The Red Storm’s stay at No. 1 in the Top 25 And 1 didn’t make it a week into the college basketball season

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Nov 9, 2025 at 9:38 am ET • 1 min read

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If you’re a regular reader of the Top 25 And 1, or a consistent listener of the Eye on College Basketball Podcast, you likely know that I locked-in on St. John’s as the preseason No. 1 back in April and never budged a bit.

Did I consider it?

Yes, I considered it – in part because the coach, Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer Rick Pitino, went from calling Ian Jackson his program’s “next great point” to identifying somebody completely different as the program’s starting point guard, more specifically somebody (Oziyah Sellers) who had never really played point guard at this level in any sort of meaningful way.

None of it was encouraging.

Regardless, I stuck with the Red Storm – perhaps out of stubbornness, I admit. And, to be clear, I still won’t be surprised to see them accomplish absolutely anything there is to accomplish because they still have one of the best coaches in the world and one of the most-talented (and expensive) rosters in the sport. But, all of that acknowledged, things clearly aren’t off to a great start, evidence being that St. John’s is now 1-1 through two games this season following Saturday’s 103-96 loss to Alabama inside New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Late decision by Labaron Philon to return to Alabama pays off in early season upset vs. St. John’s Cameron Salerno

“They were a better basketball team than we were tonight,” Pitino said afterward. “We could not guard them off the dribble.”

Circling back, if you’re following along, the player Pitino once called his “next great point” not only didn’t start at point guard against Alabama, he didn’t start at all. Instead, Jackson came off of the Red Storm’s bench, missed most of the shots he took and only played 23 minutes in a game the Red Storm trailed by 12 points and eventually lost by seven.

Again, not encouraging.

But it’s a super-long season! So there’s plenty of time for Pitino to figure things out! But, in the meantime, the Red Storm are down to No. 11 in Sunday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Purdue is the new No. 1. Alabama is up to No. 10. Those developments caused UCLA, Kentucky, Iowa State, Louisville and Illinois to all drop one spot each in these rankings, no fault of their own.

Top 25 And 1 rankings

Biggest Movers

6 Alabama

10 St. John’s

| Rk | Teams | | Chg | Rcrd | | – | —– | | — | –– | | 1 | Purdue | Braden Smith finished with 20 points and nine assists in Friday’s 87-77 win over Oakland. The Boilermakers’ next game is Thursday at Alabama. | 1 | 2-0 | | 2 | Houston | Kingston Flemings finished with 20 points and three assists in Saturday’s 65-48 win over Towson. The Cougars’ next game is Wednesday against Oakland. | 1 | 2-0 | | 3 | BYU | Richie Saunders finished with 20 points and four rebounds in Saturday’s 98-53 win over Holy Cross. The Cougars’ next game is Tuesday against Delaware. | 1 | 2-0 | | 4 | UConn | Tarris Reed Jr. finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds in Friday’s 110-47 win over UMass Lowell. The Huskies’ next game is Monday against Columbia. | 1 | 2-0 | | 5 | Arizona | Koa Peat finished with 18 points and three assists in Friday’s 93-67 win over Utah Tech. The Wildcats’ next game is Tuesday against Northern Arizona. | 1 | 2-0 | | 6 | Florida | Alex Condon finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday’s 104-64 win over North Florida. The Gators’ next game is Tuesday against Florida State. | 1 | 1-1 | | 7 | Texas Tech | JT Toppin finished with 31 points and 14 rebounds in Friday’s 98-77 win over Sam Houston. The Red Raiders’ next game is Tuesday at Illinois. | 1 | 2-0 | | 8 | Michigan | Morez Johnson finished with 24 points and three assists in Monday’s 121-78 win over Oakland. The Wolverines’ next game is Tuesday against Wake Forest. | 1 | 1-0 | | 9 | Duke | Cameron Boozer finished with 25 points and five assists in Saturday’s 95-54 win over Western Carolina. The Blue Devils’ next game is Tuesday at Army. | 1 | 2-0 | | 10 | Alabama | Labaron Philon Jr. finished with 25 points and three assists in Saturday’s 103-96 win at St. John’s. The Crimson Tide’s next game is Thursday against Purdue. | 6 | 2-0 | | 11 | St. John’s | Joson Sanon was 1-of-6 from the field in Saturday’s 103-96 loss to Alabama. The Red Storm’s next game is Saturday against William & Mary. | 10 | 1-1 | | 12 | UCLA | Xavier Booker finished with 15 points and five rebounds in Friday’s 74-63 win over Pepperdine. The Bruins’ next game is Monday against West Georgia. | 1 | 2-0 | | 13 | Kentucky | Malachi Moreno finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in Friday’s 107-59 win over Valparaiso. The Wildcats’ next game is Tuesday at Louisville. | 1 | 2-0 | | 14 | Iowa St. | Joshua Jefferson finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in Thursday’s 102-62 win over Grambling. The Cyclones’ next game is Monday against Mississippi State. | 1 | 2-0 | | 15 | Louisville | Ryan Conwell finished with 19 points and eight rebounds in Thursday’s 106-70 win over Jackson State. The Cardinals’ next game is Tuesday against Kentucky. | 1 | 2-0 | | 16 | Illinois | Kylan Boswell finished with 31 points and 10 rebounds in Friday’s 113-70 win over Florida Gulf Coast. The Illini’s next game is Tuesday against Texas Tech. | 1 | 2-0 | | 17 | Michigan St. | Cam Ward finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday’s 69-66 win over Arkansas. The Spartans’ next game is Thursday against San Jose State. | – | 2-0 | | 18 | Oregon | Nate Bittle finished with 25 points and eight rebounds in Friday’s 67-63 win over Rice. The Ducks’ next game is Wednesday against South Dakota State. | – | 2-0 | | 19 | Arkansas | Trevon Brazile was 1-of-5 from the field in Saturday’s 69-66 loss at Michigan State. The Razorbacks’ next game is Tuesday against Central Arkansas. | – | 1-1 | | 20 | Gonzaga | Graham Ike finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in Sunday’s 83-68 win over Oklahoma. The Zags’ next game is Tuesday against Creighton. | – | 2-0 | | 21 | N. Carolina | Caleb Wilson finished with 24 points and seven rebounds in Friday’s 87-74 win over Kansas. The Tar Heels’ next game is Tuesday against Radford. | – | 2-0 | | 22 | Kansas | Melvin Council Jr. was 2-of-11 from the field in Friday’s 87-74 loss at North Carolina. The Jayhawks’ next game is Tuesday against Texas A&M Corpus Christie. | – | 1-1 | | 23 | Tennessee | Nate Ament finished with 23 points and eight rebounds in Saturday’s 95-56 win over Northern Kentucky. The Vols’ next game is Wednesday against North Florida. | – | 2-0 | | 24 | Auburn | Keyshawn Hall finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds in Thursday’s 95-57 win over Merrimack. The Tigers’ next game is Tuesday against Wofford. | – | 2-0 | | 25 | Wisconsin | Nick Boyd finished with 25 points and two steals in Friday’s 97-72 win over Northern Illinois. The Badgers’ next game is Tuesday against Ball State. | – | 2-0 | | 26 | Ole Miss | AJ Storr finished with 19 points and three rebounds in Friday’s 86-65 win over UL Monroe. The Rebels’ next game is Tuesday against Memphis. | – | 2-0 |