March 12, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Providence Friars forward Oswin Erhunbunse (55) defends against St. John’s Red Storm forward Jubi Ejiofor (24) during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Image Zuby Ejiofor had 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists and No. 13 St. John’s won 85-72 over Providence in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals Thursday in New York.
Ejiofor, the Big East Player of the Year, made 9 of 14 shots and added three blocks, while three teammates (Oziyah Sellers, Bryce Hopkins and Ian Jackson) tallied 14 points. The top-seeded Red Storm (26-6) advanced to the semifinals to face the winner between fourth-seeded Seton Hall and fifth-seeded Creighton.
St. John’s outscored ninth-seeded Providence 51-30 on the glass, including 18-4 in offensive rebounds. Hopkins, a former Prior, had 13 rebounds and had six on offense.
Stefan Vaaks made all five of his 3-pointers in the second half a day after the Friars’ win over Butler. He set a Big East tournament record for 3-pointers made through two games (13).
Vaaks had 23 points and Jaylin Sellers had 21. The Friars (15-18) likely played their final game under coach Kim English, who reportedly won’t last.
St. John’s scored the first nine points of the game, holding Providence without a field goal for nearly six minutes. Hopkins’ steal and slam dunk made it 20-5 with 13:06 still remaining in the half.
Providence made layups on three quick possessions, forcing St. John’s coach Rick Pitino to call a timeout. But the Red Storm scored eight of the next 10 points and held a double-digit lead the rest of the afternoon.
Jackson’s triple at 5:42 gave St. John’s its first 20-point advantage at 37-17, and Hopkins added a 3-pointer of his own before the top seed went into the locker room up 48-27.
Providence struggled in the second half as well. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Vaaks and a pair of dunks by Oswin Erhunmwunse and Sellers got the Friars up 59-46 with 13:51 to play, and nearly two minutes later Ryan Mela (16 points) cut the margin to 11 points on a layup.
St. John’s went 0-for-6 in that period and went scoreless for 2 minutes, 48 seconds. Ejiofor’s offensive rebound ended the drought.
Vaaks drilled a highlight reel 3 near the logo at half court, but missed a chance at a four-point play. St. John quickly regained control and scored the next 10 points to make it 75-53 on a fast-break dunk by Dillon Mitchell with 8:07 left.
Even though Providence closed the game on an 11-0 run in garbage time, the Red Storm outscored the Friars in bench points by a whopping 30-4.
–Field level media
