Jon Rothstein has one big St. Johns concern but wont put ceiling on its March Madness chances
Jon Rothstein is a college basketball insider for CBS Sports and will serve as a sideline reporter for CBS and TNT Sports’ coverage of the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.Rothstein will also serve as a studio analyst for CBS Sports Network during March Madness and is the host of “Inside College Basketball Now,” which is part of the CBS Sports Podcast Network.Q: How far can this St.
John’s team go?A: With Rick Pitino as the coach, you never put a ceiling on where his team can go.A lot of things in the NCAA Tournament depend on the matchup, and a lot of things in the NCAA Tournament depend on obviously the team that you’re playing in the second game of the NCAA Tournament.
And it completely changes the complexion of a season.… St.
John’s is going to have as good of a frontcourt as there is in college basketball.St.
John’s is going to have obviously really capable depth and St.John’s is also significantly more tested than it was last season because of the difficult non-conference schedule that it played.
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Q: Would a Sweet 16 be a successful season?A: I think the season’s already been a success because St.John’s in the last two years has done things that had never been done before in the history of the school, and that’s winning the Big East outright in back-to-back seasons.
So considering the fact that prior to last season St.John’s had not won an NCAA Tournament game since 2000 and had not won a Big East Tournament since 2000, the season’s already a success.
But you know as well as I do, the head coach Rick Pitino — and look, he could coach another 20 or 25 years — he is somebody that as long as he’s your head coach, you want to make sure that you wring out the sponge.So I think given the way last season ended, and given the way this season has gone, I think anything less tha...