NEW YORK — Rick Pitino often compares March Madness to starring in a Broadway show.
The legendary coach stresses the importance of working to get recognized on the marquee, but also cautions his teams to meet the moment lest their show be canceled.
Since returning to his New York City roots to take over as head coach at St. John’s, Pitino and the Red Storm have been a Broadway headliner three years running. Last season’s renewal of the Johnnies’ on-court show concluded with the program’s first Big East championship since 2000. Its first defense of the crown on the tournament stage was a smash hit.
Setting the tone with five offensive rebounds in the first 45 seconds, St. John’s scored the first nine points of the day Thursday afternoon and never looked back, defeating Providence in a comfortable 85-72 win in the first of four Big East tournament quarterfinal matchups at Madison Square Garden.
“We played awesome defense,” Pitino reflected. “The first half was as good as we played all year. We played a great game. Bryce (Hopkins) was tremendous.”
The Red Storm started the game 0-for-6 after being unable to capitalize on its feast on the backboards in the opening minute, but found its footing soon after when Dillon Mitchell opened the door on the scoreboard 82 seconds into the proceedings. The breakthrough fueled a 20-5 run that provided all the insurance St. John’s would need against a Providence team playing its second game in as many days.
“We found out who we were playing yesterday,” Oziyah Sellers said of the rubber match with the Friars. “You’ve gotta prepare quickly, move fast and just go over everything. So we watched a lot of our mistakes from previous games, found out things we can do better, and we went out there and tried to execute that.”
Following a timeout by head coach Kim English, Providence scored the next six points to pull within single digits, but would not draw any closer than that. The Friars earned their date with St. John’s by erasing a 16-point first-half deficit on Wednesday against Butler, but could not maintain the same defensive intensity against the bigger and more physical Red Storm.
“I feel like we started off a little sluggish,” English conceded. “Having such little rest in between games, I think, puts that team at a major disadvantage. But it is what it is. I thought our guys battled and fought.”
St. John’s, who won its 17th game in its last 18 with Thursday’s victory, received double-doubles from Big East Player of the Year Zuby Ejiofor, who posted 21 points and 10 rebounds in the winning effort, while Bryce Hopkins tallied 14 points and 13 rebounds against his former team. Sellers and Ian Jackson contributed 14 points apiece for the Red Storm, who will face either Seton Hall or Creighton in Friday’s semifinals to move one step closer to continuing their run on the big stage.
“This is the best time to play basketball,” Hopkins declared. “Our goal is to win a Big East tournament championship and Providence just so happened to be our first matchup. The biggest thing was just coming out today with a win.”