St. John’s needed to make a statement after last week’s collapse against Providence and the Johnnies not only sent a message to the rest of the Big East that it’s back but did so in emphatic fashion.
The Red Storm walked into Omaha and overwhelmed Creighton 90-73, picking up its second road victory of the week by at least 14 points after its win against Butler on Tuesday night.
Creighton (10-7, 4-2 Big East) started the game hot, making 8-of-14 attempts from the field to begin the game and making 6-of-10 from 3-point range, but the Red Storm adjusted and shutdown the explosive Bluejay offense for the remainder of the game, which made 4-of-16 3-pointers in the final 30:08.
“We have no panic,” Rick Pitino said. “I’m not unhappy with one person on this basketball team…I was very calm with them and said I’m not wavering one bit.”
While St. John’s defense rose to the occasion, its offense continued rolled.
The Johnnies (11-5, 4-1 Big East) used a 25-4 run after Creighton took its largest lead, 23-18, to seize control of the game and outscored the Bluejays 34-11 in the final 10:53 of the half. In its first half surge, Lefteris Liotopoulos and Dylan Darling combined to score 14 points.
Liotopoulos finished the game with a career-high 17 points while Darling, who did not play in the Red Storm’s win over Butler, chipped in 11 points.
“After the loss, we gathered together and said we’re not going to lose anymore,” Liotopoulos explained. “We’re going to be great in the next practices, and we were great. We were playing aggressive, and we had a lot of energy, and I think this translated on the court.”
St. John’s had six players reach double figures, including 16 points from Oziyah Sellers and 12 points each from Zuby Ejiofor, Bryce Hopkins, and Ian Jackson.
The second half unfolded very similar to the end of the first half as St. John’s built its lead to as many as 26 points, 84-58, in the closing minutes.
“I think it brought a sense of urgency to us that the problems that we had, we needed to address them and build on them quickly,” Darling said of the team’s focus since the loss to the Friars. “And like coach says, you either wilt or you dig in and get tougher.”
The Red Storm only allowed Creighton two offensive rebounds, outscoring them 10-0 on second chance points, and posted a 12-4 advantage on points off turnovers. The Johnnies shot 50.8-percent from the field and 52.2-percent from the 3-point line.
St. John’s will host Marquette (6-11, 1-5 Big East) inside Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night (6:30 p.m. ET, Peacock).