NEW YORK, NY — Jay-Z said it best: “You gotta get that dirt off your shoulder.”
After getting their teeth kicked in earlier this week by No. 6 UConn and knocked on the canvas, falling by 32 and snapping a 13-game winning streak—No. 15 St. John’s had to respond with a bounce back game their next time out which arrived Saturday night at Madison Square Garden against Villanova.
“I feel this is the most important game of the three-year span I’ve been here,” Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino said leading up to the prime time Big East matchup televised on FOX nationwide, an annual White-Out game as well. “Because of what happened last game, because of the meaning of being in first place, how good (Villanova is), this time of year, to get back on the winning side.”
After an embarrassing loss on Wednesday night against No. 6 UConn, No. 15 St. John’s needed a bounce back game and it appeared Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in full fashion – Image Credit: St. John’s Men’s Basketball
The 73-year-old Naismith Hall of Famer’s words clearly resonated well throughout the Johnnies’ locker room as the Red Storm, appearing with urgency and an all-white suited Pitino on the sidelines, clobbered the Wildcats by a final score of 89-57.
Quite the Week for the Johnnies
Wednesday vs. No. 6 UConn: a 32 point loss—St. John’s largest margin of defeat vs. UConn in 75 all-time meetings
Saturday vs. Villanova: a 32 point win—St. John’s largest margin of victory vs. Villanova in 135 all-time meetings
Answering back with purpose and authority in front of an electric sold-out crowd of 19,812, including St. John’s alum Julian Champagnie, currently playing for the San Antonio Spurs in his fourth career NBA season, St. John’s took over the game in the first 10 minutes and were able to go up by as much as 30 prior to halftime.
Sophomore guard Ian Jackson out of the Bronx, New York, leading the way in the first half with 11 points, two of which off an impressive windmill dunk after completing a steal, ended up with 19 points and five steals—each a game-high.
“Whether it’s on defense, offense, whatever I could do to help us win is what I’m willing to do,” Jackson said after the game. “And tonight, defense sparked it for me, getting five steals, being active on the ball, being active in the lanes. It started there, and it made something great happen.”
Outside of Jackson, producing a majority of the team’s offensive output in Saturday’s win—St. John’s 23rd of the season and 16th in Big East play—was senior forward Zuby Ejiofor, knocking down the door to March, with a 16 point-12 rebound-10 assist triple double.
His triple double during the final hours of February as Ejiofor’s family was in the crowd marked just the fifth-ever triple double in St. John’s Men’s Basketball history with the most recent coming last season from his former Red Storm teammate Kadary Richmond, who is now playing in the NBA and G-League with the Washington Wizards/Capital City Go-Go.
With his 16-point-12 rebound-10 assist triple double on Saturday night vs. Villanova, Zuby Ejiofor became the fifth St. John’s player to ever record a triple double – Image Credit: St. John’s Men’s Basketball
Mark Jackson in 1985-86, David Cain in 1992-93 and Ron Artest in 1998-99 were the only other times when a St. John’s player recorded a triple double besides Ejiofor on Saturday and Richmond in 2024-25.
“What he (Pitino) and I were saying to and telling the guys is that championship level teams respond in a positive way and I think that’s exactly what we did tonight,” Ejiofor said as St. John’s (23-6 overall, 16-2 in Big East play) now looks ahead to their next affair on Tuesday night, March 3rd vs. Georgetown. “Just setting a tone in the first half and then just playing through.”
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