Just three days into 2026, St. John’s broke what should have been their New Year’s resolution: dominating Big East play.
The former Big East regular-season and conference tournament champions find themselves with their backs against the wall, and it feels as if they’re slowly sinking into quicksand. The team that once sparked hope and pride in Madison Square Garden, making it once again feel like NYC was Red Storm territory, now feels like something that happened centuries ago, but it’s been just one season.
St. John’s is among the teams that constructed their roster this season primarily through the transfer portal, spending over $10 million while reclaiming Zuby Ejiofor. It’s been the exact opposite of what Rick Pitino hoped for, as the team has consistently shown it’s not up to the task of competing against the country’s best, going 1-4 through Quad-One play and now adding a loss to Providence at home, a game that really could have moved the needle in the right direction.
There are many things going wrong for the Johnnies, with very few positives highlighting hope so far. With that, here are five of the team’s biggest problems through its 9-5 start, with a vast majority on display against Providence.
Lack of down-the-stretch play
There’s been something painfully obvious in each of the five losses: the Red Storm have struggled to find a way to come together and win games down the stretch, collapsing on silly mistakes attributed to the mental aspect of the game.
Against Providence, St. John’s didn’t score a single field goal in the final three minutes of play, making just two of its final 13 attempts and completely blowing a once 13-point lead. It was a shocking turn of events at the Garden, one that received a loud response from the many Providence fans who made the trip.
Against Iowa State, St. John’s fell by one point due to its inability to pull through offensively, capped by a messy final possession that resulted in a James Harden-like stepback from Zuby Ejiofor. Against Auburn, St. John’s managed to score just 10 points in the final five minutes, going 1-for-7 from the field to close the game.
This was also the case last season against Arkansas, a game that serves as a benchmark for the Johnnies’ failure to compete in the final stretch. That same test failed against Alabama at the Garden, where the Red Storm again couldn’t find their offensive rhythm late. Something the team should be heavily working on continues to linger, potentially showing that this is simply the team’s disappointing identity.
Transfers have yet to live up to potential
Whether it’s inconsistent stretches from Oziyah Sellers or disastrous shooting performances from Joson Sanon and Ian Jackson, St. John’s transfers haven’t lived up to their projected hype. After landing what was considered a top transfer class in the country, the Johnnies were viewed as legitimate contenders, but to everyone’s surprise, it’s been the exact opposite.
There hasn’t been a transfer who has clearly stood out from the pack, aside from maybe Dillon Mitchell, who still doesn’t get the recognition he deserves while playing a limited role off the bench despite his importance to the team.
In the loss to Providence, only one player showed up, Zuby Ejiofor, who posted a career high in rebounds and tied a career high in points, scoring 33 of the team’s 71 points. Sanon, the ASU transfer, went 1-for-12 from the field, Ian Jackson shot 1-for-8, and Bryce Hopkins finished 3-for-13 while playing fully off emotion against his former team.
It’s been a similar story in nearly every game, with multiple players failing to meet the “stardom” expectations they were once projected to reach.
“We’re going to lose games, this isn’t last year’s team,” Pitino said following the loss. “We have high hopes, but I’m noticing we have a team with a lot of frailties; we have guys who worry about the missed shot.”
It’s the truth. This isn’t last year’s team. It’s one with real expectations that have failed to be met, making the strategy of spending heavily on transfers seem misguided.
Consistent defensive mistakes
Strong defensive teams are a hallmark of Rick Pitino’s philosophy. Throughout the 2024–25 season, St. John’s was highly regarded for its defensive identity, anchored by elite guard play from Kadary Richmond and physicality from Zuby Ejiofor. But in 2025, the script has flipped: the offense is outshining the defense.
Time and time again, games have unraveled due to simple defensive mistakes, ones that rarely occur under Pitino and were almost nonexistent last season. Against Providence, those lapses were a key reason for the loss, whether it was failing to get back on defense or leaving shooters open.
“It was all defensive mistakes that lost us the game,” Pitino said. “Zuby not getting back, fouling 3-point shooters. Ian not switching, everybody got tight because they were missing.”
It’s a strange irony that just a few games after showing promising defensive play, the team is once again in a troubling position that has fans questioning everything.
Finding offensive rhythm beyond Zuby Ejiofor
The 2025–26 season has started on strange footing. There hasn’t been a consistent offensive blueprint from game to game, as a different player seems to be in the driver’s seat each night, something that can be both a blessing and a curse.
Over the last two games, Zuby Ejiofor has taken over offensively, but against Providence, he didn’t just take over, he was the entire offense, one the team relied on far too heavily.
“They just lost their confidence,” Pitino said. “They kept trying to feed Zuby. We had a guy go 1-for-12, 1-for-10, 3-for-13. The crowd was 50% Providence. It was disappointing. Our back is against the wall early.”
It’s difficult for a college team to rely on just one player, especially a center who is also the team’s primary defensive presence, without consistent options around him.
Oziyah Sellers has had strong moments, but there have been multiple games where he’s disappeared beyond the arc. The same can be said for Bryce Hopkins, who has mixed strong performances with stretches of soft play.
Constructed properly?
St. John’s took a major gamble by gutting its successful roster from last season and bringing in eight new players. It’s a nontraditional way to build a college basketball team, but it reflects the modern CBB landscape.
Pitino’s biggest struggle last season was generating consistent offense without relying heavily on defense to win games. The goal in the portal was simple: improve the offense while maintaining an above-average defense, something that has yet to materialize.
By bringing in primary guards Ian Jackson, Oziyah Sellers and Joson Sanon, the aim was to significantly improve perimeter shooting, which has flashed but remains inconsistent. To add a traditional point guard, Pitino brought in Dylan Darling, the former Big Sky Player of the Year, who has yet to meet expectations. To prevent a defensive blind-spot, Pitino recruited Cincinnati forward Dillon Mitchell, who has delivered in his bench role.
The 9-5 start shows something fans hoped wouldn’t be true: throwing money at the transfer portal doesn’t automatically make St. John’s better, or a national title contender.
