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It was a bitterly cold night, and New Yorkers were still dealing with massive snow and ice removal from the massive winter storm that shut down the city three days earlier. Nevertheless, 14,361 fans were in attendance.
In pre-game discussions, fans continued to wonder about the Johnnies uncertainty at the point guard position. It was well known that forward Zuby Ejiofor is effective in feeding teammates as defenders swarm to him when he holds the ball. But who else can see the floor and pick out teammates in open positions?
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One fan noted that Butler players seemed “lights out” when shooting from the corner in warm-ups but much less accurate from the top of the key. One wondered if this would play out in the game?
Just before the game began, Coach Pitino was given a short recognition for winning his 900th game on Saturday when the Johnnies came from behind in their away win at Xavier. He received a warm, standing ovation from the crowd.
First Half
The Johnnies opened the game with the same starting lineup they had deployed over the recent seven-game winning streak: Zuby Ejiofor, Bryce Hopkins, Dillon Mitchell, Oziyah Sellers, and Ian Jackson.
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Butler came out in an aggressive 1-3-1 zone, challenging Red Storm guards as they came across midcourt. It did not take long for the Johnnies to diagnose it.
The scoring began when Ejiofor put back a Jackson miss for a 2-0 lead. A minute later, St. John’s was able to penetrate the Bulldog defense as Ejiofor fed Hopkins, who found Mitchell cutting toward the basket. A well-placed pass was grabbed by Mitchell, who slammed it home for a 4-0 lead at the 17:58 mark of the half. On the next possession, Sellers took down a Bulldog miss and hustled downcourt. Seeing an open Ejiofor sprinting across the court, he made a perfect lead pass, resulting in a Red Storm 6-0 lead. Good defense and a quintet of players cooperating with each other led to this early lead.
The Hopkins-to-Mitchell-to-Ejiofor interchange continued,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/three-takeaways-st-john-men-190848918.html
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Publish date : 2026-01-30 19:08:00
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