Rick Pitino’s “Johnnies Day” experiences at St. John’s have followed a familiar script — both ending in highly impactful victories over Creighton. But Sunday afternoon’s win over the No. 24 Bluejays carried far more weight than last year’s 14-point upset.
Fueled by a dominant performance from its star trio of RJ Luis Jr., Kadary Richmond and Zuby Ejiofor, the Red Storm tightened its grip atop the Big East with a 79-73 win. In front of a sold-out Madison Square Garden crowd, Pitino coached St. John’s to its third nationally-ranked triumph in 12 days while removing the sour taste from Feb. 12’s falter at Villanova.
“You could fail offensively, but nothing can stand in your way mentally of playing great defense. And we did not play great defense against Villanova,” Pitino said. “But sometimes you just wanna blame yourselves after watching the film.”
Luis Jr. led the Johnnies with 23 points, 14 rebounds and five assists en route to his eighth double-double of the 2024-25 campaign.
As he, Richmond (19 pts., 10 reb.) and Ejiofor (18 pts., 9 reb.) performed to what St. John’s fans have come to expect, an unanticipated outcome willed the hosts over their conference rival.
Creighton head coach Greg McDermott has built a culture around the three-point line, creating a motion offense full of shooters that can be a nightmare to defend. However, that wasn’t evident throughout the Big East bout.
Ultimately, it was the Red Storm that proved more efficient from deep, boasting a near-seven-point advantage in three-point percentage.
Meanwhile, Deivon Smith shockingly returned to action just days after Pitino declared the high-flying guard could potentially miss the remainder of the regular season with a neck injury. With Simeon Wilcher in foul trouble for much of the matchup, Smith stepped in and looked the best he had since early January.
Smith’s defensive effort on Steven Ashworth was crucial, as was his ability to push the pace offensively. Add in a few fortunate mid-range bounces, and he had delivered his most complete performance since his injury troubles began.
“To be honest with you, without [Smith] tonight, we don’t win this game. We do not win,” Pitino said.
Ashworth was fantastic in his own right, gashing the often-stout St. John’s defense for 23 points and 11 assists. However, a late injury to his co-star, Ryan Kalkbrenner, opened the door for the Red Storm to capitalize.
Luis, Ejiofor and Richmond orchestrated an 18-6 extended run down the stretch, climbing ahead by as much as eight and forcing the Bluejays to begin playing the free-throw game. Even with the Johnnies’ struggles from the charity stripe all season, Luis’ clutch gene was enough to swing the tide when he was needed most.
“When you see a team shoot 38% from the field, 33% from three and 58.6% from the free-throw line, you’re gonna lose by double digits,” Pitino said. “But every single night this team wins. It’s an amazing thing.”
With a two-game cushion over Creighton for the top seed in the Big East, St. John’s now turns its focus to a Wednesday night road matchup against DePaul at 9 p.m. EST. While many may be quick to pencil in a Red Storm victory, Pitino isn’t overlooking the Blue Demons.
“We could go in and lose to DePaul. You see the numbers, it’s very easy to do, but because of the way we play with five turnovers and meticulous with the rebounding down the stretch, it’s pretty special,” Pitino concluded.
To access the final box score from the St. John’s win over Creighton, click here.
