New York’s BIG EAST Teams’ Tanks Look Empty

St. John’s is at the crossroads.

And the meter is running on Red Storm coach Chris Mullin’s job security after his team suffered an 89-78 loss to traditional rival Georgetown Sunday before a crowd of 17,801 in the Garden.

When Mullin, the iconic former All American who played for Lou Carnesecca on the 1985 Final Four team, took this job four years ago, he was looked at as a savior for a stagnant program that was going nowhere in the BIG EAST. Not much has changed in four years. The Storm have enough talent to compete with the top of the conference. They started the season 12-0 against weak non-league competition finally squeezed into a spot in the AP Top 25 poll. They beat Marquette by 16 points at Carnesecca and led undefeated Villanova for 35 minutes in a five point loss at the Finn on the Main Line.

But they have been no shows recently, losing four of their last five conference games and falling out of the NCAA tournament picture with a thud. The Johnnies are 15-5 and in a five-way tie for last place in the conference standings, along with Seton Hall, DePaul, Xavier and Butler, with a 3-5 record.

The Hoyas (13-7, 3-4) made the Johnnies feel the pain when Mac McClung scored 25 points and 6-10   center Jesse Govan, the league’s best big man, added 20 with nine rebounds. McClung, who made four three pointers, slammed home a dunk in transition with 1:11 to play to give the Hoyas an 81-77 lead after the Storm missed four straight put backs after a missed jumper that could have given them a tie. It was a huge game defining play

Patrick Ewing’s Hoyas avenged the Jan. 5,  97-94 overtime loss to St. John’s in Washington, when Ponds, the BIG EASTs preseason Player of the Year poured in 37 points.

The Johnnies recently are guilty like of going through the motions for long stretches in a fluid league that is not nearly as strong as it was last year when Villanova won its second national championship in three years and Xavier was a Final Four contender. Right now, unless things change, those two teams are the only locks for a bid.

Seton Hall and St. John’s looked like they had a handle on two at large bids, but the Pirates (12-8), who defeated Maryland, and Kentucky earlier, have fallen off the map, too, dropping their fourth straight game Sunday during an embarrassing 80-52 loss to 18th ranked Villanova (16-4, 7-0) at Wells Fargo Arena in South Philadelphia in a game where explosive guard Myles Powell only scored three points.

“I wouldn’t say we’re desperate. We just need to regroup,’’ said St. John’s All-American guard candidate Shamorie Ponds, who scored 21 points but shot just 1 for 5 from the three. “As a team, we aren’t as together as we were at the beginning. We need to get back to our winning ways.’’

It needs to happen quickly. The Johnnies next three games are road trips to Creighton, Duke and Marquette.

“Great opportunities,’’ Mullin said. “What else would you rather do? Go play basketball. We’re going to go to Creighton, it’s going to be a packed house. We’re going to go to Duke, that I haven’t visited since 1981 so I’m excited about that. We’re going to play at Marquette, one of the best offensive teams in the country.

“What else would you rather do in life If you’re not excited about that, jeez. Every day is an opportunity. Every day I wake up and I get in my car and I’m good to go.’’

It helps if there is gas in the tank.