This has been the most disappointing stretch of play I have seen in my time as a fan (not the worst, the worst was definitely when Norm was coach, but I had no hope then, so it was much easier to take). Also, I was extremely pissed at the end of depaul, slightly less so last night, so perhaps I have almost lost hope in Lavin righting the ship, HOWEVER, the facts as I see them:
Coming into conference play we were right where I expected -- we lost to two top-10 teams and one cupcake (and not the worst cupcake and in overtime), overall it was not a bad start.
In conference play -- we lost @ Xavier and @ Gtown, two likely bubble teams on their home courts. This was also not unexpected, though the way by which we lost was disconcerting.
We lose at home to Nova. Also not unexpected, since they are the class of the Big East and another top-10 team. Plus, the johnnies didn't play poorly.
We lose @ depaul. This is a bad loss. A 10-point loss would have hurt less. Hooper makes the shot and we're happy, unfortunately he doesn't. However, depaul isn't as bad as usual (they're really bad, but usually they're even worse than that).
We lose at home to providence in 2-overtimes. This game hurts, because the team has so many chances. It seems to continue the trend where every big moment of every big game is in the opponents' favor this year. St. John's fans melt down. People at work start talking about how they're terrible. That's where we are now, no more no less.
Right now I see us as 2-3 wins behind what I would expect of this team. I lay that all on the coaching staff. LOOKING FORWARD: Can this team finish the season 2-3 games better than I expected? I doubt it based on the coaching/playing trend I see on the court. BUT it's not impossible and I will let the remaining 15 games play out before calling for the coach's head or overly criticizing the players.