New York — After a 4-3 start this season, st johns Enjoying his most impressive role in decades.
Bryce Hopkins The forward had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the 17th-ranked Red Storm. creighton 81-52 Saturday for its 13th consecutive win – the program’s longest winning streak in 41 years.
dylan darling Scored 17 points off the bench and zubi ejiofor Added 15 for the first-ranked Johnnies (22-5, 15-1 Big East), who led wire-to-wire and held Creighton to 32% shooting in its 18th win in 20 games.
Coach Rick Pitino said, “This was the best defense we played all season.” “People were completely caught up in their respect for Creighton and his ability to score.”
It was St. John’s largest loss in a Big East game since a 91–57 victory over Butler at the campus’ Carnesecca Arena in February 2022 – and the school’s largest margin of victory against a conference opponent at Madison Square Garden since defeating No. 6 UConn 90–57 on February 1, 1992.
St. John’s had not won 13 consecutive games since a 19-game run in 1984–85 en route to a No. 1 national ranking, a top seed in the NCAA Tournament, and a berth in the Final Four under Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca.
“Our staff is doing an amazing job of bringing people [ready],” Pitino said. “It’s one thing to be a great scout and break it out, but it’s getting the players to listen to every little thing, and they’re listening to every little thing. I’m proud of him for that.”
Ejiofor and Hopkins have been the frontrunners for the Johnnies all season, but the emergence of Darling and dylan mitchell There is a big reason for the change.
with starting guard ian jackson Darling played 28½ minutes due to a sprained right ankle and provided four rebounds, three assists and three steals in a bounce-back performance. The gritty point guard went scoreless in 13 minutes Wednesday’s 76-70 win over Marquette.
Creighton coach Greg McDermott said, “I said to him in the handshake line: I think Darling has changed his team in a lot of ways over the last six weeks.” “He has a confidence and a toughness and tenacity defensively. And obviously they have all of that on their roster, but in preparation for this game and watching film, in a lot of close games he’s been making big plays on both ends of the floor.”
Mitchell, who didn’t attempt a single field goal against Marquette but had plenty of assists from all angles, had 10 rebounds, seven assists and zero turnovers Saturday in front of a red-clad crowd of 19,328 on Johnny’s Day at Madison Square Garden.
“He’s a great basketball player,” Pitino said. “If you have to get a rebound in the game, he’s the guy that’s going to get it. … He’s just a great basketball player.”
The 6-foot-8 senior forward also finished with six points and a steal.
“We have a lot of offensive threats and it’s my job to try to get good shots on them,” Mitchell said.
St. John’s entered with the third-longest win streak in Division I and the best among higher-major programs. The team has not lost since a 77-71 loss to Providence on Jan. 3 at MSG.
Creighton committed 18 turnovers and was outscored 44–30. Unable to pull off a major upset over No. 5 UConn on Wednesday, the Bluejays (14-14, 8-9) were limited to a season-low 0.7 points per possession in their most lopsided loss this season.
St. John’s scored the first eight points, going ahead by 12 just 4:18 into the game and taking a 42–27 lead at halftime. Creighton went 8:45 without a field goal in the second half as the Red Storm used a 25–4 spurt to take a 69–38 lead with 8:31 remaining.
“St. John’s, they’re awesome. Their defensive versatility makes it very challenging with the special roster we have,” McDermott said.
Seeking their second consecutive Big East championship, the Red Storm began the day with a half-game lead in the conference standings over UConn, who were scheduled to play at third-ranked Villanova later in the day.
St. John’s visits Connecticut on Wednesday night for its second showdown this season. A win would give the Johnnies a 14-game winning streak in Big East play, which would match their 14–0 start in 1984–85 for a program record.
Pitino said Jackson could have played Saturday, but was held out for not practicing. He is expected to be available against UConn.
