It was an unavoidable topic when the Big East Tournament was revealed, and the St. John’s basketball team learned it would play the winner of Providence and Butler.
The concept of Bryce Hopkins against his former team, given the ending of its last matchup, was one of the storylines of the week and Hopkins changed the narrative.
After struggling to score in his first two matchups against the Friars, shooting a combined 6-for-27, Hopkins started fast by letting the game come to him. He rarely touched the ball until six minutes into the game when he made his first shot.
Then, a minute later he notched a steal and fast break dunk. It all led to a first half that accumulated 11 points and six rebounds and finished with 14 points and a season-high 13 rebounds.
“I try not to make it out about me,” Hopkins said after the 85-72 victory. “I know there was attention coming into the game, me playing my former team. But the biggest thing was just playing through my teammates, not doing too much, and coming out with the win.”
The instigator of the fracas in Providence on February 14, Ducan Powell, never entered the game and did not play in either of the Friars’ postseason games.
“I think he took the first two games personally,” Zuby Ejiofor explained about Hopkins. “He came out aggressive. He didn’t overthink anything.”
Bryce Hopkins had been in a bit of a slump entering the Big East Tournament, shooting 11-for-38 (28.9-percent) but is looking forward to the biggest games of the Red Storm’s season.
“This is the best time to play basketball, in March, and our goal is to win a Big East tournament championship,” he said. “And Providence just so happened to be our first matchup, so the biggest thing was just coming out today with a win.”
“I still have a ton of love for Providence. They may not have that much love for me anymore. That's just what it is. It is the nature of basketball. I did spend three of my years at Providence.”