Back in the dying days of 2016, St. John’s was struggling to beat low-major foes, showcasing superior talent and the same results from Chris Mullin’s first season. Across the Hudson, Seton Hall had cruised through its nonconference schedule, on target to reach the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.
Back then, it was impossible to imagine St. John’s delivering a devastating blow to its rival’s postseason hopes. But for the second time in a week, St. John’s sauntered out of Madison Square Garden with a decisive win over an opponent that might end up in the Big Dance, defeating the Pirates, 78-70, in one of its best all-around games of the season.
After getting dominated by Seton Hall just three weeks ago, the Red Storm (12-14, 6-7) had a surprisingly easy time switching roles, led by a strong defensive effort and Marcus LoVett’s 19 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals.
Winning for the third time in its past four home games, St. John’s is now tied for fifth place in the Big East — ahead of Seton Hall — less than one year after finishing with the school’s worst-ever record in the league.
“All along, I feel like if we play really tough defense and showed some resistance, and we play unselfish on the offensive end, I think we can play with just about anybody,” Mullin said.
Seton Hall (15-9, 5-7) had five players score in double figures — led by Desi Rodriguez’s 17 points — but only got two points from the rest of the roster, losing for the sixth time in nine games.
In the Pirates’ win on Jan. 22, Angel Delgado had 21 points and 20 rebounds, but the Red Storm arrived with more purpose, swarming Seton Hall’s big man, and forcing bad decisions and/or indecision on possessions that were so simple in the last meeting. Delgado scored three points in the first half, with four turnovers.
“Last time, we got kind of bullied, but I feel we had a complete effort this time,” Tariq Owens said. “It was the effort. I made a conscious decision.”
Though Delgado finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, no big man made the impact of the 6-foot-11 Owens, who had 10 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks. On one electric sequence, Owens awoke the sleepy crowd with an emphatic block of Myles Powell, before running down the floor and slamming home a missed 3-pointer, cutting Seton Hall’s lead to 24-23 with 4:26 left in the first half.
St. John’s would end up going on a 16-3 run afterward to take a 37-27 lead at halftime.
“Tariq always has a huge impact on the game whether he scores or not, but I thought [that] one exchange … probably changed the whole complexion of the game,” Mullin said. “I think it brought energy in the building and in our team, too. … We obviously had to play a lot more minutes after that, but you’re always looking for something to get something going.”
Even though the 3-point-heavy offense only hit three shots from outside, St. John’s scored 36 points in the paint and hit 19-of-21 free throws. The team’s extra energy didn’t affect its composure, as St. John’s committed only eight turnovers and held a 30-5 edge in points off turnovers.
In just a few weeks, St. John’s season has become unrecognizable. How many more surprises remain? How much longer will such wins even be considered shocking?
“We’ve shown we can be dangerous to our opponents or dangerous to ourselves,” Mullin said, “we’re just trying to make sure we’re dangerous to our opponents more often.”