The Quarterfinals: vs. Providence
Fans entered Madison Square Garden with a mix of hopefulness and uneasiness. The opponent, Providence, had battled with them twice, once victoriously. The Friars were led by two outstanding offensive players: Jaylin Sellers and Stefan Vaaks.
The Johnnies began the game with unparalleled determination. On their first possession, they took down four offensive rebounds. Though none were converted into points, the road to victory was being set. A minute into the game, Dillon Mitchell, off a feed from
Dylan Darling, drove hard down the court and laid the ball in for a 2-0 lead.
A Mitchell defensive rebound and a sprint downcourt found Oziyah Sellers in the right corner, who canned a three for a 5-0 lead. The lead expanded to nine, and it was nearly five minutes into the game when the Friars’ Sellers hit two free throws.
Two fouls on Mitchell, seven seconds apart, sent him to the bench with Joson Sanon replacing him. Zuby Ejiofor began what would become a twelve-point first half when Darling found him in the paint near the foul line. A double pump left his defender off-balance, and he hit an eight-foot jumper.
In the lopsided first half, the Johnnies put pressure on the Friars’ excellent shooters, resulting in a 0-for-5 effort from distance. Simultaneously, the Red Storm outrebounded the Friars 24-13, including a dominant 10-1 on the offensive boards, and led the game 48-27 at the half.
The Friars, behind a 20-point second half by Vaaks, fought back and cut the Red Storm’s lead to eleven with 12:15 left to play behind the threesome of Ryan Mela, Vaaks, and Sellers. In response, the Johnnies went on a 17-5 spurt to go ahead by twenty-three.
For a couple of minutes, the Johnnies had a big-man combination simultaneously on the court: Ejiofor and 6-foot-10 sophomore, Ruben Prey. A couple of plays had Ejiofor out past the foul line, passing to a Prey cutting into the paint without the ball and getting fouled. Prey, a good foul shooter, sank both free throws, leaving fans wondering if Coach Pitino had added a new play to the playbook.
The Semifinals: vs. Seton Hall
Like in the quarterfinals, the prepared Johnnies jumped out to an early lead over the Pirates. Ejiofor missed an open three, but Hopkins stepped in to take the offensive rebound and put it back in for a 2-0 lead.
Mitchell blocked a shot and then fed Ejiofor for a 4-0 lead.
Ejiofor returned the favor by feeding Mitchell for a layup and a 6-0 lead. The team effort was clear the next time down the court. Darling missed a three-pointer from the top of the key. Hopkins battled for the offensive rebound and the ball went off of a Pirate out of bounds. The inbounds pass went to Mitchell, who dribbled to the top of the key and found Ejiofor for a dunk and an eight-point lead three minutes into the game.
Mike Williams of Seton Hall broke the ice with a three-pointer at the 16:44 mark of the half. Fourteen seconds later, on a Darling assist, Ejiofor hit a layup for a 10-3 lead. The Pirates closed the gap to one at 12-11 when the Johnnies started an offensive set on the right wing. Around the horn, the ball went from right to left, four passes, and eventually it was Hopkins who fed Mitchell under the basket for an open dunk. The skilled Seton Hall defenders could not catch up.
Thirty seconds later, Ian Jackson stole the ball and took it downcourt for a dunk, and the Johnnies were up by five, 16-11.
Six minutes went by when Joson Sanon hit the first of a pair of three-pointers. Off a feed from Darling at the 4:43 mark of the half, he hit his second three, and the Johnnies’ lead was up to eight, 28-20.
The teams traded baskets for the rest of the half, and the Red Storm went into halftime leading 38-30.
In the second half, the Johnnies expanded their lead behind an offense that evenly distributed the ball among many contributors, with Ejiofor leading the way.
By the 15:39 mark, after an Oziyah Sellers layup, the lead rose to nineteen, 49-30. It was an eleven-point run to begin the second half. But Seton Hall was not capitulating. There were still over fifteen minutes to play.
The Red Storm held strong, and a Ruben Prey layup on a Jackson feed established an eighteen-point lead with ten and a half to play. Seton Hall responded with a 7-0 run, dropping the lead to twelve with just under eight minutes to play. Then multiple turnovers by the Johnnies and a rare three-pointer by Seton Hall dropped the lead to six with 4:41 to play.
Ejiofor responded with a layup off a Hopkins feed, and Sanon, who would become the second leading Red Storm scorer for the game, made two foul shots, and the lead was again double digits at ten.
The Championship: vs. UConn
With a final score of 78-68, the Red Storm left the court to begin preparing to defend their tournament title. Their opponent would be the bitter Connecticut Huskies. One Huskies fan made a bold prediction: “If we decide to play defense, the Johnnies do not stand a chance”.
No rationale given for a St. John’s victory was acceptable to this fan as long as the Huskies played defense. Johnny’s fans, who heard this, were leaving the stadium, shaking their heads and vowing to return for the Championship game the following evening.
Madison Square Garden was ready, and fans joined together to cheer Anna Negron for her performance singing the Star Spangled Banner. Pockets of Johnnies fans joined Connecticut fans in chanting “U-S-A” at the end of a spectacular performance. Fans from both teams were in full voice and ready for battle.
First Half
The Johnnies were prepared and took an early lead on a Zuby Ejiofor six-footer in the middle of the paint for a 2-0 lead. After the Red Storm defense held, Oziyah Sellers hit a trey for a five-point lead.
The Johnnies’ defense was stifling with Zuby Ejiofor guarding Tarris Reed of Connecticut. Other defensive assignments included Dillon Mitchell on Braylon Mullins, Dylan Darling on Solo Ball, Sellers on Silas Demary, and Bryce Hopkins on Alex Karaban. This quintet held the Huskies scoreless for the first 4.5 minutes of the game, and the Huskies did not score until Demary converted two free throws at the 15:55 mark of the half.
Connecticut began collapsing on Ejiofor, who responded by kicking out to Joson Sanon for a three from the right corner and a 16-7 lead. Shortly thereafter, Connecticut coach Dan Hurley was hit with a technical after arguing what he believed was a no-call against Demary, and then Ian Jackson made one of two technical free throws to extend the Red Storm’s lead to 19-9.
Ruben Prey came in to give Ejiofor a rest at the twelve-minute mark, and the Johnnies did not let up. A Hopkins rebound, and a kick out to Mitchell led to him pushing the ball down court. Taking advantage of a lackadaisical Connecticut defense, Mitchell jetted down the left side of the court and scored a fastbreak dunk for a 23-9 lead.
The Huskies did perk up a little, but a returning Ejiofor kept the Johnnies moving forward. With eight minutes in the half, Jackson fed Ejiofor and quickly cut around the UConn defender. As Ejiofor returned the pass to him on a nice backdoor cut, the beaten UConn defender reached out his hand, causing Jackson to stumble. Jackson was taken out of the game, and Ejiofor hit two free throws, extending the lead to 34-19. A short time later, Jackson appeared fine and re-entered the contest.
At halftime, the Johnnies led 40-27. The Johnnies were shooting at a 50 percent clip and holding Connecticut to 36 percent from the floor. Although rebounding and assist statistics were similar, the Johnnies had five steals to only two swipes for UConn, as well as four blocks to their opponents’ one.
Halftime
Most fans were stunned by the current score. The difference in the game was simply explained. It was the Red Storm defense. Watching it in person, it was amazing how smoothly Johnnie players switched to cover opponents. The Huskies were forced to rush shots with Johnnie defenders in their face or with the 30-second shot clock running low. Mullins, their top shooter from distance, had not scored in the half.
Second Half
The Huskies were not done competing. Mullins hit his first three at 15:55. Then Reid began to find a position under the basket, which Ejiofor had difficulty defending. With twelve minutes to play, the lead was down to seven, 47-39.
A time-out was called, and Ejiofor re-entered the game after a rest. Then Hopkins hit a fifteen-foot jumper. After holding the Huskies, Ejiofor, left alone at the top of the circle, hit a three-pointer. Connecticut converted a foul shot. Then Ejiofor backed Reid down and hit a three-foot hook shot. Topping the series of plays off, he blocked the next layup attempt by Demary, and Mitchell picked the ball up and sprinted down the court for a dunk, and the score was now 58-43. The outcome of the game seemed determined, and Red Storm fans exploded in chants of “Let’s Go Johnnies”.
In the last minute of the game, the Johnnies’ starters all came out, one at a time, to receive their well-deserved individual applause. Of course, Zuby Ejiofer was last. As the crowd, for one last time at the Red Storm’s home floor, called out “Zuuuuuub,” tears began to flow from the Red Storm’s senior star. Good tears of joy from a young man who well deserved the praise in his final Garden game.
Takeaway #1: The Red Storm’s defense carried them in the Big East Tournament
We earlier discussed the Red Storm defense. Amazingly, in this three-game series on three consecutive days, the Red Storm held all three opponents scoreless for four plus minutes in each game. The team’s ability to switch, to guard tightly, and create turnovers is what makes this team capable of winning any game against any team. The team has expressed confidence that they can beat any team in America. The Johnnies just held a highly ranked Connecticut team, which averaged in the upper seventies throughout the year, to fifty-two points.
Takeaway #2: Zuby Ejiofor turned tears of sorrow into tears of joy
Think back to the St. John’s versus Baylor game in November 2024. The Red Storm was letting a large lead against a ranked opponent disappear slowly. The game went into overtime, and it appeared the Red Storm had pulled away to assure a victory with seconds to play. Zuby Ejiofor was at the line with five seconds to play and a two-point lead. He missed two free throws, and a Baylor opponent hit a last-second three to grab the victory.
Tears flowed from his face. He felt he had lost the game for his teammates.
The next day, St. John’s fans took it upon themselves to lift Ejiofor up. As he entered the court, cheers arose for Ejiofor from the crowd.
Now, a year and a half later, it was Ejiofor holding up those caring fans by leading the team to a second Big East Conference Championship in two years. Today, there were tears of joy.
Takeaway #3: St. John’s is still focused on getting better
So, what does this team do now? Dillon Mitchell was asked after Saturday’s victory, “Where do you guys go from here and his reply was perfect: “We all go back to practice.”
In the press conference after the Johnnies’ first tournament game, when asked what was causing the team to do so well, Rick Pitino replied. “They are playing better every day, after every game, after every practice”. So our third takeaway is this: keep your determination to improve every day as individuals and as a team. And if you do so, your improvement will lead to success as you go through a tournament in which the opponents become more difficult to play each game.
Go Johnnies!
A thank you and farewell
As I announced a while ago, this is my tenth season as a writer for this column, “Three Takeaways,” which I have been privileged to write.
During my first season, the Johnnies went 1-17 in league play. A representative of another Big East school, sitting next to me during the Big East Tournament in 2017, told me, “We are all rooting for the Red Storm to once again be good. The Big East needs a good St. John’s team”.
So now the Johnnies are more than simply good.
It is time for me to take a break. I have been blessed to have these recent years to complete my basketball writing career.
I would be happy to further my thoughts about the Johnnies with anyone who may be interested. Feel free to write to me at my e-mail: Mountgote@aol.com.
