March 3, 2026; New York, New York, USA; St. John’s Red Storm forward Jubi Ejiofor (24) leaves the court after defeating the Georgetown Hoyas 72-69 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Providence has at least one more game under Kim English. And the game could not have featured a more attractive opponent.
The ninth-seeded Friars put on a historic performance Wednesday against freshman Stefan Vaaks and eighth-seeded Butler in the Big East tournament before taking on top-seeded St. Louis Thursday afternoon in New York. We had a second round match against St. John’s.
Rick Pitino and 13th place St. John’s (25 wins, 6 losses) succeeded in winning their second straight regular season with 18 wins and 2 losses in the league. However, the Red Storm’s first league loss came against Providence at Madison Square Garden on January 3, and Providence won 77-71 in a 13-point hole on February 14.
The return game in Rhode Island was ugly. Duncan Powell fouled former Providence forward Bryce Hopkins hard when he went up for a layup, sparking a fight and six ejections before St. John’s won 79-69. Powell was suspended for three games.
“I think (the fight) is overblown, to be honest,” English said Wednesday. “Again, it was a serious foul. Two guys got in each other’s faces, there was a little bit of pressure. I mean, I think I was completely off balance.”
He repeatedly declared that there was “no decline” between Providence and St. John’s.
“We’re playing in the biggest stadium in the world. And he’s one of the best coaches in college basketball history against the Big East Player of the Year (Zuby Ejiofor). It’s a team and a program we respect. That’s all there is to it. There’s no fight between us and St. John’s.”
There’s no mention of Pitino even remotely putting his thumb on the Friars’ coaching search scale.
It was reported last week that Providence would part ways with English after this season, and a malicious report last month indicated that Pitino’s son, Richard Pitino, would consider leaving his position at Xavier for the Providence position. The younger Pitino later denied interest, and Rick Pitino, who coached the Friars from 1985-87, also said his son would not leave Xavier.
Providence looked lost after falling behind 15-2 to start Wednesday’s game, but Vaaks sparked a comeback and finished the game with a career-high 28 points and eight 3-pointers. He tied the Big East tournament record with three in a game, while Ryan Mela added 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists and Jaylin Sellers had 23, seven and four.
Vaaks is in St. Scored 16 and 20 points in two games against St. John’s, with Sellers scoring 15 and 13 points before being ejected in the latter matchup.
“There’s no extra motivation,” Sellers said. “They’re on the list, so we’ve got to take care of business to keep the season going. Personally, I’ve learned from the situation and now it’s time to be a leader and make sure our guys are ready to play for the next 40 (minutes).”
The focus will have to be on stopping Ejiofor, who was named the conference’s player of the year on Wednesday. He scored 33 points and 15 rebounds in the first meeting with Providence, but had just 14 points and 4 rebounds in the rematch. Ejiofor is averaging 16.0 points (54.6 FG%), 7.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.0 blocks this season.
Hopkins added 13.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest in his first season at St. John’s after an injury-plagued three-year spell at Providence. He said at a team signing earlier this week that he had a feeling the Red Storm would face the Friars for a third time.
“I don’t know what made me feel that way, but I had a feeling that we were going to be back with them, so that’s what it is,” Hopkins said.
All of this takes place against the backdrop of Madison Square Garden, the Red Storm’s off-campus home that draws many Providence supporters.
“I got the team together this morning and talked about the Big East Tournament and how great it is,” Pitino told Hoops HQ on Tuesday. “I said, ‘You’re not going to fully understand this until you leave New York, but you’ve only played 11 or 12 games on your home court in the biggest stadium in the world.’”
–Field level media
