St. John’s beats buzzer for Pitino’s ‘preferred’ win
MILWAUKEE– St. John’s coach Rick Pitino desired his Red Storm to close the routine season with the kind of challenge they could anticipate to deal with in the NCAA tournament.They got all that and then some Saturday. And they reacted by producing possibly their most awesome triumph in a season full of memorable moments.Zuby Ejiofor hit a game-winning shot to beat the overtime
buzzer as the sixth-ranked Red Storm beat No. 20 Marquette 86-84 for their 6th straight victory. RJ Luis Jr. had forced overtime by sinking a connecting basket with 10.7 seconds left in regulation.Not a bad way to head into March Madness.” It’s a hell of a win, probably my preferred win of the
season by far,” Pitino said.St. John’s(27-4, 18-2 Big East)relatively didn’t have all that much at stake Saturday. The Red Storm currently had actually clinched their very first straight-out Big East regular-season title since 1985 a week previously. They were playing without one of their beginners as Deivon Smith recuperates from a shoulder injury.Pitino still wished to ensure his group didn’t slow down as it gets ready for the program’s very first NCAA competition look because 2019. St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor (24)celebrates after making the game-winning shot in overtime
versus Marquette at Fiserv Online Forum on Saturday. Jeff Hanisch/Imagn Images”I stated,’This is your one-and-done. You lose this game, the season’s over,’ “Pitino said.”That’s the method you have actually got to
play it to prepare for March Madness. You do not just show up in March and state,’OK, this is what we’re going to do.’You get ready for it now. You prepare for it at the Big East competition.”This triumph gives St. John’s a minimum of a chance of entering the postseason with its very first top-five ranking in the AP Top 25 given that Jan. 29, 1991. St. John’s probably does not have a realistic hope of earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament– the Red Storm went into Saturday just 19th in the internet rankings– however they still have incentive next week that surpasses winning a Big East tournament for the very first time because 2000. That likewise happens to be the last year that St. John’s won an NCAA tournament game.”We can probably, if we triumph, we can get a 2-seed,” Pitino said. “It ‘d be terrific. We ‘d like to be in Providence definitely [for the very first 2 rounds], for our fans. We’ll go wherever we go. At the start of the year, everybody in this room that follows the Johnnies would have said,’Simply make the tournament. Simply make the tournament,’and they would have all been elated.”St. John’s has actually taken advantage of the emergence of Big East Gamer of the Year prospect Luis, who had 28 points and 11 rebounds on Saturday. They made a significant offseason addition with the arrival of
Seton Hall move Kadary Richmond, who had 12 rebounds, 11 assists and 10 points versus Marquette to tape-record St. John’s first triple-double this century.The last St. John’s triple-double originated from future NBA All-Star Ron Artest versus Seton Hall in 1999, back when this program was in the midst of 3 straight March Madness appearances and before Artest changed his name to Metta World Peace.”He was an aggressive guy and he played very tough every night,”Richmond stated.”It simply indicates a lot to me and my teammates. We have actually been doing historic things all season. “The most recent turning point occurred Saturday as St. John’s matched a school record for regular-season wins. St. John’s likewise published a 27-4 regular-season record in 1985-86 with a lineup headed by Walter Berry. That team went on to win the Big East competition and make a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament before losing 81-65 in the round of 32 to an Auburn group including Chuck Person.This St. John’s team has actually brought back memories of those St. John’s squads of the 1980s throughout the prime time of Lou Carnesecca’s training period. The last seconds of overtime replicated the St. John’s mindset this season.With the score tied at 84, Luis missed out on a 3-pointer for St. John’s. Marquette’s Chase Ross initially got the rebound, however Richmond knocked the ball out of his hands and it went to Simeon Wilcher.With time going out, Wilcher and Ejiofor were both in the paint. Wilcher got the ball to Ejiofor, who hit his 2nd buzzer-beater of the season. Ejiofor had a putback as the horn sounded in a 72-70 triumph at Providence on Dec. 20. “Our entire thing is do whatever it takes to win, “Ejiofor said.”It doesn’t constantly look pretty each and every single night. It does not matter.
We hammer out misfortune. We’re a gritty group.”They’re ready to keep combating all the method through March.St. John’s is the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament and faces either Providence or Butler in Thursday’s quarterfinals.