That thud you may have heard in the Piscataway area Friday night was the sound of the Rutgers men's basketball team falling back down to earth.
After winning consecutive games by 25 points or more for the first time to start a season in school history, the Scarlet Knights failed to beat one of the best teams on the non-conference portion of its schedule.
Behind 27 points from Mustapha Heron, St. John's cruised to an 84-65 victory over Rutgers before a near-capacity crowd at the Rutgers Athletic Center.
Any chance of the Scarlet Knights upending their old Big East rival in the Gavitt Tipoff Games was extinguished late in the first half, when the Red Storm blew open a back-and-forth affair.