St. John's continues to soar by winning Big East Tournament title
St. John's Red Storm guard RJ Luis Jr. celebrates before cutting the net as a Big East Tournament champion at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
As Kadary Richmond dribbled out the final few seconds, Zuby Ejiofor raised his arms to the crowd and exhorted the cheering throng for more. Sadiku Ibine Ayo sprinted across the court to hug Spike Lee. RJ Luis Jr. took a seat on the rim, the net from the basket around his neck, and held high the sign declaring St. John’s Big East Tournament champions.
These were just a few of the scenes from St. John’s shaking off 25 years of conference tournament frustration with an 82-66 win over Creighton for its first title since 2000.
The sixth-ranked and top-seeded Red Storm followed a familiar script Saturday night at the Garden, falling behind early — this time by eight — figuring out a way to win and surging late for the victory.
This particular surge included one of the best stretches of basketball St. John’s has played, a stretch of a little more than seven minutes in which it made 14 straight shots during a 32-14 run that turned a 41-38 deficit into a 70-55 lead.
With three wins in three nights, St. John’s — now a stunning 30-4, with the four losses coming by a total of seven points — may have done enough to earn a No. 2 seeding when the 68-team field for the NCAA Tournament is announced Sunday evening.
The Red Storm seem almost assured of beginning the tournament in the subregional at Amica Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island. Providence is where Rick Pitino remains beloved for taking the unheralded Friars to the 1987 Final Four and where this Red Storm team had its first breakthrough moment, rallying from a 15-point deficit for a two-point win on Ejiofor’s buzzer-beater.
Every team in the conference arrives at the Garden wanting to win the Big East Tournament championship, but for the Red Storm, it’s a much bigger deal because New York is their city and the games are in their building — and because the event had been a major disappointment since they last won the crown in 2000.
“I am, as a New Yorker, about as proud as any person could be because when I hear ‘St. John’s is New York’s team’ and ‘we’re New York strong’ and we represent New York, that makes me feel awesome inside,” Pitino said. “I was elated with Louisville when we came in here and won three times . . . . [But] there’s an extra-special feeling being a New Yorker who grew up on 26th Street and then Queens and then Long Island. For me, it’s just extra-special because I share this with every fan that takes great pride in what we’ve accomplished this year.”
“It’s a huge moment for us,” said university president Rev. Brian J. Shanley, who brought Pitino to St. John’s two years ago. “It’s been 30 years in the wilderness, and tonight is a huge catharsis for our fan base and for New York City . . . This happened so fast. I knew Rick would get us back, but I didn’t think it would be in this spectacular fashion. . . . and we have a bunch more games to play.”
St. John’s has the momentum of 19 wins in its last 20 games entering March Madness and is doing what every team hopes to be doing at this time of year: playing its best basketball of the season. The Red Storm now have the top-rated defense in the country, according to kenpom.com.
And the NCAA Tournament is a stage on which Pitino has thrived. He is the first coach to take six different teams to an NCAA Tournament — Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and Iona were the others — and few have had the sort of success he’s enjoyed in the sport’s premier event.
His teams have made appearances in seven Final Fours and won two national championship games.
So Pitino played the last week as if the NCAA Tournament already had started, even though St. John’s was assured of a spot in the NCAA field long ago. The top seeding for this event already was in hand when the Red Storm faced Marquette in Milwaukee, he challenged his team to play as if it were an elimination game, and St. John’s won an epic overtime game on Ejiofor’s buzzer-beater.
“That’s the way you’ve got to play it to prepare for March Madness,” he said afterward. “You don’t just show up in March and say, ‘OK, this is what we’re going to do.’ You prepare for it now. You prepare for it at the Big East Tournament.”
Luis, Ejiofor and Kadary Richmond were especially strong down the stretch Saturday night. Luis scored 27 points in the Red Storm’s 57-point second half after being limited to two points in 10 minutes of the first half by foul trouble. Ejiofor had 13 of his 20 points after the break and Richmond added 10 of his 12 points.
The next adventure for the Red Storm starts Sunday with the 6 p.m. selection show. The sites and opponents will be revealed. If you ask anyone who watched them win three games in three nights by an average of 17.7 points, this team looks ready for anything.
“We’ve been through it all. We’ve seen it all,’’ Ejiofor said. “The Big East has prepared us for the NCAA Tournament and we still have a lot to prove.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
