St. John’s Repeats As Big East Tournament Champions

Zuby Ejiofor exults after cutting down the nets. Photo by Jason Schott.

The scene at the final whistle. Photo by Jason Schott.

The St. John’s Red Storm won their second straight Big East Tournament Championship on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, as they beat the UConn Huskies, 72-52.

This is the Red Storm’s fifth Big East Tournament crown, and the first time they have gone back-to-back.

This one started out just like the Red Storm’s first two games in this tournament, as they raced out to a 10-0 lead and held UConn scoreless for the first four minutes and five seconds.

Dylan Darling nailed this jumper to make it 10-0 St. John’s early. Photo by Jason Schott.

St. John’s kept up the heat, eventually doubling up UConn, 32-16, at the 8:20 mark of the first half.

Connecticut responded with a Jayden Ross three-pointer to make it 32-19, and those would be their last points for four minutes and 28 seconds, until an Alex Karajan layup made it 36-21 St. John’s.

UConn couldn’t make a dent in the lead, and went into halftime down 40-27.

St. John’s shot at 50 percent, or 15-30, from the field, while holding UConn to just 36%, or 9-25, overall and 2-8 from behind the arc. (SJU shot the same on threes)

UConn committed an uncharacteristic 11 turnovers, and their Head Coach, Dan Hurley, took a technical foul at the 12:34 mark.

In the second half, after a blistering start by St. John’s, UConn went on a 9-0 run to finally get it under 10, as a Terris Reed Jr. layup made it 47-39 St. John’s.

Connecticut pulled within seven, at 49-42, before St. John’s burst out of a timeout with a 7-1 run to go up 13 again, at 56-43, on a Zuby Ejiofor hook shot at 10:36.

UConn pulled back to within 10, at 59-49, on a Malachi Smith layup, off a Jayden Ross steal, at the 8:03 mark. 

Soon after, UConn had a possession where they did everything but score, as they had four shot attempts, along with three offensive rebounds, and they still were down 10 when it was over at the 6:49 mark.

That turned out to be a game-defining possession, as that deflated UConn because it symbolized how tough they had it all night.

Dylan Darling then reeled off six straight points, and just like that, it was 65-49 St. John’s with 5:01 left.

A Bryce Hopkins layup made it a 20-point lead for St. John’s, 69-49, with 3:26 left, and it started to feel like they had it. (Pictured below)

Dylan Darling races his arm signalling victory was at hand after the Hopkins layup. Photo by Jason Schott.

St. John's would close the game on a 13-0 run, as they took a 72-49 lead, and a Malachi Smith free throw at 1:15 broke it. That gave UConn their first point since the 8:03 mark, an extended drought of six minutes and 48 seconds.

The confetti was flying during the trophy presentation. Photo by Jason Schott.

PITINO POSTGAME: St. John's Head Coach Rick Pitino addressed the media after the game, and he spoke of where he has taken this program in three years: "You know, last night I had a big treat because every time I step on the floor at 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 Loughlin, Mark Jackson, and he was here at the game tonight. He was my Rookie of the Year, second year made the All Star team. 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 the history of the school to win back-to-back regular season and back-to-back tournaments. But I told the guys in the locker room, I said, 'The one thing I always want - obviously you want - every coach wants to see the team get better and to peak at the right time. But I want to see the individuals get better. And these four guys (Sellers, Hopkins, Ejiofor, Mitchell) all got a lot better as the season went along. (quote continues after picture)

Rick Pitino leads Zuby Ejiofor up the ladder to cut down the nets. (Yes that was Rick's hand in the earlier pic) Photo by Jason Schott.

"Zuby has taken it from a guy that came in without a lot of confidence to now one of the great leaders in the game that I've ever coached. Bryce Hopkins has got significantly better, and I told Dillon and Bryce going into this, if you guys don't dominate, we can't win this game. And they both played unbelievable.

"Oziyah's been consistent from the summer to now, gotten a lot better defensively, but they have all gotten significantly better at latter stages of their careers, which is great for our coaching staff. And for me personally, being a New Yorker and seeing the thrills of our fans and seeing the thrills of the team means a great deal to me to be a small part of this whole thing.

"So I'm really, really proud. I know Louie is looking down on us with great pride. Joe Lapchick's looking down on us with great pride, and I'm really, really impressed by all of them.

"With 12:30 to go in the game, I had to take a timeout - I had to waste a timeout, which infuriated me with these guys, and I said to them, 'You are fatiguing. Don't let this clock run out. You've got to keep the pressure on them offensively. Johnnies don't get tired. Johnnies don't get tired. I took Zuby out right before that, and he said to me, 'Coach at eight minutes, I'll kill. Bring me back in.' And he did.

"They all played a lot of minutes in this tournament and didn't fatigue, and at that point they just turned it around and dominated the game once again against a very good Connecticut team, very good. We held (Brody) Mullins without a three-point shot at halftime. These guys played great. I don't know what was better, the defense, the offense, or the attitude. So, I'm real proud of all four of you guys. You're tremendous young men as well as being great basketball players, and you've all gotten significantly better, which is what every coach wants."

On Dylan Darling scoring six straight points to key the game-clinching 13-0 run: "Yeah, he didn't have it his way at all during the game. It just shows you about - I said to him, 'Take it easy, Stef. Take it easy, Stef.' Because he's trying to just go one-on-one. I said, 'Zuby, will you do something with this guy? Set a pick, get him out of going one-on-one. But it shows you it wasn't going his way. He just tried to take over the game offensively and defensively with a great back tip. But listen, these two bookend forwards, they are tremendous. Don't underrate them. This guy takes a lot of publicity away from them because of his greatness.

"But those pipkins there, the three of them, they make up a great, great front court. Dillon Mitchell, I was getting all over him. I said, 'You handle the ball. You handle the ball. You are the point guard.' And he was brilliant. Hop kept getting better and better. What a great tournament. I'm proud of you guys."

Big East Day 3: St. John’s Survives Seton Hall Push Late To Make Final

Dillon Mitchell slams one home to put St. John's up 14-11 early on. Photo by Jason Schott.

In the Big East Tournament Semifinals on Friday night at Madison Square Garden, the St. John’s Red Storm beat the Seton Hall Pirates, 78-68.

Big East Day 2: St. John’s Finishes Off Friars

Bryce Hopkins slams one home to put St. John’s up 20-5 early. Photo by Jason Schott.

The St. John’s Red Storm passed their first test at the Big East Tournament, as they beat Providence, 85-72, in dominant fashion in their Quarterfinal matchup on Thursday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.

That was exhibited on the defensive end at first, as they kept Providence off the board for the first four minutes and 47 seconds.

The thing is, though, St. John’s only had nine points at that point, but it wasn’t long before a Bryce Hopkins slam off a fast break made it 20-5 Red Storm at the 13:05 mark. (Pictured above)

This was an emphatic statement by Hopkins against his former team, after he was viciously attacked on a similar play by Duncan Powell in their last meeting on February 14, and occurred right in front of the Providence bench.

St. John’s kept it going, as they built up a 23-point lead, 46-24, on an RJ Luis hook shot at 2:37, and they would take a 48-27 edge into halftime. 

Providence, as expected, made a run in the second half, as they pile to within 11 points, 59-48, on a Ryan Mela layup at the 12:15 mark.

St. John’s responded with a 6-2 spurt that turned into an elongated 17-5 clip capped by a Dillon Mitchell alleyoop at 8:07 that put them up 75-53, a 22-point edge.

Zuby Ejiofor led the way, as he had a double-double with 21 points, on 9-14 from the field, with 10 rebounds, along with five assists and three blocks.

Zuby Ejiofor is able to rise above that Providence defender for this jumper that made it 23-11 midway through the first half. Photo by Jason Schott.

A trio of St. John’s players - Bryce Hopkins, Oziyah Sellers, and Ian Jackson - had 14 points apiece. Hopkins had a double-double, as he also hauled in 13 rebounds, while Jackson’s 14 came in 19:11 off the bench.

Just as was the case for Providence against Butler on Wednesday evening, three players were responsible for the lion’s share of their scoring, as Stefan Vaaks (23 points), Jaylin Sellers (21), and Ryan Mela (16) combined for 60 of the Friars’ 72 points.

PITINO POSTGAME: St. John's Head Coach Rick Pitino addressed the media after the game, and he opened with this statement: 

“Well, we played awesome defense tonight, especially the first half was as good as we played all year. When you go in at halftime with that lead and the assists total are 10-2, the three-point shots, which doesn’t normally happen, we go 0-5 against just an awesome shooting team, and we got 15 points, they got zero. And rebounding-wise, we were 26-13. Fast breaks we were 10-12. 

“So first half was brilliant on offense, brilliant on defense. Second half, it’s tough to play with a lead against a good shooting team, but they made some threes that were amazing. It’s very difficult for our players here because the rules have changed so much. Right now, on every basket the offensive player just buries himself into the defensive player and it’s always a foul. Where before it was 50/50, now it’s 90/10…

“Outside of that, we played a great game. Bryce was tremendous. When you watch Oziyah play, he really doesn’t make many mistakes. He knows how to cut, knows how to play. So he’s a terrific basketball player having - if you look out there and you say what did Oziyah do? He did everything right, nothing wrong. His defense is getting much better than the beginning of the year and I’m proud of both of these guys. They had a really good game.”

Mets To Induct Bobby V & Maz In Team HOF; '86 Celebration Set

 

Bobby Valentine at Citi Field last September. Photo by Jason Schott.

The Mets announced on Thursday a pair of very special events happening this summer.

Big East Day 1: Providence Pulls Off Comeback To Set Up Meeting With St. John's

 

Jaylin Sellers launched this three-pointer near the tournament logo to put Providence up, 68-58, with 9:33 remaining. Photo by Jason Schott.

The matchup everyone was anticipating would happen in the early part of the Big East Tournamentt will tip off at noon on Thursday at Madison Square Garden, as top-seeded St. John's will face ninth-seeded Providence.

St. John’s Ejiofor A Unanimous Selection For Big East Player Of The Year

 

Zuby Ejiofor goes full extension for this layup against Seton Hall on January 20th. Photo by Jason Schott.

St. John’s star Zuby Ejiofor was a unanimous selection for Big East Player of the Year, the conference announced on Wednesday at the start of its tournament.

Ejiofor also was honored as the Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Earlier in the week, he was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year.

In the 45-year history of the Big East, Zuby is the second player to win all three major awards since Emeka Okafor, of the UConn Huskies, in 2004.

Ejiofor is the first unanimous selection for Big East Player of the Year since Doug McDermott, of Creighton, in 2013-14, that school’s first year in the Big East.

On what it took to win the award, Ejiofor said at the ceremony, “I mean, it took everything. It took battling through adversity, and it was never easy. It was never the easiest road to success. I just want to thank God because I feel like he put me in so many situations where I had to challenge myself and it was never easy. I was able to do anything possible that I put my mind to.”

Zuby is the fourth St. John’s player to be honored as Big East Player of the Year, along with RJ Luis Jr. last year, Walter Berry in 1986, and Chris Mullin three times, 1983, ‘84, and ‘85.

This is St. John’s second straight winner, and as you can guess from Mullin and Berry, they won a combined four straight.

Additionally, Zuby was named the Associated Press Big East Player of the Year on Tuesday.

Zuby Wins Big East Defensive Player of the Year Honors

 

Zuby Ejiofor closing in on a three-point shooter last Tuesday night against Georgetown. Photo by Jason Schott.

St. John's star Zuby Ejiofor was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year, soon after he was also the lone unanimous selection for the All-Big East First Team and All-Big East Defensive Team.