Workin' for the weekend

Thursday felt a little different, right? College hoops all day usually makes the day just a little bit better. Can’t wait to enjoy that feeling for the next 10!

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1. St. John’s somehow survives vs. North Texas

Is the Red Storm the top program in the 8-team field of the Charleston Classic? Maybe not. But seemingly every game makes St. John’s the most intriguing team in the field.

Rick Pitino’s squad started fast — almost like they were motivated after a thrashing by Michigan earlier this week — and led by 10 at halftime, but the offense vanished after the break, scoring just nine points in the first 13 minutes.

That opened the door for the Mean Green, which led with two minutes to play. A discombobulated St. John’s won 53-52 thanks to coolness at the free-throw line and will play Dayton today.

But what St. John’s team will see? The one that shot a measly 34% from the field, and just 6-of-23 from deep? Or one where the transfer talent Pitino assembled over the summer finally gels. It might take a few more games for that, especially if guard Jordan Dingle (2 points) and forward Chris Ledlum (4 points) can’t produce.

“Our guys were brilliant defensively,” Pitino said, via the NY Post. “Offensively, we made some mistakes, but they played great defense — awesome defense. That’s what I wanted from our guys.”

Maybe defense will be the answer. St. John’s (2-1) did hold North Texas (2-1) to just .81 points per possession and forced 15 turnovers (about what the Johnnies did, but anyway.

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