NEW YORK — Top-seeded St. John’s won the Big East tournament for the first time in 25 years, beating second-seeded Creighton 82-66 on Saturday night to add yet another milestone to coach Rick Pitino’s Red Storm resurgence.
Behind conference player of the year RJ Luis Jr. (29 points) and prized transfer Kadary Richmond (12 points, 12 rebounds), St. John’s made 14 consecutive field goal attempts during a decisive 32-14 run in the second half that broke open a close game and sent the sold-out crowd into a frenzy.
The Garden crowd showered Luis with “M-V-P” chants as he drained late free throws to preserve the lead and let out a long “Zuuuuuuuuuu” as Zuby Ejiofor (20 points) ended his night with 47 seconds left. Luis was named the tournament’s most outstanding player and, with his 29 points, broke Chris Mullin’s 1985 Big East tournament championship game record.
🏆 CHAMPS 🏆 pic.twitter.com/xblsnBO1vB
— St. John’s Men’s Basketball (@StJohnsBBall) March 16, 2025
With Spike Lee decked out in red courtside, the Red Storm (30-4) improved to 12-0 at Madison Square Garden, the Queens school’s home away from home, and will head into the NCAA Tournament likely as a No. 2 or 3 seed, their best since 2000.
In Pitino’s second season at St. John’s — his third stint in the Big East — the Red Storm have been a revelation, picked to finish fifth in the league but instead taking the regular season and tournament crowns — emphatically.
The Red Storm won three tournament games by an average of 17 points after winning the regular-season title by three games.
It was the 72-year-old Pitino’s third Big East title after winning two with Louisville. Pitino is the first coach to lead two Big East schools to tournament titles and, with the automatic NCAA bid locked up, the first to take six schools to the Big Dance, from Boston University in 1982 to St. John’s 43 years later.
The Red Storm head into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six seasons, having lost just once in 20 games since the calendar flipped to 2025.
Creighton (24-10) fell to 0-5 in Big East title games since joining the conference in 2013. Ryan Kalkbrenner had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Bluejays, who will head to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight season.
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(Photo of RJ Luis Jr. shooting in the first half: Robert Deutsch / Imagn Images)
