St. John’s answers wake-up call they needed in largest win over Villanova

As Rick Pitino said Friday, a lopsided loss sometimes can be better than a narrow one.

It can serve as a wake-up call and provide added motivation.

That seems to have been the case for St. John’s.

Zuby Ejiofor celebrates after hitting a 3-pointer shot during the first half of St. John’s 89-57 blowout win over Villanova at the Garden on Feb. 28, 2026. Robert Sabo for NY Post

Seventy-two hours after their ugly loss at Connecticut, the No. 15 Johnnies didn’t just pick themselves off the proverbial mat. With Pitino donning his white suit after some hesitation, St. John’s turned in arguably its best first half of the season. They rose together with a fury, taking out their frustrations on Villanova and cruising to an 89-57 victory at a sold-out Garden to remain tied atop the Big East with Connecticut in the loss column.

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“The response is a lot more important [than the loss],” star senior Zuby Ejiofor said after St. John’s largest win ever over Villanova in program history and the Wildcats’ biggest margin of defeat since 1997. “That’s what [Pitino] was saying and that’s what I was saying as well. That’s what I was telling the guys. A championship-level team responds in a positive way, and I think that’s exactly what we did tonight.”

This was as thorough and overwhelming a performance as St. John’s has had this year, blowing away a tournament team with relative ease.

Ejiofor bounced back after getting badly outplayed on Wednesday with the first triple-double of his career, and the fifth known St. John’s one since 1985-86, notching 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, along with three blocks.

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Ian Jackson turned in his best game of the year, 19 points, five rebounds and five steals off the bench. Oziyah Sellers added 14 points and the Johnnies held Villanova (22-7, 13-5) to a season-low in points and turned 16 turnovers into 29 points.

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St. John’s also tallied a…

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Publish date : 2026-03-01 03:42:00

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