The St. John’s and Seton Hall seasons actually ended at the Gardens last weekend. Officially, they came close on Sunday night, when both declined the invitation to the NIT.
The two Big East events said in separate statements that playing in the March Madness console tournament was not worth the continued risk of COVID-19.
“There is no question that in a normal year our university’s decision will be different, however, it has been far from a normal year because of the extensive COVID-19 protocol that has brought tremendous mental and physical demands on all of our basketball programs, St. John’s athletic director Mike Cragg said in a statement.
The NIT lost 32 to 16 teams this year and took place in the Dallas-Fort Worth area bubble, as opposed to campus sites and Madison Square Garden as in previous years.
Initially, St. John’s (16-11) planned to play at the NIT, but according to sources, the players were worn down after a long year of isolation and expressed reservations about going into the bubble in Texas .
Also on Sunday, Isaiah Moore announced her entry into the Forward Portal. The 6-foot-10 forward, a junior college transfer, improved as the year progressed, but was suspended for one game and canceled for another for disciplinary reasons. A source showed it to be a mutual decision.
Both St. John’s and Seton Hall needed a strong Big East tournament to qualify for the NCAA tournament, as not one of their respective performances qualified for the big bid during the regular season.
The Red Storm lost to rival Pirates in overtime of the quarterfinals, before Seton Hall fell to eventual tournament-champion Georgetown in the next round.
Seton Hall (14-13) seemed to be on their way to a fifth straight NCAA tournament berth before losing a four-game streak at the end of the season, giving their chances a death blow in a big bid.
Despite missing from the tournament, it was seen as a successful season for a young St. John’s squad. Anderson was named the Big East Coach of the Year, while star point guard Posh Alexander garnered League of the Year honors, Julian Champagni selected All-Big East first team and Johnnies finished fourth in the league .
– with Mark Fisher
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