No. 13 St. John”s and No. 6 UConn are primed for an exciting encounter in the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden this week, as they have transformed the regular season into a fierce two-team competition.
The Huskies, who have claimed six NCAA championships since 1999, face a formidable challenge from the Red Storm, who have recently emerged as a dominant force in the conference. After clinching their second consecutive outright conference title, the 13th-ranked St. John”s team is eager to defend their Big East Tournament championship.
“It”s still not over. It”s just beginning,” said Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino. “We have won back-to-back championships with two different teams, and that”s not easy to do. There”s been one common denominator, and that”s the young man to my left (Zuby Ejiofor).”
The 6-foot-9 senior forward, Zuby Ejiofor, has been instrumental in St. John”s success over the past two seasons, contributing significantly to their impressive record of 39 wins in their last 43 games against Big East opponents. Notably, the Red Storm hold a 3-1 advantage over UConn in recent matchups.
Last year, the two teams did not face each other in the tournament, as the Red Storm dominated every round by at least 16 points. This remarkable turnaround is particularly significant for a program that had gone 32 years without a regular-season championship and had not reached the tournament semifinals from 2001 to 2023.
Under Pitino”s leadership in his third season, St. John”s (25-6, 18-2) enters the tournament as the top seed for the second consecutive year. “It”s awesome,” said junior guard Dylan Darling. “This didn”t start in November. This started back in June, with summer workouts with these guys. It”s super fulfilling to know the hard work is paying off with this group.”
Aiming for their fifth Big East Tournament title, St. John”s has an 8-1 record in previous tournaments as the No. 1 seed. However, the challenge ahead is steep, as the last five championships have been claimed by different schools, with the last back-to-back titles achieved by Villanova from 2017 to 2019.
Standing in their way is UConn (27-4, 17-3), the second seed, which recently handed St. John”s a 72-40 defeat at home on February 25, effectively ending their 13-game winning streak. “It was just our night,” said UConn coach Dan Hurley. “I thought we demoralized them a little bit.”
The teams will open their respective quarterfinal matches on Thursday against yet-to-be-determined opponents. To reach the Big East title game on Saturday night, both teams must win twice this week. UConn will be looking to rebound after a disappointing loss to Marquette last weekend, which saw Hurley ejected in the final second of a 68-62 defeat that cost them a share of the regular-season title.
Beyond St. John”s and UConn, the only other ranked team in the Big East is Villanova (No. 3 seed), while Seton Hall (fourth seed) and others are vying for a chance to disrupt the tournament. Under coach Kevin Willard, the Wildcats have successfully secured their spot in the NCAA Tournament after a three-year hiatus.
As the tournament kicks off with a first-round tripleheader on Wednesday, the eighth-seeded Butler will face No. 9 seed Providence. The two teams split their regular-season encounters, both of which went into double overtime. This game could potentially mark the end of coach Kim English“s tenure at Providence, as reports indicate he may be let go after the season.
Meanwhile, the 10th-seeded Xavier is hoping to have leading scorer Tre Carroll back for their matchup against Marquette, as he has been sidelined with a hip injury.
