A funny thing has happened since Nov. 4, when St. John’s pounded Fordham 92-60 in front of 5,602 enthusiastic and engaged fans at Carnesecca Arena. There was plenty of hope already in the building that night. There were plenty of good vibes buzzing around the old field house.
The Johnnies had been left out of last year’s NCAA Tournament, but it was clear they were a better team on the first day of the new season than the one that finished the prior one by giving Connecticut their last genuine test, in the Big East semifinals.
“I think this can be an interesting team,” Rick Pitino said that night.
They started out interesting. They slowly became fascinating. By the time they started the Madison Square Garden portion of their Big East schedule, seizing the upgrade from Queens to Manhattan, they’d become a damned good feel-good story, since it was clear the city was galvanizing behind them.
