St. John’s Basketball Rightfully Atop Big East Preseason Ranks

The St. John's Red Storm is once again projected to be an elite team.

Feb 28, 2026; New York, New York, USA; St. John's Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. John’s Red Storm men’s basketball team has undergone quite a transformation under head coach Rick Pitino.

In Year 1 with him at the helm, the team missed the 2024 NCAA Tournament but did win 20 games, reaching that plateau for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign. However, they have improved each season with Pitino on the bench.

For the 2025 NCAA Tournament, the Red Storm earned a No. 2 seed and won 31 games, but were defeated in the Round of 32. This past year, St. John’s was a No. 5 seed despite winning 30 games and advanced to the Sweet 16, where they lost to the Duke Blue Devils.

Heading into the 2026-27 season, expectations are once again very high after Pitino secured the No. 1-ranked transfer portal class in the country. It should come as no surprise then that early projections have the Red Storm as the best team in the Big East.

St. John's projected best team in Big East

Mar 14, 2026; New York, NY, USA; St. John's Red Storm guard Ian Jackson (11) following the men's Big East Conference Tournament Championship against the Connecticut Huskies at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In the preseason projections shared by Bart Torvik, St. John’s is atop the conference as the No. 11-ranked team. Ranked ahead of them are Duke, the Arizona Wildcats, Virginia Cavaliers, Florida Gators, Houston Cougars, Louisville Cardinals, Michigan State Spartans, Kansas Jayhawks and Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Right behind the Red Storm in the overall rankings is their biggest competition in the Big East: the UConn Huskies, who are ranked No. 12. It was essentially a two-horse race for much of the 2025-26 campaign, with the Villanova Wildcats being the only other team to finish above the .500 mark in conference play at 15-5; St. John’s was 18-2 and UConn was 17-3.

The only other team to finish even .500 was the Seton Hall Pirates. Those four teams were the only Big East squads to have overall records above the .500 mark. The DePaul Blue Demons and Butler Bulldogs both went 16-16.

As the back-to-back Big East regular season and tournament champions, the Red Storm are once again the early favorites in the conference. However, they are going to face more competition this season from more than just the Huskies.

Big East projected to be much-improved this season

Mar 19, 2026; San Diego, CA, USA; Villanova Wildcats head coach Kevin Willard at press conference ahead of the first round of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Villanova and the Marquette Golden Eagles are both just outside of the top 25, coming in at Nos. 27 and 29, respectively. The Creighton Bluejays are No. 40, according to Torvik’s preseason projections.

Every Big East team is currently in the top 100 of Bart Torvik’s preseason rankings, which will present more challenges for Pitino and his team during the regular season than the 2025-26 campaign did.

Alas, this is a team that is prepared for whatever challenges lie ahead. If the eligibility rulings the program is waiting on go in their favor with Keshawn Hall and Quinn Ellis, this is a clear-cut top-10 team in the country.

Without those two, St. John’s still has a lot of talent on the roster, headlined by Baylor Bears transfer Tounde Yesseffou and key returning players Ian Jackson and Ruben Prey.