Projecting St. John's AP Top 25 ranking after sweeping Marquette and UConn

Given his track record, we figured it wouldn't be long until Rick Pitino revitalized St. John's basketball. But after a week in which the Red Storm went on the road and beat both Marquette and UConn — their ninth and 10th wins in a row — to improve to 21-3 and 12-1 in conference play, it's clear that this Johnnies team is much more than just a feel-good story. They're the class of the Big East right now; and with one of the most physical and ferocious defenses in the country, they could be a whole lot more than that by season's end.

St. John's entered the week ranked No. 12 in the AP Top 25 poll. But after the best few days this program has seen in a long time, how far should they climb when the next poll is released on Monday afternoon? Let's dive in.

Projecting St. John's AP Top 25 ranking after wins over Marquette, UConn

As good as the Johnnies are playing right now, their resume likely puts a bit of a ceiling on their ranking right now. Their two wins this week are their only two over teams currently ranked in the AP poll, and while they've also avoided any ugly losses, non-conference wins over Virginia and Kansas State don't look as good as the team might've hoped they would at the start of the year.

Given the strength of schedule disparity, there are a handful of teams that St. John's probably won't be able to leapfrog regardless of what happens on a jam-packed Saturday: Auburn, Duke and Alabama have been too impressive so far, and you can probably add Florida to that list, given that the Gators have a trip to the Plains to take on the No. 1-ranked Tigers on tap this weekend. Houston also seems unlikely, unless the Cougars suffer a truly shocking upset at Colorado on Saturday.

From there, though, there's plenty of room for the Red Storm to climb. No. 8 Iowa State has lost three in a row, and even if they get back on track against TCU on Saturday, that likely won't move the needle all that much. No. 9 Michigan State has lost two in a row as well. If we pencil in Auburn, Duke, Alabama, Tennessee, Houston and Florida in some order, are there really any teams you'd rank ahead of St. John's for that seventh spot on Monday?

They still have something to prove, but they have an A+ bucket-getter in Kadary Richmond, and their length and physicality on the defensive end give them as high a floor as just about anyone in the country outside of the Tigers and Blue Devils. A home date with the red-hot Creighton Blue Jays next weekend will be appointment television, and could allow the Johnnies to climb even higher.