St. John's secured a share of their second straight Big East regular-season title with a 72-65 victory over Seton Hall on Friday night at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Zuby Ejiofor led the Red Storm with 21 points, while Bryce Hopkins added 11 points and seven rebounds. Oziyah Sellers contributed 11 points and five rebounds.
Key Takeaways
St. John's secured a share of their second straight Big East regular-season title with a 72-65 victory over Seton Hall on Friday night at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Zuby Ejiofor led the Red Storm with 21 points.
- St. John's wins 72-65 against Seton Hall to share Big East regular-season title
- Zuby Ejiofor scores 21 points for St. John's; Bryce Hopkins and Oziyah Sellers each contribute 11 points
- Georgetown defeats Villanova 78-64 in the Big East Tournament, advancing to face UConn in the semifinals
The Red Storm (25-6, 18-2 Big East) have consecutive regular-season titles for the first time in 40 years. They last achieved this feat under Lou Carnesecca during the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons. St. John's will be the top seed in the Big East Tournament next week, hosted at Madison Square Garden for the second straight year.
Rick Pitino’s Red Storm would win the regular-season crown outright if Marquette defeats Connecticut on Saturday. Seton Hall (20-11, 10-10) fell to 0-6 this season against the three teams ahead of them in the conference standings: St. John’s, UConn, and Villanova.
The Red Storm entered averaging 82.2 points per game but were forced to grind out on offense, especially with Ejiofor on the bench in the second half due to foul trouble. Sellers and Ruben Prey stepped up during Ejiofor's absence, scoring nine and eight points respectively off the bench.
When Ejiofor returned, he showcased why he is a frontrunner for the Big East Player of the Year award, scoring 12 second-half points and helping the Red Storm shoot 65.2% in the second half. The team's performance highlights their resilience and depth, with contributions from bench players filling critical gaps during Ejiofor's absence.
The Big East Tournament begins Wednesday afternoon with a first-round tripleheader. Eighth-seeded Butler (16-15, 7-13) plays No. 9 seed Providence (14-17, 7-13) in the opener. They split two regular-season matchups, with both going to double overtime.
Georgetown upset sixth-seeded DePaul on Wednesday night with a 63-56 win. Vincent Iwuchukwu led the Hoyas (15-17) with 17 points and 14 rebounds off the bench. Jeremiah Williams scored 17 points, and Malik Mack had 16 points for Georgetown.
In another tournament matchup, Julius Halaifonua had 21 points and 10 rebounds in No. 11 seed Georgetown’s 78-64 win over third-seeded Villanova on Thursday night. Kayvaun Mulready scored 14 points while going 5 of 5 (3 for 3 from 3-point range), and added eight rebounds for the Hoyas. Jeremiah Williams finished with 14 points. Georgetown took the lead for good with 52 seconds left in the first half, extending a two-point lead to ten points in the second half.
Seton Hall will face Creighton in the Big East Tournament on Thursday afternoon. The Pirates have gone 10-10 against Big East opponents, with a 10-1 record in non-conference play. Creighton is seventh in the Big East with 31.8 rebounds per game.
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