NEW YORK — With one other St. John’s championship salted away, Zuby Ejiofor walked slowly to the sideline with seconds remaining, tears trickling down the senior ahead’s face as he lowered his 6-foot-9 body for a number of hugs.
Moments later, in a becoming scene, he and Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino climbed a ladder collectively to chop down the nets at Madison Square Garden.
No argument anymore about who owns the Big East as of late. St. John’s has toppled UConn.
Ejiofor had seven blocks, 9 rebounds and three steals to anchor a tenacious defensive efficiency that carried No. 13 St. John’s to its second straight Big East match title Saturday evening with a 72-52 blowout of sixth-ranked UConn.
Ejiofor and Bryce Hopkins every scored 18 factors for the top-seeded Red Storm (28-6), who turned the primary workforce to win consecutive Big East match titles since Villanova took three in a row from 2017 to 2019.
“What a beautiful moment. What a surreal moment,” Ejiofor mentioned. “We had a target on our backs all year.”
Adding to their resurgent rise beneath the 73-year-old Pitino, the Johnnies joined UConn in 1998 and 1999 as the one Big East applications to win each the regular-season and match crowns in back-to-back seasons.
It was the fifth Big East match title at school historical past and the primary time the Johnnies have completed the feat in consecutive years. They are 11-1 when seeded No. 1 at Madison Square Garden, one in every of their dwelling courts throughout the common season.
“This championship means the world to us. It means the world to our fans,” Pitino mentioned throughout the postgame celebration on the courtroom. “I’m so proud of every one of our players.”
Ejiofor was chosen the match’s Most Outstanding Player, his newest in a string of accolades this week that included Big East Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He is the primary participant to win all these awards in the identical season.
Oziyah Sellers scored 14 factors for St. John’s, which took two of three conferences this season between the 2 convention powerhouses and turned the tables after an embarrassing 72-40 loss in Hartford on Feb. 25.
“We never mentioned revenge,” Pitino mentioned.
The dominant Johnnies by no means trailed within the match both and have received their six video games on this occasion by a mean of 16 factors the previous two years — all by double digits.
In a matchup of the previous two Big East match champions, the second-seeded Huskies (29-5) have been held 9 factors beneath their earlier season low. They went the final 8:03 with no subject aim, lacking 13 straight photographs whereas falling to 1-4 in opposition to St. John’s the previous two seasons.
UConn remained tied with Georgetown for probably the most Big East match championships at eight.
“I didn’t crush them in there,” mentioned Dan Hurley, who coached the Huskies to consecutive nationwide championships in 2023 and 2024. “They’re crushed. We laid an egg. We laid an egg in something we desperately wanted to win.”
Banging away with Ejiofor down low of their beefy matchup of All-Big East huge males, Tarris Reed Jr. scored 13 of his 17 factors within the second half for UConn. Point guard Silas Demary Jr. was helped off the ground late with a left ankle harm, which might be expensive heading into the NCAA match.
Hurley mentioned he initially heard the harm was a really gentle sprain and hopes “it’s not something that lingers.”
With their followers in a break up crowd roaring on the Garden, the Red Storm ran out to a 10-0 lead, constructed a 17-point cushion late within the first half and went into the break with a 40-27 benefit.
It was the biggest halftime deficit this season for the Huskies, who dedicated 11 turnovers and shot 36% from the sector within the opening 20 minutes.
“All credit to St. John’s. They jumped us to start the game,” Hurley mentioned. “St. John’s is built incredibly well to play in this conference.”
St. John’s prolonged the margin to 18 early within the second half earlier than the Huskies responded with a 13-2 spurt that trimmed the hole to 49-42 with 12:34 left, revving up their very own chanting followers. But that was as shut as they acquired.
Thinking his gamers regarded drained, Pitino took a timeout and mentioned he informed them: “Johnnies don’t fatigue. Johnnies don’t surrender.”
When play resumed, Hopkins hit a jumper and Ejiofor drained a 3-pointer earlier than scoring within the put up. Dylan Darling later scored the primary six factors of a 13-0 surge down the stretch that was capped by one other 3 from Ejiofor, and the Red Storm received going away.
“We knew they were going to make their runs, but we knew we had to fight back and that’s exactly what we did,” Ejiofor mentioned.
It was the third time UConn and St. John’s squared off for the Big East match title, after splitting matchups in 1999 and 2000. And this marked the championship sport that includes two of the convention’s seven constitution members for the reason that Johnnies beat the Huskies 80-70 in that 2000 sport.
The hot-tempered Hurley was whistled for a technical foul 7:26 into the sport after stamping his toes loudly on the sideline, apparently wanting a foul referred to as as Demary made a reverse layup.
St. John’s scored the primary eight factors in all three match video games this week and led for greater than 118 of 120 minutes.
Pitino received his sixteenth convention match title and his fifth within the Big East after three with Louisville. He is the primary Big East coach to win back-to-back titles at two colleges.
“Three straight nights we didn’t relent at all. And that’s great going into the [NCAA] tournament,” Pitino mentioned.
