St. John’s will not play the stylish basketball that has otherwise limited, even bogged down the game at the collegiate and professional levels. No, this is a throwback that most New Yorkers of an older generation fell in love with 30 years ago.
The Red Storm has risen up the ranks of college basketball thanks to the fundamentals of a bygone era. Their defense is stifling, their offense is physical, and they will bully you at the hoop on both ends of the floor.
Basketball fans in the Big Apple are assuredly getting goosebumps just thinking about that, reminiscing about those ’90s Knicks, whose blue-collar mentality and never-back-down mettle made them one of the most lovable teams of the decade (and in the following three decades, too).
But on Tuesday night, Madison Square Garden was rocking for the Johnnies, ranked No. 12 in the nation, who overpowered No. 11 Marquette 70-64 to strengthen their perch atop the Big East with an 11-1 in-conference record.
“You guys can see it now,” forward RJ Luis said. “We’re a very hungry group, and we’re very determined to win. We came out tonight, came out fighting, and was able to get the tough win versus a very good Marquette team.”
St. John’s picked up the vital victory despite shooting just 3-of-16 from the three-point line and perhaps an even more concerning 17-of-31 from the charity stripe. Yet it held Marquette to its second-worst offensive performance of the season, posting a measly 0.95 points per possession.
The Red Storm dominated the boards, out-rebounding Marquette 50-28, including a staggering 21-5 edge on the offensive glass.
“They deny statistical data, they just defy all statistical data,” St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino said. “In almost every single game, their effort level is so incredibly high. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen something like this. Effort level-wise, real proud of that. Great win, great team that we beat. We shoot 17-of-31 from the foul line, but we get 50 rebounds to 28. Heck of a basketball team that just plays so hard, so hard. As a coach, I can’t appreciate anything more than this. I’m so full of gratitude to see players play this hard. It’s exciting.”
What a difference a year makes. Just 12 months ago, Pitino lambasted his team for a lack of effort following a loss to Seton Hall — its eighth defeat in 10 games — that featured the squandering of a 19-point lead.
Now, his squad, led by Luis (17 points, 11 rebounds) and Seton Hall transfer Kadary Richmond, who put up 18 points with eight assists in the win, has won nine straight games and 15 of their last 16 to improve to 20-3 on the season overall.
Just eight games remain in the regular season, and history is tantalizingly close for St. John’s. The Queens school has not won a Big East regular season title since 1992 and has made the NCAA Tournament just three times in the last 22 years.
“I envisioned special things for all of us as a group,” Richmond said. “When we all got here, we were all competitive, going at each other, working hard in individual workouts. So, I feel like what we did in the summer, what we did in the preseason, is showing off now, and that we’re close as a group and we play together.”
