St. John’s Claims Second Straight Big East Tournament Title With Dominant Victory Over UConn

When he isn’t swarmed by media, Pitino watches as his players ascend the ladder to claim their pieces of history. He patiently waits for his turn, grinning from ear to ear the entire time. At last, the moment arrives, but Pitino chooses to do things differently. He grabs 6-foot-9 senior forward Zuby Ejiofor, the Big East Player of the Year and the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, and the two climb the steps together to snip the final fragments of twine.

The image perfectly encapsulates what has transpired in NYC over the past two seasons. With Pitino and Ejiofor leading the way, St. John’s has won back-to-back Big East regular-season and Tournament titles for the first time in school history.

Since taking over the Red Storm in 2023, Pitino has engineered a truly remarkable turnaround. The once-dominant program, which secured six Big East championships in the 1980s (two Tournament, four regular-season), had become a complete afterthought. During the eight years prior to Pitino’s arrival, the Johnnies posted a dismal 50-98 record in league play.

Now, after winning 42 of their last 46 games against conference opponents, they are the unquestioned kings of the Big East again. 

“There’s so much history with St. John’s and we brought it all back in three years,” Pitino said in his postgame presser, which he showed up to with a beer in-hand. “For me personally, being a New Yorker and seeing the thrills of our fans and 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 Lou (Carnesecca) is looking down on us with great pride. Joe Lapchick’s looking down on us with great pride.”

Rick Pitino on State of NCAA Basketball, Cinderella and Weakest St. John’s Team Yet

St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino talks with Seth Davis and Andy Katz on the latest episode of The Hoops HQ Show

The Johnnies never trailed in their 20-point rout of UConn. They were stellar defensively, forcing 17 turnovers and holding the Huskies to just 34 percent shooting from the field. Given the stage and the stakes, it was arguably the best performance of Ejiofor’s career, as the big man registered 18 points, 9 rebounds, 7 blocks and 3 steals. “He’s one of the best players in college I’ve ever coached against,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “That guy is a true difference-maker that elevates everyone around him.”

Less than three weeks ago, the Red Storm were embarrassed by UConn, losing 72-40 in a game that felt like it might torpedo their season. The Huskies had runs of 9-0, 18-0 and 16-0 amid the blowout, and St. John’s didn’t score a basket in the final 17:28 of regulation. The 40-point output was the lowest produced by a Pitino-led team ever. 

“We knew we had to get our get back,” 6-foot-1 junior guard Dylan Darling told Hoops HQ after Saturday’s victory, while rocking a championship hat with a snippet of the net tied around it. “They did us bad at their place, and it was a perfect opportunity to bounce back tonight.”

St. John’s got revenge in emphatic fashion, controlling the game from the opening tip in a raucous MSG. When the two teams met at the Garden in early February, the building was completely overrun by St. John’s fans. That was not the case this time around, although it still sounded a lot more like the home of the Red Storm than Storrs South. 

There were dueling chants of “Let’s go Huskies!” and “Let’s go Johnnies!” on the first possession of the contest, which ended with Ejiofor burying a mid-range jumper to set the tone. By the 11:30 mark, the Johnnies had jumped out to a 23-9 advantage and a frustrated Hurley had already picked up a technical foul for arguing a non-call on a layup by 6-foot-4 junior guard Silas Demary Jr. 

“They really jumped us to start the game,” Hurley said. “I think we knew that it would be a very forceful response from them, and we just weren’t able to match it. We weren’t able to finish some things around the basket and just settle into the game. And then just playing catch-up was an issue.”

“We had to set the tone early against UConn because they’re such a great program,” Ejiofor said. “We had to be resilient to come out with a win like this.”

After being held to just 40 points in the previous matchup, St. John’s knocked down 13 of its first 18 shots and took a 40-27 lead into the break. UConn wouldn’t go away quietly, though. Six-foot-11 senior center Tarris Reed Jr. didn’t back down from the head-to-head with Ejiofor, scoring 13 of his 17 points in the final 20 minutes. Yet every time the Huskies garnered a bit of momentum, St. John’s had an answer. Ejiofor, Darling (8 points, 5 assists, 3 steals) and 6-foot-7 senior forward Bryce Hopkins (18 points, 5 rebounds) all made big plays down the stretch to help the Red Storm seal the outcome. 

With Selection Sunday looming, the game had major implications for the NCAA Tournament. According to Hoops HQ Bracketologist Brad Wachtel, the Huskies would have been in contention for a No. 1 seed had they won, given that both Florida and Houston lost in their respective conference tournaments. St. John’s has been glued to the No. 5-seed line, but it could vault to a No. 4 after such an impressive victory. 

The Johnnies have come a long way since mid-December, when some people seemed ready to write them off. They struggled through a difficult nonconference slate, plummeting from No. 5 in the preseason Top 25 to unranked with losses to Alabama, Iowa State, Auburn and Kentucky. But over the past few months, Pitino’s team has been as good as any in the country. It will enter the Big Dance next week having won 19 of its last 20 games. 

“This season could have gone south quickly on a lot of different days,” Darling told Hoops HQ. “And Coach P challenged us all. We have a bunch of resilient guys who just never gave in. We went to work every single day. And, I mean, Coach is the greatest. He’s the greatest of all time.”