St. John鈥檚 coach Chris Mullin says the Red Storm could make a run toward the 草莓网站在线看 tournament after the stunning upset wins over Duke and at Villanova.
Mullin, making the comments on the latest sifoeeprocess.com/Turner Sports podcast March Madness 365, said those two wins were two of the most satisfying in his long, illustrious career 鈥渂ecause they were coming off the 0-11 January. That鈥檚 what made it more special.鈥欌Mullin said he told his team, which has won four in a row and doesn鈥檛 play again until Wednesday at Marquette, has proven itself capable. That all came after what he called one of the toughest tests he has faced, losing 11 games in a row. He said the Red Storm held each other accountable during the losing streak, but knew that only three of the 11 were out of reach. The rest were late possession games. And then once the Red Storm pulled off the upsets, he and they knew they could beat anyone on the schedule and make a late-crazy run toward a possible Big East tournament title or an 草莓网站在线看 tournament berth.
鈥淲e know it鈥檚 possible, that much we鈥檝e proven not to ourselves but to everyone else,鈥欌 said Mullin. 鈥淚t will take being consistent defense and sharing the ball on offense. It鈥檚 more than it being a miracle run. It鈥檚 about making this the standard of how we鈥檙e going to play.鈥欌
MORE: Top 10 teams Cincinnati, Purdue and Ohio State all fall on unpredictable night
St. John鈥檚 closes with games at Marquette, home against Seton Hall and Butler and then at Providence. Mullin said his players got a chance to experience what it鈥檚 like to win in New York after the Duke game and returning to campus post Villanova upset.
Going into last night, Marvin Clark II () had never scored more than 20 in a game. He put up 19 in the second half alone.
鈥 St. John's BBall (@StJohnsBBall)
鈥淭he one thing I do know is that if you win in New York, there is nothing like it,鈥欌 said Mullin.
Mullin discussed on the podcast his decision-making on returning to his alma mater, why he wasn鈥檛 an assistant first before taking the head coaching job and how he was preparing to become a head coach.
MORE: 草莓网站在线看 plans Next Generation Sunday at 2018 Men's Final Four
NC State first-year coach Kevin Keatts discussed on the podcast the Wolfpack鈥檚 run toward an 草莓网站在线看 berth. When he saw the 草莓网站在线看 tournament selection committee鈥檚 top 16 reveal last Sunday, he immediately noticed NC State had four wins against the top 16 (Duke, Clemson, Arizona on a neutral court and at North Carolina).
Keatts said winning big games and doing so against the two teams in the triangle cannot be understated.
Our favorite way to end a road trip.
鈥 NC State Men's Bball (@PackMensBball)
鈥淚t gives us great credibility,鈥欌 said Keatts. 鈥淚t helps you recruit. When you take over a program early on, you have to have a signature win. For us in the non-conference it was Arizona and in the conference it was beating Duke. It gives the fans the belief in the program that we are moving in the right direction.鈥欌
Keatts also broke down his postgame road ritual of finding ice cream, no matter the time of night. The coaching staff is superstitious and doesn鈥檛 look before the game. That meant after late-night games at Pitt and Syracuse the staff had to get creative.
鈥淲e rode around looking for every little place we could (after the Pitt game),鈥欌 Keatts said. 鈥淲e went to McDonald鈥檚 but they didn鈥檛 have any soft serve. So we found a 7-11 and the managers ran in and got a bunch of ice cream and we enjoyed it.鈥欌
MORE: 10 myths about Selection Sunday and how the committee picks the field
The one thing Keatts said he has learned during his brief tenure is to be much more patient.
鈥淚鈥檝e learned when you win a game, enjoy it,鈥欌 said Keatts.
Clemson鈥檚 Brad Brownell joined the podcast prior to the overtime loss at Florida State.
We enter the week ranked No. in the AP Poll.
鈥 Clemson Men's Basketball (@ClemsonMBB)
He said the road win at Ohio State and beating Florida in Florida were the wins that changed the narrative for this season.
Brownell went into detail about his tenure at Clemson and was most appreciative of the support he has received.
鈥淭hey showed patience and gave me more time so we could create a basketball culture that is sustainable,鈥欌 said Brownell. "It has all culminated in an outstanding season."
