NEW YORK, NY — For the first time since 2000, the St. John’s Red Storm are Big East Tournament champions, cutting down the nets at Madison Square Garden after an 82-66 victory over Creighton on Saturday night.
RJ Luis took over the game, putting together a 29-point performance — 27 in the second half — while adding 10 rebounds. The Robin to Luis’ Batman, Kadary Richmond, supported him with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.
St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino, in his second season with the program, achieved history; winning the Big East regular season title outright for the first time since 1985 and earning himself a Big East Coach of the Year award and a 29-4 record.
“Great win for the city,” said St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino. “Great win for our university. You hear it all along, ‘this is New York’s team’ and it truly is. As a New Yorker myself, I’m very, very proud that St. John’s has gotten to this level. These guys deserve all the credit because they shot 72% in the second half, 66.7% from three and it was just brilliant.”
The momentum started to swing in the Red Storm’s direction once Pitino brought out the full-court press halfway through the first half. The more mistakes Creighton started to make, the more aggressive and physical St. John’s got and they ran away with the game.
The crowd played a huge role in this team’s success – as they got louder, the better Luis and Richmond started to play. The Johnnies outscored Creighton 57-38 in the second half.
“I said it all year long, RJ is going to be an even better pro, he’s a hell of a college player,” Pitino said. “And Kadary, is going to have a long career because somebody is going to invest in Kadary and get a 6-foot-6 guard, who is going to play a long, long time in the NBA. I’m positive of that.”
Zuby Ejiofor, who scored 33 points in the team’s semifinal bout against Marquette on Friday, dominated in the paint in the second half. The junior forward scored 11 of his 18 points in the second frame, helping prevail the Johnnies over the Blue Jays.
St. John’s got into foul trouble in the first half, which led to them trailing Creighton 28-25 after one. The Johnnies committed 16 fouls in the contest, but Creighton couldn’t capitalize at the charity stripe, making just 38% of their attempts.
St. John’s was particularly strong from behind the arc, shooting 50% from three-point land. Coming into the tournament, the Red Storm shot just 29.86% from three.
With this win, St. John’s increases its chances to claim a No. 2 seed at the NCAA Tournament starting Thursday, March 20. Selection Sunday will decide their fate.
