St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, February 28
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
8 p.m.
St. John's University
23-6,16-2Big East
89
vs
57
Villanova
22-7,13-5Big East
1st half1
2nd half2
FinalF
Villanova
23
34
57
St. John's (NY)
48
41
89
Photo by: Vincent Dusovic
Zuby Ejiofor Explodes for Triple-Double to Power No. 15/15 St. John’s Past RV/RV Villanova, 89-57
2/28/2026 11:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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Ian Jackson recorded 19 points and five steals to help lead the Johnnies to their seventh straight win at Madison Square Garden
NEW YORK - Behind Zuby Ejiofor's triple-double and a game-high 19-point performance from Ian Jackson, the No. 15/15 St. John's men's basketball (23-6, 16-2 BIG EAST) routed RV/RV Villanova (22-7, 13-5 BIG EAST), 89-57, at sold-out Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
The Red Storm bounced back from Wednesday's setback at No. 6/6 Connecticut with a dominant performance and has now won 14 of its last 15 games. The 32-point win marked St. John's largest margin of victory over Villanova in their 135 all-time meetings.
Ejiofor became just the second St. John's player in the 21st century and fourth since 1993 to record a triple-double. The Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists. Ejiofor also recorded three blocks to become just the third player in NCAA Division I since 2005-06 to tally 16 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and three blocks in a single-game.
Jackson delivered one of his best performances of the season on both ends of the court and recorded a career-high five steals. The Bronx native shot 5-for11 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers and converted 7-of-8 attempts at the free-throw line.
Oziyah Sellers registered 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and Ruben Prey posted 10 points and five boards against the Wildcats
As a team, St. John's dished out 26 assists on 32 made field goals, its highest assist total of the season. The 26 helpers tied for the most in a BIG EAST game since Feb. 6, 1999, when the Johnnies handed out 27 assists in an 88-60 victory at Pittsburgh.
With the victory, St. John's improves to 11-0 after losses in the last two seasons under Head Coach Rick Pitino. Prior to last season, St. John's had never won more than 15 conference games in a single-season but tonight's victory pushed the Johnnies to the 16-win plateau in BIG EAST action for the second-straight year.
After Villanova knocked down the first bucket of the game, St. John's responded with 11 unanswered points closing out the run with a corner triple from Sellers. The Red Storm continued to expand its advantage rattling off a 17-3 run. Jackson scored nine points and tallied three steals in that span, featuring a swipe that led to a fastbreak windmill jam. Prey chipped in six points during the stretch, including the final four points of the spurt to expand the lead to 18, 32-14, with just under eight minutes to go in the opening half.
The Johnnies engineered another offensive flurry, scoring 12-straight points bookended by triples from Ejiofor and Hopkins to increase the advantage to 44-17 with 2:15 remaining. Hopkins' ensuing bucket put the Red Storm up by as many as 30 in the first half making it a 48-18 ballgame.
The Wildcats made their first two-point field goal in 14:31 of game time with 51 seconds left in the opening stanza and scored the final five points of the frame as the Red Storm took 48-23 cushion into the locker room.
In the second half, the Wildcats trimmed the deficit below 20 for the first time since the 5:58 mark in the first half with a 7-0 scoring run that brought the Red Storm lead to 17, 55-38, with 13:42 to play. However, St. John's quickly responded with Dylan Darling feeding Sellers for a corner 3-pointer that sparked a 12-3 spurt to send the Johnnies ahead 67-41 with 10:30 to play.
St. John's opened its largest margin of the contest, 32, with Lefteris Liotopolous' dunk in transition at the 1:08 mark. Then with 18 seconds to go, Prey sealed the 32-point victory with a triple.
The Red Storm will return to action for its regular season finale at MSG on Tuesday when it hosts Georgetown on Senior Night at 7 p.m.
The Red Storm bounced back from Wednesday's setback at No. 6/6 Connecticut with a dominant performance and has now won 14 of its last 15 games. The 32-point win marked St. John's largest margin of victory over Villanova in their 135 all-time meetings.
Ejiofor became just the second St. John's player in the 21st century and fourth since 1993 to record a triple-double. The Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists. Ejiofor also recorded three blocks to become just the third player in NCAA Division I since 2005-06 to tally 16 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and three blocks in a single-game.
Jackson delivered one of his best performances of the season on both ends of the court and recorded a career-high five steals. The Bronx native shot 5-for11 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers and converted 7-of-8 attempts at the free-throw line.
Oziyah Sellers registered 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and Ruben Prey posted 10 points and five boards against the Wildcats
As a team, St. John's dished out 26 assists on 32 made field goals, its highest assist total of the season. The 26 helpers tied for the most in a BIG EAST game since Feb. 6, 1999, when the Johnnies handed out 27 assists in an 88-60 victory at Pittsburgh.
With the victory, St. John's improves to 11-0 after losses in the last two seasons under Head Coach Rick Pitino. Prior to last season, St. John's had never won more than 15 conference games in a single-season but tonight's victory pushed the Johnnies to the 16-win plateau in BIG EAST action for the second-straight year.
After Villanova knocked down the first bucket of the game, St. John's responded with 11 unanswered points closing out the run with a corner triple from Sellers. The Red Storm continued to expand its advantage rattling off a 17-3 run. Jackson scored nine points and tallied three steals in that span, featuring a swipe that led to a fastbreak windmill jam. Prey chipped in six points during the stretch, including the final four points of the spurt to expand the lead to 18, 32-14, with just under eight minutes to go in the opening half.
The Johnnies engineered another offensive flurry, scoring 12-straight points bookended by triples from Ejiofor and Hopkins to increase the advantage to 44-17 with 2:15 remaining. Hopkins' ensuing bucket put the Red Storm up by as many as 30 in the first half making it a 48-18 ballgame.
The Wildcats made their first two-point field goal in 14:31 of game time with 51 seconds left in the opening stanza and scored the final five points of the frame as the Red Storm took 48-23 cushion into the locker room.
In the second half, the Wildcats trimmed the deficit below 20 for the first time since the 5:58 mark in the first half with a 7-0 scoring run that brought the Red Storm lead to 17, 55-38, with 13:42 to play. However, St. John's quickly responded with Dylan Darling feeding Sellers for a corner 3-pointer that sparked a 12-3 spurt to send the Johnnies ahead 67-41 with 10:30 to play.
St. John's opened its largest margin of the contest, 32, with Lefteris Liotopolous' dunk in transition at the 1:08 mark. Then with 18 seconds to go, Prey sealed the 32-point victory with a triple.
The Red Storm will return to action for its regular season finale at MSG on Tuesday when it hosts Georgetown on Senior Night at 7 p.m.
Team Stats
VU
SJU
FG%
.370
.525
3FG%
.304
.533
FT%
.625
.708
RB
26
40
TO
16
8
STL
4
11
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
7
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballGuard
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