There is understandable disappointment. Frustration. A feeling that two wins were left in the Bahamas after St. John’s trip over the last five days.
It had then-No. 13 Baylor beat, down 18 points in the first half and five with under 10 seconds to go in double overtime. It was a 5.5-point favorite against Georgia and, despite a poor offensive performance, still was in position to prevail.
The Johnnies lost both games.
My bigger concern as December nears, however, does not lie with this roster. I think Rick Pitino’s group is extremely talented, deep enough and vastly improved on the defensive end. It took a miracle 3-pointer at the buzzer for Baylor, a popular Final Four pick, to get past them. Georgia has a future NBA player in freshman Asa Newell and plenty of firepower in the backcourt and only prevailed because St. John’s produced, by far, its worst offensive game of the season. The Bulldogs will not be Michigan or Boston College — losses a year ago that negatively impacted St. John’s NCAA Tournament chances.