The danger for St. John’s if the Big East keeps disappointing

The Big East has had a shaky start to the college basketball season, with early defeats raising questions about the strength of the conference beyond Connecticut and St John’s. If other teams continue to struggle, it could leave St John’s with fewer strong results against conference rivals to support its NCAA tournament case.

Marquette lost heavily to Michigan, with star guard Nigel James Jr missing all 11 of his shots and scoring no points. Providence lost to Nebraska at Mohegan Sun after guard Dink Pate was ruled ineligible and returned to the G League, while Villanova opened its season with a defeat to Notre Dame in Italy. Notre Dame were picked to finish 16th in the ACC, and Villanova may also be affected by the transfer of point guard Acaden Lewis to Miami.