Villanova Crushed 89-57 Against Angry No. 15 St. John’s

NEW YORK— Madison Square Garden looked like a slaughterhouse during the first half of Villanova Men’s Basketball’s 89-57 loss to No. 15 St. John’s on Saturday, Feb. 28.

Coming off a 32-point loss at the hands of No. 6 UConn, the Johnnies vented their frustration on Villanova (22-7, 13-5 Big East), creating 29 points off 16 turnovers as the Wildcats struggled to break the press. The Red Storm threw down seven dunks in the first half alone, their size mismatch on full display. St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor notched the fourth known triple-double in Red Storm history with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

The Wildcats broke the ice on a Bryce Lindsay layup then promptly fell behind 11-2, committing three turnovers in a four minute span. Devin Askew drew a goaltending call to break up the run, and threes from him and Acaden Lewis closed the gap to 15-11. From there, St. John’s went on a 33-7 run, holding Villanova to just two made shots from the field over the next 12 minutes. A Bryce Hopkins layup made it 48-18, but Acaden Lewis scored off his own offensive rebound and Bryce Lindsay sank three foul shots before the buzzer to help catch their breath.

Matt Hodge made a three out of the break but went down less than a minute later with an apparent right leg injury as bad turned worse for Villanova. Nevertheless, the Wildcats chipped away at the lead, forcing a Rick Pitino timeout with 13:40 to play after seven straight points made it 55-38.

St. John’s responded with a 13-3 run, allowing two shots over the next four minutes and quashing any thought of a comeback.

Villanova will return to action in Chicago against DePaul at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4.