Zuby Ejiofor scored 20 points as top-seeded St. John's took control in the second half and fended off a late comeback attempt in its 78-68 victory over fourth-seeded Seton Hall on Friday in the Big East tournament semifinals. The 13th-ranked Red Storm (27-6) advanced to Saturday's title game and will face second-seed UConn or 11th-seeded Georgetown.
Eight players were ejected and a referee was knocked to the floor, requiring medical attention, after a brawl broke out during South Alabama's 80-70 victory against Coastal Carolina in a Sun Belt Conference women's basketball tournament game Wednesday in Pensacola, Fla.
In an unbelievable display of "bend-don't-break" pitching, the Kentucky staff allowed St. John's to put runners on base in eight of the nine innings and still walked away with a shutout. That is incredibly hard to do. Between Friday's Jaxon Jelkin gem and Saturday's bulldog of an effort, the Cats have now allowed just one unearned run in 18 innings against the Red Storm.
St. John's will look to extend its winning streak to an even dozen when the 17th-ranked Red Storm travels to face Marquette on Wednesday in Milwaukee. St. John's (20-5, 13-1 Big East) is coming off a 79-69 win at Providence on Saturday in game that featured a brawl and seven ejections. Dylan Darling had 18 of his season-high 23 points in the second half and the Red Storm had a 31-3 advantage in points off the bench.
Alabama has a +265 scoring differential, topping opponents by 8.5 points per game. It is putting up 92.1 points per game to rank first in college basketball and is giving up 83.6 per contest to rank 356th in college basketball. The 92.1 points the Crimson Tide average are 16.6 more than the Rebels concede.
Army averages 73.5 points per game (249th in college basketball) while allowing 77.8 per contest (285th in college basketball). It has a -104 scoring differential overall and has been outscored by 4.3 points per game. The Black Knights put up just 1.0 fewer point than the Leopards allow (74.5). Army connects on 2.3 more threes per game than the opposition, 11.0 (11th in college basketball) compared to its opponents' 8.7.