Saturday’s closer-than-expected victory over Ole Miss could elicit two very different reactions:
Concern over the shaky offensive display that allowed the struggling Rebels to hang around, or … Confidence that the defense was able to win a game for No. 23 St. John’s.
If you fall into the second camp, it should be qualified somewhat because Ole Miss had already lost three straight games, and has an offense ranked 66th in efficiency.
With that said, it was a step in the right direction. It was the first time in five games against power-conference opponents that the Johnnies won with defense. They beat Baylor because they shot the lights out, and with slightly better defensive efforts against Alabama, Iowa State and Auburn, Rick Pitino’s team would likely have at least one more win, if not two.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
