Rick Pitino set the challenge for the St. John’s basketball players immediately.
He was confident in the way the team would respond after the 32-point beatdown on Wednesday against UConn but still called Saturday night the most important game in his Red Storm tenure.
Its captain took the lead. Zuby Ejiofor registered the fifth triple-double since 1985-86 in program history with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists in the 89-57 victory, which was its largest win ever over Villanova in its 135th meeting.
No. 15 St. John’s (23-6, 16-2 Big East) completely flipped its fortune against the Wildcats, leading by as many as 30 points in the first half. Villanova got within 17 points, 55-38, midway through the second half but never had enough to get closer.
“It was a good bounce back for our guys,” Rick Pitino said after the win. “They really got after it the right way.”
It was the largest defeat for the Villanova program since 1997 against Kentucky, which was coached by Pitino at the time.
The tone was set early, turning eight Wildcat turnovers into 18 points before halftime. It was headlined by inspired defense from Ian Jackson, who registered three steals in the opening stanza and finished with 19 points, five rebounds, and five steals for the game.
Villanova (22-7, 13-5 Big East) shot just 25.9-percent from the floor in the first half while the Red Storm connected at a 57.6-percent rate, including five 3-pointers.
The Johnnies opened things on an 11-2 run and later used a 33-7 run to blow the game open.
In the second half, it was a 20-7 spurt that put the game of reach.
Oziyah Sellers broke his shooting slump, finishing with 14 points, three rebounds, and two assists on 6-of-8 shooting.
St. John’s will start its final week of the regular season with its home finale against Georgetown (13-16, 5-13 Big East) on Tuesday night (7:00 p.m. ET, Peacock), trying to earn at least a share of the Big East regular season title.