Five minutes into the contest, Providence coach Kim English asked his team during a 30-second timeout “What the f**k are you guys doing” after falling to a 9-0 deficit. That quote said all you needed to know about the game, the Red Storm ultimately ending the Friars season in a 85-72 victory — ending the Kim English era.
Bryce Hopkins took the rubber match between the two teams personally — jumping out the gate with energy, looking for blood. The former Friar provided a dominant first half, scoring 11 points on a 5-for-6 start from the field, with five rebounds. Hopkins finished the afternoon with 14 points and 13 rebounds, posting a season-high on the glass.
St. John’s came storming out of the gates, even after an opening offensive possession which saw six misses and five offensive rebounds, it was dominance on both ends of the court. Forward Dillon Mitchell got the ball rolling, tallying four points, five rebounds, one assist, and one steal all within the first five minutes of play.
“I think it’s just starting the game right,” said Mitchell following the game. “Sometimes we have a slow start, so we try to pick it up. We’ve learned a lesson throughout the season with going down 15, trying to fight our way back in.”
The body language on the court from the Friars painted the story, the defeat, playing for a program that knows their coach would be gone with a loss. It was a 1-for-8 start from the field, the Johnnies dominating in all aspects of the game with a 20-5 lead.
“We played awesome defense tonight,” said Rick Pitino. “Our first half was as good as we’ve played all year.”
Providence continued digging their own grave, with their top scorer Jaylin Sellers entering early foul trouble, along with starting center Oswin Erhunmwunse — both having two to their names. St. John’s ended the first half in complete control, leading 48-27 thanks to consistent scoring, and their stifling defense that forced eight early turnovers.
The biggest difference of the afternoon was the rebound ratio, the Red Storm blowing Providence out of the water, holding a 51-30 advantage.
Entering the second half, it was do-or-die for the Friars, showing signs of life through the first seven minutes, cutting the St. John’s lead to 59-46. The Red Storm found themselves outscored 19-11, starting the final 20 minutes with a 4-for-13 stretch from the field.
However, the Friars attempts weren’t enough, failing to counter responses from the Red Storm. Freshman forward Stefan Vaaks was a true-difference maker, leading Providence in scoring with 23 points,
What seemed like the nail in the coffin, with eight minutes left, Oziyah Sellers delivered a beautiful alley-oop to Dillon Mitchell, putting the Red Storm back up 22 points, a comfortable lead.
The final buzzer sounded — it was St. John’s by TKO at 85-72. After three seasons, the Kim English era was over, losing his job after delivering yet another disappointing campaign.
This is the third-straight season that St. John’s will be in the semifinals of the Big East tournament after not making it from 2001-23, the living proof of the exact change Rick Pitino has had on the St. John’s program.
St. John’s will be back in action for their semifinal matchup on March 13 at 5:30pm — facing Seton Hall.
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