Moments after Wednesday night’s historic loss to UConn, several St. John’s players were already eyeing a rematch.
That’s according to Huskies head coach Dan Hurley, who said Zuby Ejiofor and Dylan Darling referenced meeting again in the Big East Tournament during their postgame handshakes.
“Zuby Ejiofor was glaring at me as he was bleeding from his mouth,” Hurley said on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” after that 72-40 rout in Hartford.
“And he muttered something like, ‘I’ll see you again, my man.’ And then when I got to Darling, Darling was like, ‘Coach, I will see you in New York in a couple weeks.’”
No. 6 UConn and No. 15 St. John’s hold the top two seeds in the Big East, which means they would not face each other in the conference tournament until the final.
That means St. John’s and UConn would need to win two games apiece in the Big East Tournament before they could play each other again.
But many believe a third meeting is inevitable, considering UConn and St. John’s have been the class of the conference since Big East play began.
Hurley suggested as much to Pitino after Wednesday’s game.
“He said, ‘I have a feeling we’ll meet again,’” Pitino said. “And I said, ‘I hope you’re right.’”
St. John’s entered Saturday night’s game against Villanova at Madison Square Garden with a 15-2 record in Big East play.
Top-seeded UConn, meanwhile, improved to 17-2 after eking out a 71-67 home victory over Seton Hall on Saturday afternoon.
Seton Hall nearly did St. John’s a huge favor, as it led the Huskies by eight points with under nine minutes remaining and by one point with less than a minute to go.
But Solo Ball and Alex Karaban combined to make seven free throws down the stretch as UConn improved to 27-3 overall.
“He’s got the best team, probably, in the country,” Pitino said of Hurley. “One of the best teams in the country. We’ve got to get through two games [in the Big East Tournament] to play them. So I can’t look at it that way.”
St. John’s defeated UConn, 81-72, at the Garden on Feb. 6 in the teams’ first meeting of the season.
But UConn dominated Wednesday’s rematch at PeoplesBank Arena, with the 32-point win marking the program’s largest-ever margin of victory over St. John’s.
The Red Storm missed their final 24 shot attempts in that loss as their 13-game winning streak came to an end.
UConn and St. John’s have not met in the Big East Tournament since 2024, when the Huskies defeated the Red Storm in the semifinal round. Connecticut went on to win that conference tournament before winning its second consecutive national championship a few weeks later.
St. John’s won the Big East’s regular season and conference tournament titles last year.
This year’s Big East Tournament is set for March 11-14 at the Garden.
“The thing about our league is it’s a war,” Hurley said on ESPN. “It’s a battle. There’s rivalries. There’s coaches that don’t like each other. There’s teams that don’t like each other. I think sports are better when there’s tension and intensity and ill will.”
ANIME MAYHEM
St. John’s canceled a planned giveaway of trading cards and posters from the anime series “One Piece” before Saturday’s game after a similar recent promotion led to crowded chaos.
When St. John’s handed out collaborative “One Piece” cards and posters at its Feb. 6 game against UConn, scalpers congregated outside of the Garden and offered hundreds of dollars for the items.
The commemorative cards are posted on eBay for prices exceeding $200.
In a statement, St. John’s said Saturday’s cancellation was “due to the overwhelming response and to ensure the best experience for all fans.”
MSG HISTORY
The St. John’s women’s basketball team is set to host No. 1 UConn on Sunday night — and make history in the process.
Sunday’s regular season finale will be the St. John’s women’s team’s first-ever standalone game at the Garden.
Overall, the Red Storm have played 18 games at the Garden (going 11-7), but those previous appearances always came as part of multi-team events. For example, the St. John’s men’s and women’s teams both played there in a “Johnnies Day” doubleheader on Feb. 16, 2025.
“To have our first standalone game is a big deal,” head coach Joe Tartamella said. “A lot of people don’t know how much goes into trying to put these [games] together.”
UConn (30-0) will attempt Sunday to complete a perfect regular season. St. John’s (21-9; 11-8 vs. Big East) is tied for fourth place in the conference standings.
