There was extra delight for St. John’s basketball fans on Saturday night as the Red Storm beat the Villanova Wildcats 80-68 at a nearly sold-out Madison Square Garden.
The win against Villanova carried special weight. Over the last decade, the Wildcats had earned entry into Blue Blood status that its fans coveted. That disappeared three years ago when coach Jay Wright suddenly retired. Since then, the team’s winning culture (and two national championships in 2016 and 2018) has rapidly faded in the rearview mirror. The infamous “Jay Wright Whistle” — referees conspiring in Villanova’s favor — has been silenced. The Red Storm even swept them last year.
On Saturday night, many St. John’s fans watched the new normal settle in with Nova fans. From my seat in the 220s — roughly 5,000 Villanova supporters were in the arena — their vocal presence diminished as the game progressed. It was all a striking reversal for St. John’s faithful who remember when a Garden home game against Villanova felt like 11,000 people crashed your sister’s wedding.
Gone are the days when coach Wright, up twelve points with seconds left until the half, would call a timeout to draw up a three-pointer against Chris Mullin’s Storm – and succeed.
Saturday night, those indignities seemed as ancient as a horsehair couch. Though now a middling team under coach Kyle Neptune, Villanova still boasts one of the country’s better offenses. They excel at three-pointers and free throws, recently upset top-ranked UConn, and feature the nation’s top scorer in Eric Dixon.
“You’re not going to stop Eric Dixon,” Red Storm coach Rick Pitino had said at a pregame presser. Yet they did. They suffocated the fifth-year Dixon, doubling him and disrupting his rhythm. He scored 18 points but on 6-19 shooting, committed three turnovers and fouled out. “You got to give [Red Storm forward] Aaron Scott his flowers,” said Ryan Patrick, a former coach who hosts “Sunday Sauce St. John’s Spaces” on X. “He does everything between the lines. He took the Dixon assignment and disrupted him right from the jump.”
St. John’s length and stifling defense proved demoralizing. This is the best defensive team St. John’s fans have seen since Ron Artest and Erick Barkley ran the floor at the Garden in 1998 under coach Mike Jarvis. They inspire a crisis of confidence in their opponents. During one possession, Kadary Richmond deflected three passes, forcing Nova to attempt five inbound passes.
The Red Storm dominated on the glass (out-rebounding Nova 44-28) and in transition (outscoring them 12-2 on fast breaks). RJ Luis led all scorers with 30 points and grabbed six of the team’s seventeen offensive rebounds.
But what made the game special was the turnout – a near sellout, bathed in a sea of red. For the first time in years, the college basketball universe centered itself on a Saturday night at 33rd street between seventh and eighth avenues. In my section, Nova fans seemed to accept the shift gracefully. “Just glad we’re not getting blown out,” one remarked.
“The on-the-fence fans were there Saturday night, no doubt,” said Ryan Patrick about the Garden Party. “And it’s really important that this team wins while they have that captive audience, because they have a very short attention span in this town. So going into February, the Marquette game, but to a greater extent, those weekend dates against Creighton and UConn, become appointment events.”
Georgetown next
Tuesday brings Georgetown (12-4; 5-3). Despite recent success, St. John’s remains outside the Top 25 at 14-3; 5-1, with just one quality win against Xavier on the road. A home loss to Georgetown — a team on its own upswing under second-year head coach Ed Cooley — could prove devastating. “It’s gonna be a flat out war, we know that,” said Pitino. “And we need another packed house for this game. The Garden’s doing great things for us, supporting us. It’s been a wonderful beginning.”
The Villanova game had its share of drama, raining elbows in the paint with dives for loose balls. Guard Deivon Smith winced after a first-half shoulder collision and left the game, returning midway through the second half. He removed his sling, told Pitino he could play, and provided a lift to a team that had been uncharacteristically second-half sluggish. Smith only played for a few minutes in the second half, but from that point on, the Johnnies outscored Villanova by 16.
His status for Georgetown tonight is questionable. “I’m definitely willing to go out there with one arm — I just wish [the injury] was my left arm,” said Smith. “It was still fun to watch my teammates handle business. But to be in a position playing in that arena for a great coach, and being able to get wins, I think it’s all a blessing.”
