St. John’s keep climbing AP poll as win streak reaches 13

The Johnnies are moving on up.

St. John’s moved up two spots in the AP Top 25 poll to No. 15, after an undefeated week that included wins over Marquette and Creighton. The Red Storm leapfrogged Texas Tech and North Carolina in the rankings.

The Johnnies also moved to No. 15 on the USA TODAY Coaches poll.

Bryce Hopkins #23 of the St. John’s Red Storm is greeted by Zuby Ejiofor #24 after scoring against Creighton. Robert Sabo for NY Post

Monday marked the fourth consecutive week that St. John’s has been in the AP Top 25 poll and the 10th time overall this season.

With a 15-1 mark in the Big East, St. John’s matched its best-ever record through 16 conference games. The Johnnies haven’t been 15-1 in the Big East since the 1984-85 season, which saw the Red Storm go on to reach the Final Four.

Creighton guard Nik Graves is defended by St. John's guard Dylan Darling and forward Zuby Ejiofor during an NCAA college basketball game. — Creighton guard Nik Graves is defended by St. John’s guard Dylan Darling (0) and forward Zuby Ejiofor (24). AP

St. John’s has won its past 13 games and currently owns the second-longest winning streak in Division I men’s college basketball.

That stretch includes the six-point win that the Red Storm recorded Wednesday on the road at Marquette and then the blowout victory they had Saturday over Creighton, which St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino said was “the best defense we played all season.”

“The guys were totally locked in because of their respect for Creighton’s ability to score,” Pitino said. “It was just awesome defense the entire day.”

[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]