The preseason NIT has traditionally drawn big crowds to the Garden. So has any game involving Duke or Kentucky. And tickets to the Big East Tournament are almost impossible to get.
So there still is interest in college basketball in this city.
It's just not happening at St. John's.
An announced crowd of just 6,157 showed up to watch the Red Storm play West Virginia at the Garden Saturday. It's probably just as well. The sixth-ranked Mountaineers (19-2, 8-2), whose starting lineup is filled with North Jersey and New York stars, rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit to smack down the Johnnies, 79-60, giving them their fifth straight conference loss.
Read more:
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/2010/02/07/2010-02-07_time_running_out_for_norm_roberts_st_johns_following_debacle_against_west_virgin.html#ixzz0erDG5C6m