No. 9 St. John’s is answerable for its Huge East future.
That a lot was clear after Sunday’s 79-73 win over No. 24 Creighton at Madison Sq. Backyard elevated the red-hot Pink Storm’s lead within the convention standings to 2 video games with 5 to play.
However what was maybe most vital was how St. John’s received.
Sunday’s slugfest in entrance of a sellout crowd of 19,812 was removed from fairly. The Johnnies shot simply 38.4% from the sphere and went 6-of-18 from 3-point vary. They missed 12 free throws.
But smothering protection, tireless effort and relentless rebounding fueled one other win for St. John’s (22-4).
“When you see a team shoot 38% from the field, 33% from three and 58.6% from the free-throw line, you’re gonna lose by double digits, but every single night, this team wins,” head coach Rick Pitino mentioned. “It’s an amazing thing, and I think it’s because they get more possessions [and] they work so hard from the defensive end.”
Regardless of a definite measurement drawback, St. John’s outrebounded Creighton, 45-42, and corralled a whopping 20 offensive boards, main to twenty second-chance factors.
Eight of these offensive rebounds got here from 6-9 ahead Zuby Ejiofor, who totaled 9 rebounds with 18 factors and 5 assists.
Junior guard RJ Luis Jr. led St. John’s with 21 factors and 14 rebounds, whereas senior guard Kadary Richmond added 19 factors and 10 rebounds.
Defensively, the Pink Storm’s press disrupted the Creighton offense, contributing to fifteen turnovers that led to a different 20 factors.
That aggressive model of play restricted how usually Creighton may arrange a half-court offense anchored by 7-1 middle Ryan Kalkbrenner, who’s 4 inches taller than Ejiofor, the largest St. John’s starter.
Creighton managed solely 20 factors within the sport’s remaining 14 minutes and 50 seconds.
“Their defense is outstanding,’ Creighton head coach Greg McDermott said.
Sunday’s win came in a crucial swing game, as St. John’s began the day with a one-game lead over Creighton for first place in the Big East.
Creighton won the teams’ first meeting, 57-56, in Omaha on Dec. 31 and would have clinched the head-to-head tiebreaker over St. John’s with a victory Sunday.
Instead, St. John’s improved to 13-2 in Big East play, while Creighton fell to 11-4.
Sunday marked a bounce back for St. John’s, whose 10-game win streak ended Wednesday with a 73-71 loss at Villanova.
“We know we didn’t bring it with our defense at ‘Nova,” Richmond mentioned. “We weren’t who we were, and we just made an emphasis of that. We came out tonight and executed.”
Ejiofor’s defensive physicality made life troublesome for Kalkbrenner, who completed with 12 factors and 9 rebounds.
Kalkbrenner missed about six minutes within the second half after getting twisted up with Luis on a rebound try, injuring his proper foot, however managed to return with 3:47 left within the sport.
In the meantime, St. John’s bought a lift from Deivon Smith, who surprisingly suited up 4 days after Pitino mentioned the senior level guard may miss the rest of the common season.
Smith, who tweaked his neck at a current apply after lacking time final month with a shoulder damage, scored eight factors in 26 minutes off the bench Sunday. His athleticism proved pivotal within the St. John’s press.
“He said, ‘I feel good and ready to go.’ It’s one of the biggest shocks of the year for me, because I thought we were looking at, the earliest, after Connecticut [on Feb. 23],” Pitino mentioned of Smith, who was cleared after going by way of a player-development session Saturday.
“Without him tonight, we don’t win this game.”
Now in its second season below Pitino, St. John’s seeks its first berth within the NCAA Match since 2019 and its first Huge East regular-season title since 1992.
Subsequent up is a street sport Wednesday in opposition to DePaul, which ranks final within the Huge East with a 2-13 file in convention play.
“This was a great win, but we have to move on,” Ejiofor mentioned. “We’ve got DePaul. Every game in the Big East is really tough. You’re gonna get the best out of absolutely everybody.”
Initially Revealed: February 16, 2025 at 5:47 PM EST
