In his second season on the job, Rick Pitino is at it again. This time, the Hall of Fame coach has St. John's evoking the glory days in Queens decades ago. Riding the program's best start in 39 years,
St. John's 16-3 St. John's and Xavier are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2020, but not for long. Both will face off in a Big East battle at 7:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.
BOTTOM LINE: St. John’s is looking to stop its three-game slide with a win against Seton Hall. The Pirates have gone 9-2 at home. Seton Hall ranks eighth in the Big East in rebounding averaging 29.7 rebounds. Faith Misonius leads the Pirates with 5.0 boards.
The St. John's Red Storm extended their lead over the Xavier Musketeers after Zuby Ejiofor scored with a foul.
The Red Storm sit atop the Big East following Saturday’s thumping of Seton Hall in South Orange, NJ, 79-51. RJ Luis, Jr. led St. John’s with 24 points. Xavier is fresh off a monster win at Marquette this past Saturday, 59-57. Zach Freemantle led the Musketeers with 14 points.
Xavier led by as many as 16 in the second half before St. John's stormed back to win it in overtime Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
St. John's enters the matchup against Seton Hall as losers of three straight games. The teams square off Saturday for the first time this season.
The Hoyas and Red Storm meet Wednesday for the first time in Big East play this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Victoria Rivera is shooting 41.9% from beyond the arc with 2.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Hoyas, while averaging 12.9 points. Kelsey Ransom is shooting 38.0% and averaging 17.9 points over the past 10 games.
No. 20 St. John's faces the Xavier Musketeers after RJ Luis scored 24 points in St. John's 79-51 win against the Seton Hall Pirates.
Xavier nearly doubled its NCAA Tournament chances with an upset of Marquette. Another Quadrant 1 opportunity awaits Wednesday vs. St. John's at MSG.
Zuby Ejiofor scored six of his 16 points in overtime for No. 20 St. John's, which overcame a 16-point second-half deficit to beat Xavier 79-71 on Wednesday night in New York.
Zuby Ejiofor is second on the team in scoring average at 14.6 points and first in rebounds (8.2) and blocked shots (1.9).