The old adage “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” is usually used in wartime or matters of life and death, but could apply to Big East basketball as well.
The Creighton Bluejays paved the way for No. 17 St. John’s ascension to the throne of the Big East after beating No. 5 UConn 91-84. After this brief coalition against Dan Hurley and his Huskies, the Johnnies and Bluejays had to turn their guns on each other for their second matchup of the season.
Before the contest, news of an injury to Ian Jackson’s ankle sidelined him for this game, allowing Joson Sanon (7 pts, 3-11 FG) to step into the starting lineup. Sanon, Oziyah Sellers (10 pts, 4-9 FG) and Dillion Mitchell (6 pts, 10 rebs, 7 asts) would have to pick up the playmaking and scoring slack without Jackson.
Compared to these team’s last matchup on Jan. 10, an awfully familiar story began to unfold in front of the Johnnies faithful at MSG, but with a slight change. The Red Storm began that game with a 7-0 lead before immediately conceding it to the Bluejays; a slightly better 8-0 run began this game for St. John’s, a solid lead that they held onto this time.
After a 23 point performance in a win over Marquette, that heliocentric offense built around Bryce Hopkins (15 pts, 10 rebs, 6-10 FG) showed flashes in this initial domination. The forward led the way in scoring for the Johnnies with an early 7 points as they led 18-8 through six minutes.
Unlike the Marquette game, Hopkins’ partner in the frontcourt, Zuby Ejiofor (15 pts, 4-6 FG), helped carry the scoring load. St. John’s captain led the squad in scoring with 13 first half points.
The duo of Hopkins and Ejiofor created a steady attack against Creighton’s lack of interior defense, with nearly half of the Johnnies’ first half scoring coming in the paint with 20 compared to the Bluejays’ 12.
While the characteristic trips to the free throw line (7-8) and constant paint buckets sustained their comfortable lead for the first half, this offense was completely dependent on the starting lineup. Outside of the five starters, Dylan Darling (17 pts, 6-8 FT) was the only player off the bench to score for St. John’s as their second unit was outscored 14-6.
In spite of some troubling reliance on their best players, the Red Storm’s lead never dipped below a six point difference. They brought a 42-27 advantage into the halftime break.
Paint scoring and rebounding supremacy (21 to Creighton’s 13) showed that winning in the trenches helped establish this 15 point lead, but Hopkins and Ejiofor were the X-factors. The duo combined for 24 first half points, nearly as much as Creighton’s total.
These first half signs of success boiled over into the second half. St. John’s stuck to their strengths: prioritizing rebounds and paint scoring.
But offensive efforts shifted to the entire team, with six players all scoring within the first 10 minutes of play. As always, Darling came alive in the second half — quickly snapping off a 5-0 run that pushed the Red Storm lead to over 20, at 57-36.
After the 20 point difference was secured, Pitino felt free to relieve his starters and empty his bench. Reuben Prey (5 pts, 3 rebs) and Sadiku Ibine Ayo (2 pts, 2 rebs) played quality minutes for long stretches of the half, both reserves held a +/- of +8 and +4 in the second half, respectively.
The lead eventually snowballed into over 30 points, climbing to as much as 33, their biggest lead in Big East play all season.
In a second half that seemed unnecessary to play, St. John’s outscored their opponents 39-25, eventually winning by a final score of 81-52 in a blowout. The 13th straight win for the Red Storm is a sweet one, officially confirming a season sweep of the Bluejays and showing no mercy to the team that gave them a major favor by beating UConn.
Another proverb: “if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles” represents the Johnnies’ arc throughout the breadth of their Big East play. After their much maligned, lackluster start to the season and eventual, gradual rise back into national recognition, Rick Pitino’s team now knows themselves.
The hardnosed, physical play of St. John’s has been their identity this season, fueling a historic winning streak. They know themselves and their enemy, the UConn Huskies, who they will engage in battle next on Feb. 25 in Connecticut.
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