In the loss to Seton Hall last Sunday, the long-armed Yakwe was the best player on the floor, notching 16 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots. Ellison, meanwhile, has been St. John’s best guard recently, reaching double figures in scoring in three of his past four games, and is coming off a 12-point, six-assist, four-rebound performance against DePaul.
“All of our young guys have really improved and have had good moments,” Mullin said. “Good athletes have memories. They remember these times and they work hard to change them. I think that’s going to be the mindset [in the offseason]. All these guys have made tremendous improvements, there is no denying that.”
Mullin would like to see his team perform better on the road, where it still is looking for its first victory. The Johnnies have lost nine road games by an average of 14.3 points per contest. Sunday is another opportunity, this time against Creighton (17-11, 8-7), which has one of the best home-court advantages in the Big East.
St. John’s has played well in hostile surroundings before, at Villanova and Xavier. It has also flopped against far lesser opponents. Both illustrate the unpredictable nature of a young team.