No. 22/22 St. John’s Downs DePaul, 68-56

Tuesday, February 3

Chicago, Ill. (Wintrust Arena)

8 p.m.

St. John's University

17-5,10-1Big East

DePaul

12-11,4-8Big East

St. John's (NY)

DePaul

Zuby Ejiofor became the 54th player in program history to score 1,000 career points at St. John's

2/3/2026 11:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Red Storm men’s basketball team captures its eighth straight BIG EAST win on Tuesday in Chicago

CHICAGO – The No. 22/22 St. John's men's basketball team (17-5, 10-1 BIG EAST) downed DePaul on Tuesday earning a 68-56 victory inside Wintrust Arena.

The Johnnies logged their eighth consecutive BIG EAST victory to move to 10-1 in league play for the second straight year under Rick Pitino. The eight-game streak marks the third longest in the program's BIG EAST history, trailing last year's team (10) and the 1984-85 squad (14) that advanced to an NCAA Tournament Final Four.

The Red Storm limited DePaul to 56 points, its lowest opponent scoring total in BIG EAST competition this season and fewest since Nov. 20 when it defeated Bucknell, 97-49 at Carnesecca Arena. The Blue Demons shot 34.6 percent (18-52 FG) from the field and 25.0 percent (5-20 3FG) from beyond-the-arc.

The Johnnies have now won nine straight BIG EAST regular season road games dating back to a win over DePaul last season on Feb. 19, 2025. The nine-game win streak ties the longest in program history, matching when St. John's won nine away from home from Jan. 2, 1985 to Jan. 2, 1986. The current stretch is tied for the third longest active in NCAA Division I, trailing only Duke and Miami Ohio with 10.

St. John's outscored DePaul 39-28 over the final 20 minutes and held the Blue Demons to 21 points over the final 17:33. During the eight-game winning streak, the Red Storm has outscored its opponents by 10.5 points in the second half.

Zuby Ejiofor led all players with 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists. The senior opened his scoring night with a triple to become the 54^th player in St. John's men's basketball history to reach the 1,000-career point mark while in Queens.

Bryce Hopkins finished with 15 points and six boards, marking his seventh double-figure scoring performance over the last eight games. Oziyah Sellers found his groove from downtown knocking down a game-high three triples and finished with 13 points.

The Red Storm committed only seven turnovers on Tuesday in the Windy City. Over the eight-game winning streak, the Johnnies have tallied single-digit giveaways in five contests. St. John's also outscored DePaul (12-11, 4-8 BIG EAST) 20-2 in points off turnovers.

After a slow offensive start, Ejiofor knocked down the Red Storm's first 3-pointer to exceed the 1,000-point mark at St. John's. The two sides went back-and-forth as neither team led by more than three points during the first 18:15 of the opening half.

After the Blue Demons took their largest lead of the first stanza, 28-24, Ruben Prey stuffed a DePaul shot attempt. The sophomore corralled the loose ball and found Sellers for a 3-pointer. Hopkins finished a driving lay-up as the 5-0 Red Storm spurt closed the first half scoring and gave St. John's a one-point edge, 29-28, headed into the halftime break. The opening 20 minutes featured seven ties and six lead changes.

In the second stanza, the Johnnies got off to a quick start forcing a steal that turned into a Sellers triple off a feed from Ian Jackson to open the scoring. The Red Storm got hot rattling off 12 straight points capped off by a triple from Jackson to take a double-digit lead, 46-35. The Johnnies held the Blue Demons scoreless for 6:55 of game time and forced DePaul into seven straight misses and four turnovers during that span. Dating back to the 1:45 mark in the first half, the scoring run spanned 22-7.

After the Red Storm's lead ballooned to as many 13, DePaul surged back to trim its deficit to as few as six with 3:33 remaining. Hopkins responded out of a timeout with an explosive drive to ignite six straight points for the Red Storm as the cushion grew back to 12, 62-50, going into the final minute. The Johnnies held on to start the season 6-0 on the road, matching its best mark since 1982-83.

St. John's returns home for a Friday night showdown at Madison Square Garden against No. 3/3 Connecticut. The battle between the top two teams in the BIG EAST standings will tip-off at 8 p.m. on FOX.