It was shortly before 1 a.m. in New York City as the snow fell.
There was still a buzz near the establishments at 33rd & 8th.
Madison Square Garden and Moynihan Train Hall were lit up in red as a few hours passed from St. John’s win over UConn, but the effects of the victory will be felt for a while.
It was the biggest regular season win for the Red Storm in the Rick Pitino era, but more importantly, it was the second consecutive game against the Huskies at The Garden that gave the Johnnies a true home court advantage.
“I thought The Garden was as good as I've seen it,” Pitino said after the 81-72 victory.
“I thought it was unbelievable how good The Garden was. I said 70/30, 60/40, that was 90/10,” he added about the ratio of Red Storm fans to Husky fans.
In a building that UConn likes to claim as a home court there was hostility towards the Huskies. It was loud while living and dying on each possession. There were only a handful of times in which the UConn fans in attendance could truly be heard.
It was exactly what a Friday night inside The World’s Most Famous Arena between two ranked teams should be, and it could be coming again in five weeks during the Big East Tournament.
“This was an intense game,” UConn head coach Dan Hurley said. “I know [Rick Pitino] might have been off on the ratio of the crowd. I looked around during the anthem, I saw a lot of red. It felt like a real road game.”
Last season St. John’s was unblemished at MSG, going 11-0 including its run to the Big East Tournament Championship.
The Johnnies haven’t had the exact same success this year, dropping games to then No. 15 Alabama and Providence, but the home court that the Red Storm enjoyed last season is retuning and Friday night felt like the tipping point.
“Just an all-around great atmosphere to play basketball,” Zuby Ejiofor explained. “Friday night, MSG, great opponent…we had more of a home crowd than we thought.”
Dillon Mitchell, a four-year veteran in college basketball, said it was the best atmosphere he’s ever played in.
“A lot of emotions go through the night just playing hard and hearing the fans and trying to give it everything we got,” he said.
St. John’s will hope that its home court advantage continues through the rest of the season and the Big East Tournament as the Johnnies look to defend its two championships.