St. John's dominates UConn to win second straight Big East Tournament title

"The star center of the Red Storm was anointed the best player in the conference before a Big East game had tipped off and he remained that through the entire regular season and was voted Player of the Year after they won the outright conference regular season championship."

"Ejiofor had 18 points, nine rebounds and seven blocked shots to lead the way for St. John's. Ejiofor had some moments to remember, a finger wag after a blocked shot, exhorting the crowd as the Red Storm repelled a UConn comeback attempt and finally hugging coach Rick Pitino and breaking down in the embrace of associate head coach Steve Masiello when he came out of the game in the final minute with fans chanting his name."

"St. John's (28-6) is Big East Tournament champion for the second straight year - a program first - and the fifth time overall. The Red Storm opened the season as the preseason No. 5-ranked team in the country, but lost four high-profile non-conference games in November and December and then a home game with Providence at the start of January."

St. John's defeated No. 6 UConn 72-52 in the Big East Tournament championship game at Madison Square Garden before 19,812 fans. Zuby Ejiofor, the conference's preseason favorite and Player of the Year, delivered 18 points, nine rebounds, and seven blocks to lead the Red Storm. Beyond Ejiofor's stellar performance, St. John's received balanced scoring from Bryce Hopkins (18 points), Oziyah Sellers (14 points), and contributions from Dillon Mitchell and Dylan Darling. This championship marks St. John's second consecutive Big East Tournament title and fifth overall. The victory may improve their NCAA Tournament seeding after a season that included early non-conference losses despite opening as the preseason No. 5 team nationally.

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