The last time St. John’s won the Big East Tournament, RJ Luis Jr. wasn’t born yet.
Neither were Zuby Ejiofor or Kadary Richmond.
Rick Pitino was coaching the Boston Celtics — a job he held before his stints with Louisville, Greece’s Panathinaikos, Iona and, finally, St. John’s.
But on Saturday night, that group further restored the resurgent Red Storm to glory.
Top-seeded St. John’s defeated second-seeded Creighton, 82-66, in the Big East Tournament championship game at Madison Square Garden, adding another achievement to one of the greatest seasons in school history.
It had been 25 years since St. John’s (30-4) last won the Big East Tournament in 2000, marking the longest gap between championships in conference history.
“I don’t think it settled in yet,” Luis said. “Just still trying to soak it in, and it’s just crazy how much you can speak things into existence and just watch it all come together.”
Luis, who earlier in the week was named Big East Player of the Year, was the driving force in Saturday’s win, which clinched the fourth Big East Tournament title in school history.
He scored 27 of his game-high 29 points during a second half in which St. John’s outscored Creighton, 57-38, and at one point made 14 consecutive baskets.
Luis was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after averaging 20.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. He was joined on the all-tournament team by Ejiofor, who scored 20 points on Saturday, and Richmond, who added 12 points and 12 rebounds.
“I am, as a New Yorker, about as proud as any person could be,” Pitino said. “For me, it’s just extra, extra special because I share this with every fan that takes great pride in what we accomplished this year.”
Saturday’s win did not come easily.
The rim-protecting presence of 7-1 Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner — who just won Big East Defensive Player of the Year for a fourth time — forced St. John’s to settle for mid-range jumpers throughout the first half.
The Red Storm shot just 11-of-33 before halftime and went into the break down 28-25.
“We were just really intimidated by Kalkbrenner, and we were pulling up and missing at mid-range,” Pitino said. “What we talked about at halftime was to take it to the rim, use the rim as a shield. He can’t cut through steel. Then take the [3-pointer] when it’s there.
That proved to be a winning adjustment, as St. John’s erupted for 36 points in the paint in the second half and shot an incredible 23-of-32 (71.8%) from the field.
Luis’ 3-pointer at the 14:26 mark knotted the score, 38-38, to tie the game for the first time since it was scoreless.
Two possessions later, Ejiofor converted a three-point play, marking the first of the Red Storm’s 14 consecutive makes.
During that stretch, Luis delivered three lay-ups and made two more 3-pointers.
“That was just Beast Mode being Beast Mode,” Richmond said of Luis.
Luis finished 11-of-18 from the field and heard “MVP” chants in the game’s waning minutes. The junior guard’s 29 points set a St. John’s record in a Big East Tournament championship game and were the most by any player on that stage since Jalen Brunson scored 31 for Villanova in 2018.
“This has by far been the most emotional, happiest week of my 22 years of existence,” Luis said.
After St. John’s cut down the net during a postgame celebration, Luis climbed onto the basket and sat on the rim, stretching out his arms with a Dominican flag draped over his shoulders.
“As a little kid, you dream of these special moments during March Madness and the tournament championship,” Luis said. “When I was little, I would see the guys go up to the ladders and cut the nets. Obviously, to do it myself is incredible. It’s a great feeling.”
Although it was technically a neutral-site game, Saturday’s sellout crowd was decidedly in the Red Storm’s favor as St. John’s improved to 12-0 at the Garden.
With the win, Pitino further delivered on the promise he made at his introductory press conference two years ago that St. John’s was “going to be back.”
The Johnnies went 27-4 in the regular season, including 18-2 in conference play, to claim their first outright Big East regular-season championship since 1985.
Saturday clinched their first 30-win season since 1985-86.
“St. John’s didn’t get built by the NIL,” said Pitino, who described Luis and Ejiofor as being very underpaid. “St. John’s got built with the character of the players, and certainly we are excited to have these young men.”
On Sunday, St. John’s will find out its seed in the NCAA Tournament and learn who, and where, it will play. It will be the Red Storm’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019.
That will present another opportunity for St. John’s to end a decades-long drought. The Red Storm have not won an NCAA Tournament game since 2000.
“I take life one day at a time,” Pitino said. “I take it one game at a time. I don’t consider ourselves [in a way] that people should beware of us. I’ve lost in the first round. I’ve been to seven Final Fours. So we’ll take it one game at a time, one possession at a time.”
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