Rubin: St. John’s has a chance to get a big win over non-conference Kansas State

If the first week of December feels like it’s way too early for a “must-win” situation, that’s because it is. And yet that’s more or less what awaits St. John’s when it hosts Kansas State in a Big East/Big 12 Challenge game on Saturday at Carnesecca Arena.

It didn’t have to be like this. Some of it is the Red Storm’s fault. They improved their position to 22nd when they lost in double overtime to the then No. 1 team by one point. 13 Baylor and fell to unranked Georgia in the Bahamas. But their colleagues in the Big East have also done a lot of damage with their poor performances in high-profile tournaments in recent weeks.

Two-time defending champion UConn fell from No. 2 to No. 25 after losing all three games at the Maui Invitational before prevailing in a big game against Baylor on Wednesday. Creighton moved up the rankings from No. 15 after losing three straight and could find new life with Wednesday’s victory over top-ranked Kansas. Xavier gave up its No. 22 ranking by coming under fire from unranked Michigan.

Entering this week, only two Big East teams were ranked in the top 25. And although UConn beat Baylor and Creighton beat Kansas, St. John’s 11:30 a.m. game against the Wildcats is one last chance at a big non-conference win to achieve.

The Big East only got three teams into the 2024 NCAA Tournament as it bypassed the Red Storm, Providence and Villanova. Until Wednesday’s two results, the conference hadn’t necessarily made the case that it deserved more respect this time around than it did last March.

St. John’s (6-2) is coming off a respectable non-conference win over New Mexico. Kansas State (6-2) is expected to be a strong team, even if it lacks a decisive win. A win here could ultimately pay off big. And there’s every reason to believe that guard Deivon Smith will return to action for an important contest after being substituted for disciplinary reasons for all of last weekend’s disappointing 13-point win over two-game Harvard.

The window for the Big East to contend is closing as conference play begins in less than two weeks. St. John’s coach Rick Pitino was asked about the state of the conference following the win over Harvard and expressed opinions that may or may not be well received by Big East administrators.

“We should have expanded our league already,” Pitino said. “If you want to be a seven- to nine-bid league, expand the league. If not, there will be a four-bid league. . . I’m not going to say we’re not as good as we were, but I’m saying the league only gets stronger as you expand it. That’s my opinion. That’s obviously not the league’s opinion.”

When Pitino was asked his opinion on which schools could enrich the Big East, he pointed to Dayton, St. Louis, Loyola of Chicago and Memphis, which is ranked 16th and also has a revenue-generating football program.

“I would expand it and you would have seven to nine commandments instead of three or four,” Pitino said.

St. John’s joins No. 5 Marquette, UConn, Creighton and Xavier as the top teams in the Big East. But after this game against Kansas State, the only chances of improving its record are in conference games. The remaining non-conference games are against Bryant and Delaware.

UConn and Creighton have done much to undo the damage from two weeks ago with wins over Baylor and Kansas, and there are other moving parts that could determine the fate of the Big East teams.

The ACC, for example, is looking very suspect after going 2-14 against the SEC on Tuesday and Wednesday – only Duke and Clemson were winners. So the weakness of other conferences could help the Big East get more offers.

The Big East has opportunities to raise its profile. Butler plays No. 17 Houston, Marquette plays No. 11 Wisconsin, UConn faces No. 7 Gonzaga, Creighton has a game with No. 10 Alabama and Xavier plays No. 14 Cincinnati.

St. John’s looks like a good team and can secure its place in the conference with a strong campaign. But the margins narrowed as the Big East thrashed last month. Beating Kansas State is the best thing the Red Storm can do to increase their notoriety.

After 20 years at the Daily News, Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball. He has been a Baseball Hall of Fame inductee since 2011 and has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.