St. John's Catapults To No. 15 In Coaches Poll

NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) -- St. John's took a huge step toward NCAA respectability after yet another win over a ranked opponent this weekend. The Johnnies' hard work is starting to pay off in the polls, too.

The USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll released on Monday rewarded Steve Lavin's bunch with a huge rise -- from No. 25 all the way to No. 15.

"As the players are growing more comfortable, what we're doing offensively, defensively … then the breakthroughs happen," Lavin told WFAN's Boomer & Carton before the numbers were announced. "But really, we had seen the incremental progress all along the way."

RELATED: Red Storm's Lavin: 'At Least' 9 Big East Teams Tourney-Bound

Villanova added its name to list of marquee opponents that have lost to St. John's, an elite group that already included Georgetown, Notre Dame, Duke, Connecticut and Pittsburgh.

"We beat six teams, but we ain't done yet," Dwight Hardy said after Saturday's win.

The milestones keep coming for the Red Storm: They have won eight of nine overall, have won seven straight Big East games for first time since 1999-2000, have five conference road wins, and last week they cracked both major Top 25 polls for the first time in over a decade.

How high will St. John's climb next week? Let us know in the comments below...


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