Ejiofor leads No. 13 St. John’s to 72-52 rout of No. 6 UConn for 2nd straight Big East tourney title

NEW YORK (AP) — Zuby Ejiofor had seven blocks, nine rebounds and three steals to anchor a tenacious defensive performance that carried No. 13 St. John’s to its second straight Big East Tournament championship Saturday night with a 72-52 blowout of sixth-ranked UConn at Madison Square Garden.

Ejiofor and Bryce Hopkins each scored 18 points for the top-seeded Red Storm (28-6), who became the first team to win consecutive Big East Tournament titles since Villanova took three in a row from 2017-19.

“What a beautiful moment. What a surreal moment,” Ejiofor said. “We had a target on our backs all year.”

Adding to their resurgent rise under 73-year-old Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, the Johnnies joined UConn in 1998 and ’99 as the only Big East programs to win both the regular-season and tournament crowns in back-to-back seasons.

It was the fifth Big East Tournament title in school history and the first time the Johnnies have accomplished the feat in consecutive years.

“This championship means the world to us. It means the world to our fans,” Pitino said during the postgame celebration on the court. “I’m so proud of every one of our players.”

Ejiofor was selected the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, his latest in a string of accolades this week that included Big East Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the ...