The Johnnies returned to Madison Square Garden after two impressive away wins against Butler and Creighton. Their opponent was the Golden Eagles of Marquette, and fans were optimistic, but several feared that the Johnnies could put on another less-than-scintillating effort similar to their deflating loss against Providence a week before.
Some were talking about the 2024-25 team, which, per the assessment of head coach Rick Pitino, “refused to lose”. A year ago, two games against a talented Marquette
team required a “refuse to lose” effort. Was this year’s team ready to do the same for a third straight game?
When starting lineups were announced, a longtime season ticket holder verbalized, “Why isn’t sophomore Lefteris Liotopoulos in the starting lineup?” after the sophomore scored 17 points in a career-best effort. Another fan agreed that he has been impressive recently, but added that Pitino seems committed to giving Ian Jackson a true chance to develop into the team’s point guard this season.
First Half
The Red Storm started the game with a three-man frontcourt of Zuby Ejiofor, Dillon Mitchell, and Bryce Hopkins, as well as Oziyah Sellers and Ian Jackson in the backcourt.
On St. John’s’ first possession, Bryce Hopkins drove into the paint, drawing Marquette defenders, and kicked out to an open Oziyah Sellers in the right corner for an open three to give the Johnnies a 3-0 lead. After a Nigel James driving layup for the Golden Eagles, Zuby Ejiofor took down a Dillon Mitchell miss and dunked the ball for a 5-2 lead.
At the 18:35 mark, Mitchell stole the ball and sprinted down the floor, where he saw Hopkins on the left wing. A quick pass led Hopkins perfectly for a layup and a 9-2 St. John’s lead. It looked like the Johnnies were off to the races.
At the 17:44 mark in the first half, Hopkins drew his second personal foul and had to be removed from the game. A minute and a half later, Ejiofor set up near the foul line, receiving a pass from Ayo. He faked a shot, drawing his defender up in the air, and drove down the right of the basket, where he was fouled on a shot. He converted one out of two free throws, and a fan commented that, “Zuby is great, but he must improve his foul shooting”.
Ruben Prey entered the game, giving time for Ejiofor to get a rest. He hit a nice turnaround hook shot and stole the ball a short time afterwards. Prey was focused on defense and was trying to be a stopper under the basket, but the Golden Eagles began to attack the basket relentlessly with Ejiofor on the bench. Ayo, Prey, and Mitchell held their ground, and the Johnnies went into the locker room with a narrow 40-34 lead.
Halftime
One fan was honest, stating: “I am nervous about letting Marquette back in the game after that quick start, I don’t want to see another second half as they had against Providence”. Other fans acknowledged their similar concern. The fan who wanted to see Liotopoulos in the starting lineup stated that he couldn’t understand why the Greek guard was one of the last substitutes to see playing time, only to be pulled out a few minutes later. A second fan replied, “Yeah, strange?”
At halftime, statistical analysis showed that Sellers was the leading scorer with 15 points, including three successful three-point shots out of five attempts. The Johnnies shot 48.3% from the field, and the Golden Eagles hit 50%. The Johnnies were winning the battle of the boards, 15-10, with Ayo leading the way with four rebounds. The Johnnies had seven turnovers, and Marquette had ten.
Second Half
Fans were cautiously confident with Ejiofor and Hopkins both starting as the second half began. Sellers, the Johnnies’ leading scorer, dished it out to a cutting Mitchell for a dunk to open the half. The Golden Eagles responded by playing more aggressively, particularly their big men, but the Johnnies held their ground. Led by more than a dozen members of the lacrosse team in the student section, fans began chanting “Defense”, the first such chant from the fans in the game.
The Johnnies held strong, and Ejiofor drove to the basket, pulled up, and hit a four-foot hook shot to give St. John’s a double-digit lead once again. Darling came into the game after scoring seven points in the first half. He demonstrated his ability to set up teammates, first to Hopkins, who fed Ejiofor underneath, who was fouled. He hit one out of two for a 15-point lead, 62-47. The next time down the court, Ejiofor received a pass from Darling. He repaid the favor and hit Hopkins under the basket for a dunk and a 17-point lead, halfway through the second half. The ball movement the Johnnies were displaying was impressive.
The game continued with Marquette never getting closer than nineteen points as the Red Storm pulled away to a 92-68 victory.
Takeaway #1: Oziyah Sellers showed his lights-out shooting touch
Of all of the new additions this year, Sellers came with the best reputation of a shooter, and he demonstrated this on Tuesday. His final totals were 24 points on 9-of-16 from the field and 4-of-9 from three. In this game, Sellers hit a couple of pull-up jumpers in the 10-to-12-foot range. This was an important addition to his repertoire, as these areas of the court are open at times, and Sellers seems to be one who can take advantage. Getting more consistent offense from Sellers would go a long way toward helping the Red Storm. After only scoring in double-figures twice in the month of December, he has already recorded 10 or more points in three straight games.
Takeaway #2: The bigger frontcourt is helping St. John’s control the glass
During the last three games (Butler, Creighton, and Marquette), the Red Storm are outrebounding opponents by an average of 32.0 to 23.7 boards per game. In the 14 games prior to the Butler game, the rebound battle was closer, with the Red Storm taking down 35.7 rebounds to their opponents’ 31.1 rebounds per game.
This change coincides with the decision by head coach Rick Pitino to start three forwards, a taller starting lineup than in the first thirteen games. The Marquette gaME was particularly telling as the Golden Eagles only scored seven second-chance points.
In comparison, Kentucky scored 16 second-chance points against St. John’s in its victory on December 20, 2025, and Providence scored 23 second-chance points against St. John’s on January 10, 2026.
St. John’s is rated 146th in the nation in opponents’ rebounds per game. Will the Johnnies continue with the three-forward starting lineup? Will the guards continue their support in particularly grabbing defensive rebounds?
Takeaway #3: The second unit stepped up and kept St. John’s afloat
Coach Pitino was clear after the game that the second unit was up to the task when two key starters had to sit out much of the first half. Ejiofor and Hopkins missed several minutes each in the half, as Prey with Ibine Ayo picked up the slack, not so much in scoring but in playing defense, taking down rebounds, and making plays for their teammates.
St. John’s led 26-18 when Ejiofor sat down and joined Hopkins for the remainder of the half on the bench with 8:40 remaining in the first half. Over the next 8:40, Marquette outscored St John’s, 16-14. The second unit with a lift from Dylan Darling truly held their own. Lefteris Liotopoulos played sparingly during this period of time for some reason, but he is also capable of providing offense if he’s given extended playing time, as we saw against Creighton.
Outlook
Things appear to be looking good as St. John’s has eleven players who have contributed to the team’s early record. The Red Storm’s game on January 17th at Villanova is a step up in difficulty compared to the previous three.
St. John’s has struggled with strong rebounding teams, and Villanova appears to be an average team in regard to controlling the boards, so the Johnnies should be able to win this battle. If the Johnnies stay focused on the strengths of their opponents, they should have a chance to defeat the Wildcats. The improvement on the defensive end and in rebounding must continue. Everyone has a role to play, even the fans.
