BIG EAST CHAMPIONS: St. John’s Tops UConn for Second Straight Crown, 72-52

Saturday, March 14

New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)

6:30 p.m.

St. John's University

28-6,18-2Big East

UConn

29-5,17-3Big East

UConn

St. John's (NY)

Zuby Ejiofor is named the winner of the Dave Gavitt Trophy as the Most Outstanding Player of the BIG EAST Tournament.

BIG EAST CHAMPIONS: St. John’s Tops UConn for Second Straight Crown, 72-52

3/14/2026 11:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Play-by-Play (PDF)Photo Gallery VIDEO: Postgame Press Conference VIDEO: Highlights Postgame Quotes Photo Gallery

The Red Storm wins back-to-back BIG EAST Tournament titles for first time in program history

NEW YORK – Dominance. The St. John's men's basketball team (28-6) steamrolled its way through the entirety of the 2026 BIG EAST Tournament, capped off by downing second-seeded UConn (29-5), 72-52, on Saturday in the championship game.

The Johnnies captured their fifth BIG EAST Tournament Championship (1983, 1986, 2000, 2025, 2026) and second straight for the first time ever. St. John's became the first school in BIG EAST history to win back-to-back outright regular season championships and conference tournament titles. The Red Storm also secured the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

In three wins over Providence, Seton Hall and UConn, St. John's led for 118:16 of 120 possible minutes of action. The Red Storm has won 19 of its last 20 games since Jan. 6.

Head Coach Rick Pitino claims his fifth BIG EAST Tournament crown and 16^th overall conference tournament in 38 years at the helm in college basketball. Pitino becomes the fifth coach in BIG EAST history to win five or more tournament titles joining Jim Boeheim, John Thompson, Jay Wright and Jim Calhoun.

Zuby Ejiofor further cemented his legacy winning the Dave Gavitt Trophy for the BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player. The forward averaged 19.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 blocks and 1.3 steals per game during the championship run. Tonight, Ejiofor tallied 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting and set a St. John's BIG EAST Tournament and championship game record seven blocks on Saturday.

Bryce Hopkins shined posting 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting and five boards. The graduate student was named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team after averaging 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds over the three contests. Dillon Mitchell was the third Johnnie selected to the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team and finished with nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals in the winning effort.

For the third time in as many days, the Johnnies started the game on an 8-0 run or better, tacking on the first 10 points of the contest. The Red Storm started lightning hot from floor cashing in on nine of their first 13 attempts and five consecutive to grab a 23-9 advantage to force UConn into a timeout.

St. John's early cushion ballooned to as many as 16, 32-16, after a 7-0 spurt capped off by an Ejiofor slam dunk. The Red Storm cashed in on 13 of its first 18 shot attempts (72.2 percent). Later in the opening stanza, Dylan Darling found Mitchell on the alley-oop to expand the advantage to 17 with 4:29 left to play. Over the final minutes of the first half, the Huskies chipped away to make it a 13-point game at half with St. John's in front, 40-27.

In the second half, a Oziyah Sellers lay-up gave the Johnnies their largest lead of the evening, 47-29. The Huskies responded with a 9-0 run to bring the deficit back to single digits as the action heated up inside The World's Most Famous Arena. UConn got within seven before a pivotal mid-range jumper from Hopkins and 3-pointer from Ejiofor stunted the Huskies' momentum and pushed the lead back to 12. The Red Storm truly turned the tides when Ejiofor posted a monster rejection that led to a windmill jam by Mitchell that set The Garden on fire with nine minutes remaining.

The Johnnies continued to extend their lead as Hopkins sealed the deal with a bucket by Hopkins to go up 20 with 3:27 remaining as it coasted to back-to-back crowns. The Huskies were limited without a field goal for the final 8:05 of the game.

Over the last two seasons, the Johnnies are 25-2 inside Madison Square Garden. It ties for the highest two-year win total at The Mecca with 1950-52 teams.

St. John's will await its NCAA Tournament opponent on Selection Sunday when the bracket is unveiled at 6 p.m. on CBS. The Red Storm basketball program is hosting a Selection Show Party on-campus at Carnesecca Arena that is open to the general public.