It doesn’t make sense. When St. John’s coach Chris Mullin sees the stat sheet in front of him, his team’s Big East record (0-11) looks like a misprint.
Somehow, a team that can stand toe-to-toe with the nation’s best carries the worst conference record in the country. And every time the Red Storm convince themselves their long-awaited Big East win is near, the alarm clock blares, and a nauseating reality returns.
“This has been somewhat like Groundhog Day,” Mullin said Tuesday night following the Red Storm’s 73-68 loss to No. 6 Xavier at Carnesecca Arena, the team’s eighth loss in the past 10 games by seven points or fewer. “They understand all the good things that they’re doing. … I’m proud of the way they’re playing. Just getting that W, that’s what we’re going to keep working towards.
“They know they’re right there. There’s no disputing that. It’s not up for debate.”
Being right there doesn’t matter right now. Still without a win since Dec. 20, St. John’s (10-13, 0-11) has lost 11 straight games, and next plays No. 4 Duke on Saturday at the Garden, followed by a trip to No. 1 Villanova.
After losing to Xavier (20-3, 8-2) by six points two weeks ago, the Red Storm were in position to pull a massive upset again. While sophomore Shamorie Ponds (31 points, five assists, six steals) was painting his latest masterpiece, and becoming the 10th player in school history to surpass 1,000 career points in just two seasons, the Red Storm limited Xavier’s leading scorers, Trevon Bluiett and J.P. Macura, to 7-of-26 combined shooting,
But once again, the final minutes proved fatal for a team that can contend, but can’t close.
First came a shot-clock violation, with an opportunity to take the lead in the final two minutes. Then, Bashir Ahmed blew a chance to tie the game from the free-throw line with 41.9 seconds left, one of four misses by the team in the final 4:21. St. John’s had a chance to tie again after Xavier took a 3-point lead on a Tariq Owens goaltending violation with 18.2 seconds left, but Owens was whistled for traveling with 11 seconds left, and another amazing opportunity had evaporated.
“I think they have a good team, I think they have good players, I think their kids played hard,” Xavier coach Chris Mack said. “I’ve played a lot of teams that have been in the cellar over the years, and you get to the point that you’re almost in February and the team quits, and that’s not them.
“It might be the best 0-11 team I’ve ever seen anywhere in a conference. Period.”
But Ponds didn’t have enough support, with Marvin Clark (19 points) and Ahmed (12 points) the only teammates to score more than three points.
So, the unimaginable is here. At least six weeks will pass before a team that opened 10-2 will win again.
Somehow, a team that looks capable of winning nearly every game, can’t win any game.
“I don’t think we can believe it, but hey, what are we going to do about it?” Ponds said. “We just got to go into each and every game knowing we can win.”