February 28, 2026; New York, New York, USA; St. John’s Red Storm forward Jubi Ejiofor (24) gestures after hitting a 3-pointer in the first half against the Villanova Wildcats at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Zuby Ejiofor totaled 16 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists for his first career triple-double as No. 15 St. John’s relentlessly defended and dominated Villanova from the start, winning 89-57 in New York on Saturday night.
The Red Storm (23-6, 16-2 Big East) bounced back impressively after losing 72-40 at No. 6 UConn on Wednesday. St. John’s remained a half-game behind the Huskies for first place in the Big East.
Villanova (22-7, 13-5) defeated UConn and St. Louis. They went 0-4 against St. John’s and didn’t come any closer to second place in the Big East. The Wildcats lost for the second time in three games following a six-game winning streak and will sit in third place in the Big East.
Ejiofor made 6 of 12 shots after scoring six points Wednesday and got his 10th assist on Josan Sanon’s 3 with 3:12 left. It was the fourth triple-double in school history and the second consecutive season St. John’s achieved the feat after Kadary Richmond accomplished it March 8 at Marquette.
Ejiofor joins David Cain and Ron Artest with Richmond as the only players in program history to record a triple-double.
Ian Jackson came off the bench to play for St. Louis. John had 19 steals and a career-high five steals to help lead the team to the most lopsided win in school history against Villanova, surpassing his 23-point win in January 1998. Oziyah Sellers lost to St. Louis for the 14th time in 15 games. John contributed 14 steals in the win.
The Red Storm shot 57.6 percent on 7 of 8 dunks in the first half. St. John’s closed up 52.5% overall.
Duke Brennan led Villanova with 12 points, while Bryce Lindsay and Devin Askew each added 10 points. Standout freshman Acaden Lewis scored eight points and committed five of Villanova’s 16 turnovers.
The Wildcats also lost Matt Hodge to an apparent leg injury early in the second half when the forward landed awkwardly trying to get to the rim.
Villanova shot 25.9 percent in the first 20 minutes and 37 percent overall.
After Villanova scored on its first possession, St John’s won its 11th straight, taking an 11-2 lead on Sellers’ 3 with 15 minutes, 47 seconds left. The Red Storm extended their lead to 30-14 when Jackson hit a windmill dunk off a steal and Ruben Prey followed with a two-handed dunk with less than nine minutes left.
St. John’s took a 20-point lead when Sellers attempted an alley-oop dunk with Ejiofor with 5 minutes, 57 seconds left, took a 30-point lead on a Hopkins throwback and led 48-23 by halftime. The Red Storm never let the lead fall below 17 points over the final 20 minutes.
–Field level media
