After a convincing win in their season opener, the reigning Big East Champions and No. 5 ranked St. John’s fell to an explosive No. 15 Alabama in their first regular season game in “The World’s Most Famous Arena.”
Rick Pitino made a point to schedule difficult out of conference opponents, namely three SEC teams in the first two months of the season, to show him where his Johnnies needed improvement.
“We play these early games so we can find out where to get better,” Pitino said after the game. “And now we obviously know where we need to get better.”
Both high-powered offenses leaned on their strengths for the opening frame, as the Crimson Tide’s strong back-court traded punches with St. John’s dominant front-court.
Bryce Hopkins (19 pts, 4 rebs, 9-13 FT) and Zuby Ejiofor (27 pts, 10 rebs) were responsible for all of the Red Storm’s first 16 points while a barrage of three-pointers and dynamic guard-play for Alabama kept them even with St. John’s.
St. John’s were without the leader of their second unit, Dylan Darling, due to a calf injury and his absence was sorely missed on the defensive end. The combination of Joson Sanon, Ian Jackson and Casper Pohto couldn’t contain Alabama’s guards.
Aden Holloway (21 pts, 4 asts), Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (17 pts, 4-8 3PT) and Labaron Philon (25 pts, 3 asts) torched the Johnnies depleted depth, with the trio nailing six three-pointers and scoring over half of Alabama’s 53 points through the first half.
But a career-high 21 first half points for the Big East Preseason Player of the Year carried a stagnant St. John’s into contention. Despite Ejiofor and Hopkins being the only source of offense, the Johnnies were only down a manageable 44-53 at halftime.
St. John’s coffee must have kicked in at halftime as a run fueled by an energized Jackson, Ejiofor and Hopkins narrowed the Tide’s lead to just two points at 58-60. But basketball is a game of runs, and Alabama clapped back with an 11-2 scoring spurt in response.
Every potential swing in momentum from St. John’s was quickly stifled by Alabama, who controlled the pace of play by consistently drawing fouls and eating the clock with long possessions. They held a 68-76 lead with only 10 minutes remaining.
After hope for a win began to dwindle, Pitino’s decision to sit leading scorer Zuby Ejiofor for over four minutes proved to be the turning point for St. John’s.
Unlikely heroes Rueben Prey and Oziyah Sellers facilitated a ferocious comeback in the twilight of this contest. A rare Prey three-pointer eventually gave the Storm their first lead of the second half at 84-82, but Sellers 10 second half points and +14 plus/minus during this run were the engine of an improbable come-from-behind effort.
Once Ejiofor re-entered the game, he did what he does best and drew a foul after forcing a mismatch. This quick foul was charged to Holloway who fouled out, and the Tide were without their 20 point-per-game scorer for the final three minutes, thanks to a savvy play from Ejiofor.
But the combination of Philon and Wrightsell Jr. filled Holloway’s shoes and clobbered the Red Storm 13-5 for the rest of the game. A deep Philon three-pointer that put the Tide up 98-88 served as the dagger that swiftly ended St. John’s chance at a win.
At a final score of 103-96, the glaring issue for the Red Storm was defense.
“When you give up 103 points you’re not gonna win,” Pitino said. “I think their guards are some of the best in the country… It’s great for Ian, Joson and even Oziyah to understand that they’ve got to become great defensive players for us to beat great teams. They’re not that right now.”
Including the defensive issues, St. John’s was out-rebounded 43-42 by a smaller team, out-shot 11-35 to 6-17 from beyond the arc and committed five more turnovers than the Crimson Tide. But it is still early in the season and rebounding or shooting issues can be fixed, especially by playing top-25 opponents like Alabama.
But that is not who the Red Storm will face next. The College of William & Mary will travel to Carnesecca Arena on Nov. 15 as St. John’s hope to bounce back against a weaker opponent.
For play-by-play analysis, follow @TorchSports on X.
