By Robert Lastella
Maybe it was playing like starving dogs, or possibly a little bit of Coke Butter Cheese, but whatever it was, St John’s found the recipe to success in the Big East Championship against UConn.
From the opening tip, the Johnnies once again asserted themselves as the more dominating team. Although UConn made a second-half run which brought it within seven, St. John’s did what they needed to do and bounced back mid-game, ultimately going on to knock off UConn 72-52.
Just over two weeks ago, UConn handed St. John’s a brutal 72-40 beatdown, and tonight it was the Johnnies who handed UConn a clobbering. According to Rick Pitino, this game wasn’t about revenge; it was another example of his Johnnies continually getting better, something that has been on display throughout the season.
“We never mentioned revenge, because we have so much respect for Connecticut. We just talked about a championship. This is a championship. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. It’s a championship at stake. You guys get a chance to be a part of history. It’s another night to get better and improve, and we did. We improved, every single game we got better,” Pitino said.
“Remember, we were struggling. Came back against Xavier, came back against Butler, came back against Seton Hall. We’re always trailing, and we came out. The ball went up in three straight nights, and we didn’t relent at all, and that’s a great sign offensively and a great sign defensively.”
Zuby Ejiofor once again led Saint John’s with 18 points; he wasn’t alone. Bryce Hopkins also added 18, Oziayah Sellers finished with 14, Dillon Mitchell added nine, and Dylan Darling chipped in eight, giving the Johnnies a team effort that the Huskies didn’t have the firepower to match.
While Ejiofor is certainly talented enough to carry the load offensively for St. John’s, when teams adjust and slow him down, that can lead to problems for the Johnnie offense. Tonight, that wasn’t an issue, as from the jump, St.John’s was able to get diverse scoring across the board.
Defensively, Saint John’s made things difficult for UConn, which slowed down their offense. With the Johnnies getting scoring in droves and the Huskies struggling to put it in the basket, the game slowly started to get away from UConn.
The offense opened up right away for Saint John’s, and according to Bryce Hopkins, the team looks to play off of Ejiofor, but when they can all score, it makes them hard to stop.
“We know what Zuby brings to the table, and we all play off of that. But you know, once when everybody else is clicking as well, I feel like we're just that much harder to guard. You know, everybody's building their confidence when they see shots following. And you know, it just means a lot for all of us. You know, just go out there and have extreme confidence,” Hopkins said.
For the second consecutive season, St. John’s is a Big East champion, and this year they will be looking to turn the momentum from their championship into a deeper tournament run. A year ago, St. John’s flamed out in the second round of the NCAA tournament after a tough loss to Arkansas, a game in which their offense struggled to find rhythm.
Over the past two games, St. John’s has dealt with cold stretches where their offense struggles to find a way to put the ball in the basket. While those stretches allowed both Seton Hall and UConn to cut their respective deficits to single digits, the Johnnies were able to recover, find their offense, and pull out the victory.
Zuby Ejiofor remembers the heartbreak St John’s experienced a year ago, and while that certainly was detrimental at the time, that is now in the past, and according to Ejiofor, the only way to approach this tournament run will be taking it day by day.
“Carry the momentum that we have, with this tournament, to the NCAA Tournament. But, you know, all you can do is just approach every day in the best way possible. Practice, compete at a high level like a champion we are, and we wait to see who our next opponent is. We’re just going to enjoy this one tonight and regroup,” Ejiofor said.
We found out on Sunday that St. John’s will take on Northern Iowa in a 5-12 matchup in San Diego, with the winner facing Kansas or California Baptist.
Three Years ago, Rick Pitino set out on a journey to bring St. John’s back to the levels of its once storied past, and he has now brought the Big East Championship back to Queens in consecutive seasons.
Pitino has seen a lot during his storied career, and he is undoubtedly knowledgeable about the history of the St. John’s program. Former Knicks point guard and St. John’s legend Mark Jackson was in attendance for the Saint John’s championship run, and his presence was a treat for Pitino.
Jackson played for Pitino with the Knicks, and he represents an era of St John’s that Pitino is trying to get the program back to. According to Pitino, tonight’s championship put the program in a position to return to its once storied heights.
“I had a big treat, because every time I step on the floor of Madison Square Garden, I think of something that has happened in my lifetime, and last night, I drafted a local product from St John's Bishop, Mark Jackson, and he was here at the game. He was my rookie of the year, second year major all-star team,” Pitino said.
“So it was such a thrill for me, because it brought back so many incredible memories of him flying a plane every time we scored into the press, and to have mark here means a lot to me, because it's the past, and now we fast forward to the present, and there's so much history with St John's, and we brought it all Back in three years, not only with a high ranking, but the first time in history to school to win back to back regular season back to back tournaments.”
The Johnnies are back, and they will look to continue their resurgence in the NCAA tournament, with a goal of making it to the second weekend and beyond, something they were unable to do a year ago.
