The boos were loud. The boos were often.
Every time Kadary Richmond touched the ball the Seton Hall fans booed him. They even almost booed during Seton Hall’s first offensive possession when the player he was guarding had the ball.
Yet, despite the anger from the Pirate fans for his departure to the Red Storm, the booing would not last long and all that could be heard as the final buzzer sounded was the cheering from the Johnnies faithful that made the trip to New Jersey.
It was a rout against its rival that the Red Storm had not seen in nearly three decades winning 79-51. It was the largest win over Seton Hall by St. John’s since 1980.
“Kadary had a beautiful homecoming,” Rick Pitino said after the game.
There was no letup from the Red Storm (16-3, 7-1 Big East) as Richmond was involved immediately, registering an assist on the opening play of the game to Zuby Ejiofor and it was only the beginning.
“It was nice to come back and get a win despite all the boos and stuff like that,” Richmond explained of his return.
He would add four points and two assists in the opening five minutes, but his play was overshadowed by the stifling St. John’s defense that held Seton Hall to 1-of-21 from the field to begin the game.
The Pirates (6-12, 1-6 Big East) would only make 4-of-30 shots (13.3-percent) in the first half, trailing 39-16. It was the fewest amount of points that St. John’s has allowed in a first half since 2008 against Rutgers.
While the second half wasn’t as dominant, St. John’s still cruised to the finish line behind RJ Luis’ 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including four 3-pointers, and 12 points, five rebounds, six assists, and two steals from Kadary Richmond.
“He came into this game just like any other one,” Luis said of Richmond’s mentality. “I think he played great.”
Deivon Smith, who was doubtful to play as of Friday afternoon, suited up for the Johnnies and came off the bench to play 17 minutes for his first action since suffering a bruised shoulder in the Red Storm’s victory over Villanova last Saturday.
He missed all six shots he attempted but managed two points, three rebounds, and two assists.
St. John’s, who now holds sole possession of first place in the Big East, hosts Xavier (12-7, 4-4 Big East) at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night (7:00 p.m. ET, FS1).