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
1
2
F
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
/ Men's BasketballPost Game Press Conference St. John's vs Villanova 2.28.2026
Saturday, February 28
St. John's Men's Basketball vs Villanova Highlights 2.28.26
Saturday, February 28
St. John's MBB vs. Villanova Pregame Press Conference 2.27.26
Friday, February 27
Pre-game Press Conference St. John's MBB vs UConn 2.25.2026
Tuesday, February 24