The pain had barely started to set in for St. John’s after an OT loss to Marquette off of an off-balance jumper at the first buzzer by Jimmy Butler, whenPico Dulce at East Coast Bias contacted me about a short follow-up exchange (here was the one from last month). I think he just wanted to get me at a weak moment following Pitt’s performance at ND.

So here’s his responses to my questions. My answers to his questions are here.

1. You seem resigned to another year of Norm Roberts. Is it strictly the money at this point or is there some glimmer of hope?

I don’t know that the team is resigned to another year of Norm. No one knows, really. The money issues at college campuses all over will impact decisions made, and there is no guarantee that fans and donors will open their pockets right now. I don’t think there is a hefty (relatively) buyout, but St. John’s is buying out faculty and staff to cut costs. An attempt to save enough for a new coach, or a sign that the belts are really tight? I don’t know. There is speculation – not hope, yet.

2. The Johnnies have actually won 3 of their last 5. A blowout of Louisville and road wins at USF and ND — the latter two being games Pitt failed to win. Not to mention the excruciatingly painful loss in OT to Marquette. Is there any common theme to those games?

The team is just playing better and with more aggression and confidence. Malik Boothe, in particular, has been more aggressive and hitting jump shots – something the fans never thought they would see. Justin Burrell has been more active and involved in scoring and on the glass. Also, admittedly, all of those teams have flaws. But St. John’s has really attacked the teams’ weak points (except for Seton Hall. That was a disaster.) – Louisville is weak if you break their press, Notre Dame’s defense is soft like a pillow, USF is dependent on getting to the foul line and Dominique Jones getting the ball in his positions, Marquette is dependent on the 3-ball and small inside. I don’t know what Pitt’s weakness is (besides scoring), so I am less confident that they could pull something out against the Panthers (if you know, please illuminate me).

Mind you, they could definitely be better, and I think the opposition has been part of the recent surge.

3. NIT or CBI? Any feeling of optimisim?

NIT? (cue Jim Mora’s “playoffs?” rant)

I dearly hope they won’t prolong the season with the CBI. It’s hard to get excited about, difficult to follow, has no cachet and little reward. The NIT, I think, is far from this team. I think the league should get 7 teams in the NCAA Tournament (they’ll probably find a way to squeeze in U Conn or someone will go on a tear in the tourney). After that, you have Notre Dame, Seton Hall, Cincy, and likely USF in the NIT. I suppose I could see St. John’s getting in… but the NIT should be filled with the Pac-10 and flopping SEC teams.

And if they go to the NIT, that might be the progress that brings the current staff back. So if they go, it’ll be bittersweet; and since it’s the NIT, not that much of the “sweet.”

The game with St. John’s will be airing on Big East Regional on ESPN FullCourt, MSG, MASN and FoxSports Pittsburgh.