The Johnnies have earned a spot in the round of sixty-four. St. John's attracted almost 15,000 fans into Madison Square Garden to cheer them on against the No. 4 Pitt Panthers and they did not disappoint. The win should put St. John's in the top 25 and make them relevant again in college basketball. Despite wins over No. 3 Duke, No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 10 UConn and No. 13 Georgetown, St. John's victory over Pitt may have been their most impressive win of the season.
Duke lives and dies with the three ball, so they can be beat when their outside shots are not falling. Notre Dame plays a great team-oriented style of basketball under Mike Brey, but that win lacks some luster because Notre Dame is not a marque program with big-time athletes like other major basketball programs. UConn looks like world-beaters at times and lost at other times. The Huskies go as Kemba Walker goes, and when he has an off night, UConn can be upset. The win over Georgetown was great, but the Johnnies were able to surprise the Hoyas with the upset. Pitt knew St. John's has an impressive track record of knocking off top ranked teams this year, yet the Johnnies were able to hang with them all day and eventually go ahead for good with a Dwight Hardy scoop with 1.2 seconds left. St. John's is not intimidated by any opponent and are poised to make some noise come March.
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