For the first time in 40 years, St. John’s stands alone as the Big East champion.
Rick Pitino’s red-hot Red Storm clinched the conference’s outright regular-season title with Saturday afternoon’s 71-61 win over Seton Hall at Madison Square Garden, further immortalizing one of the greatest seasons in school history.
It took only two years for Pitino to pull off the ultimate turnaround.
When Pitino accepted the head coach job just under two years ago, St. John’s was four seasons removed from an NCAA Tournament berth.
St. John’s had not won an outright Big East title since 1984-85, a season that culminated in a trip to the Final Four under Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca.
It had not earned even a share of a conference championship since 1991-92, Carnesecca’s final season.
But Pitino arrived with a promise.
“St. John’s is going to be back,” Pitino vowed at his introductory press conference in March of 2023. “I guarantee that.”
It was a bold proclamation, even for a Hall of Fame coach with two national championships to his name.
But with Saturday’s victory, No. 7 St. John’s improved to 26-4, including 17-2 in Big East play. It finished its home schedule with an 18-0 record, including 9-0 at the Garden.
Indeed, St. John’s is back.
Saturday’s win did not come easily, despite Seton Hall (7-22; 2-16 in conference play) owning the Big East’s lowest-scoring offense and St. John’s boasting the conference’s stoutest defense.
St. John’s appeared over-amped at the start, missing its first nine shots and committing three turnovers before RJ Luis Jr. finally broke through with a driving dunk nearly four minutes into the game.
The slog continued throughout a first half in which St. John’s shot 37.5% from the field and committed seven turnovers. Luis went into halftime with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting; the rest of the team shot 6-of-23.
St. John’s led 34-30 at the break, but Seton Hall hung around in the second half, tying the score with just over 10 minutes left.
A dunk by Zuby Ejiofor put St. John’s back up, 51-49, with 9:54 remaining, and a 3-pointer from Ruben Prey less than a minute later padded the lead. Deivon Smith’s driving lay-up put St. John’s up, 57-52, with 7:50 to go, finally giving an eager crowd a chance to erupt.
The crowd grew even louder as Luis punctuated the win with a one-handed dunk in transition about a minute later.
Luis led St. John’s with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting, while Ejiofor added 17 points and 10 rebounds.
It happened in front of a sellout crowd of 19,812, many of whom wore white in recognition of the Red Storm’s annual white-out game. Just like he did on the same day last season, Pitino stalked the sideline in a stark white suit.
This season continues to serve as a fitting tribute to the New York-born Carnesecca, who died in November at age 99.
The St. John’s job has proven to be a similarly perfect fit for Pitino, a New York native who previously called the Garden home as an assistant and head coach of the Knicks during separate stints in the 1980s.
Despite finishing 20-13 in its first year under Pitino, St. John’s missed the NCAA Tournament, the result of a slow start that proved too dire to overcome. Six of the Red Storm’s top seven scorers from 2023-24 graduated or transferred, prompting Pitino to pound the transfer portal.
His offseason additions each brought something different. Kadary Richmond, who transferred from Seton Hall, provided a scoring punch and wing defense. Smith opened the offense with his athleticism and speed. Aaron Scott delivered toughness and length.
They complemented the returning Luis and Ejiofor, who emerged as the Red Storm’s leading scorers in increased roles this season.
That group fueled a 10-game win streak in conference play; a regular-season sweep of two-time defending NCAA champion UConn; and ranked victories over Marquette and Creighton. Even the Red Storm’s losses were close, with the four defeats being by a combined seven points.
There is much more St. John’s hopes to accomplish, which is why Pitino and his players declined to cut down the nets after Saturday’s win. The Red Storm will be the top seed in the Big East Tournament, which takes place at the Garden from March 12-15.
They have not won the Big East Tournament since 2000, which is also the last year St. John’s won an NCAA Tournament game. Most bracketologists project St. John’s to be a No. 3 seed.
St. John’s is scheduled to finish the regular season next Saturday at No. 21 Marquette.