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| Zuby Ejiofor powers towards the hoop. @StJohnsBball. |
The St. John's Red Storm put on arguably their most dominant performance of the season, as they rolled to a 92-70 win over Butler on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
This is their seventh straight win, and it came soon after St. John's returned to the AP Top 25 poll at No. 25, and moved up in the USA Today Coaches' Poll to No. 23.
The Red Storm are now 16-6 overall on the season, and a stunning 9-1 in Big East Conference play. They are in second place in the conference, behind only UConn, who is 10-0.
St. John's has played all Big East schools, including now Butler twice (both wins), and they will finally play UConn in what is now a much-anticipated matchup on Friday, February 6 at Madison Square Garden at 8:00 p.m.
This one felt over from the jump, as St. John's took a 43-29 lead into halftime, after they shot 51.4 percent, or 19-37, form the field, in the first half, and held Butler to 10-28, or 35.7 percent shooting.
The Red Storm turned it up a notch in the second half, as they torched the nets to the tune of 63.0 percent shooting, or 17-27, as they put up 49 points, coming a tick below what feels their routine 50-point second-half output.
The thing that has improved for St. John's in this run - and might have flipped a few of their tough losses early in the season - is their performance beyond the arc. They shot 45 percent, or 9-20, from three-point range in this one.
Four St. John's players scored in double-figures, starting with Ian Jackson, who had 18 points on 5-11 shooting, including 3-6 on three-pointers, plus five rebounds and three assists.
Dillon Mitchell put together a hell of a stat line, as he had a double-double with 14 points (7-13 FG) and 13 rebounds, including five on the offensive end, and four assists, with a +/- of +24, meaning St. John's scored that many more points than Butler when he was on the court.
Zuby Ejiofor had 15 points (6-9 FG), six rebounds, and five assists. Joson Sanon had 13 points (5-7 FG, 3-3 on threes) and two rebounds in 19:05 off the bench.
St. John's is off this weekend, and their next game is on Tuesday, February 3 at DePaul at 8:00 p.m., ahead of the showdown with UConn on the 6th.
PITINO POSTGAME: St. John's Head Coach Rick Pitino addressed the media after the game, most of which was centered on Dillon Mitchell:
On Zuby Ejiofor and Dillon Mitchell: "Zuby is really adding to his game. He's become a great passer, a willing passer, great passer. And you know what? I'm having so much fun watching Dillon Mitchell play. I don't think I've said that too many times in my 52 years of (coaching), having fun watching a person play. Whether it's him coming down as a point forward and attacking the basket, or making a great pass, or throwing it to Zuby and cutting to get him open. He really knows how to play."
On Mitchell's impact: "It's not like having another point guard on the floor. It's like having another coach on the floor, which is great."
On Mitchell evolving into a point-forward: "I think sometimes, because we didn't have a point guard, a true point guard starting, that (Mitchell) has evolved much more than we anticipated. He's a tremendous player to coach and watch."
On Mitchell's impact as a starter: "It's obvious that when he's on the court, we're a much better basketball team at all phases of the game. Defense, offense, rebounding, shot blocking...We're a good basketball team because of his presence on the court."
On Mitchell making others better: "He knows how to play without the ball, and he knows how to play with the ball. He just makes everybody better. The offense flows much better with him because he's constantly moving and he's always looking for people. Zuby has become a much better passer because of Dillon."
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