NEW YORK – In front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden, St. John’s picked up a marquee win over UConn. The Johnnies broke a 45-45 tie with a 10-0 run, and never gave up the lead from there, taking home an 81-72 victory.

In a game with more storylines than perhaps any other in the sport all year, here are some numbers and trends that jump out and what they might mean.

90/10

When UConn plays at the Garden, it owns the crowd. From the Metro North train, to Legend's on 33rd Street, to the World's Most Famous Arena, it's usually a sea of blue and white. Even when the Huskies face St. John's, the UConn fans pack the building.

I spoke with UConn fans at Legend's during the Homefield House event hosted by Homefield Apparel, many of whom took the day off of work and drove or took the train down from Connecticut. If you went around the bar and asked them where they came from, you'd hear almost every different town in the state.

And yet, when the teams entered the floor, it was clear who had the edge. It was all red, all night. Rick Pitino said that it felt like a 90/10 crowd split, and while that may be exaggerating a little, the Johnnies faithful showed up, got drunk, and got loud.

A truly magical night at Madison Square Garden, one that St. John's fans should never forget. Because they earned it.

25.3

Zuby Ejiofor has evolved from an energetic bench big that brings high effort into one of the best and most well-rounded players in the sport under Pitino's watch. One of the first commits to Pitino at St. John's, Ejiofor sat behind Joel Soriano in 2023-24 as a transfer from Kansas. Then, he was a star last season on the Big East title team. Now, he's a true superstar.

His 25.3% assist rate in Big East play ranks 8th in the conference, and he put up seven assists for the Johnnies against UConn. His growth as a playmaker, along with Dillon Mitchell's growth in that area, has allowed St. John's to get away with not playing a true point guard all the time in Big East play.

But that's not to mention that Ejiofor also put up 21 points and 10 rebounds with three blocks. He's one of the most dominant big men in the country, completely emasculating UConn's bigs and seizing control of the game.

26.8

The observed efficiency margin on EvanMiya.com for St. John's when playing Ejiofor, Dillon Mitchell, and Bryce Hopkins together. It's one of their most efficient three-man combinations, and even though it's not a great lineup for spacing, it forces so many mismatches that it's actually one of their best offensive lineups.

"They're grown-ass men," Dan Hurley said of St. John's postgame.

The three of them played 35, 34, and 31 minutes respectively on Friday night, scoring 50 of St. John's 81 points, the only three Johnnies in double figures. Mitchell played just 13 minutes against Providence in the first game of January, but has played 28+ in all but one since then, starting all nine on St. John's winning streak.

His dynamic cutting makes him a target on drives and his defensive versatility allowed him to match up with plenty of different Husky offensive players. You want him to guard Silas Demary? He can handle it. Braylon Mullins? He's got that too. Tarris Reed? He'll make something happen.

1-6

That's what UConn shot from the foul line in the second half. The Huskies had opportunities to claw back into this game after falling behind by 11 points, but could never quite make it all the way because of free throw shooting.

Demary was terrific, but had nine turnovers and three missed three throws. For everything that he did to take over the game from a scoring perspective, he had to work incredibly hard for all of his looks. Meanwhile, after Braylon Mullins started off the game hot with 8 points in the first part of the game, he wsa held to just three points the rest of the way.

28

The total number of bench minutes for UConn. Tarris Reed went into foul trouble late in the first half, and Eric Reibe came in, quickly picking up two fouls of his own. That was the last we saw of him until just before the under-four timeout, when Reed picked up his fourth foul, and Hurley decided to sit him down. Reibe fouled 94 feet from his basket, giving St. John's free throws.

Malachi Smith played just four minutes, Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross didn't come on the floor much either because the Huskies were chasing St. John's and needed offense in the second half. However, some of UConn's best lineups this year have featured their bench players, especially those wings. Mullins, Ball, and Karaban are all extremely talented offensive players, but to have zero free throw attempts and just one offensive rebound from the three of them combined shows the need for UConn to have a little more physicality in this game.

I understand why Hurley didn't go away from the starters in the flow of the game, but this shows what types of game scripts the Huskies might struggle with.

19,812

The Madison Square Garden attendance – a complete sellout – on Friday night. One of the best atmospheres for a game that I've ever been part of, and I've been to over 300 games over the last four seasons.

Every session of the Big East Tournament will sell out as well. The most electric conference tournament in the country in the most electric arena in the country.

5

Rick Pitino now has wins over AP Top 10 teams at five different programs. He's the second coach in the AP Poll era to do that, joining Lon Kruger.

5 a.m.

The curfew Rick Pitino (probably jokingly) gave to Ejiofor and Mitchell as they left the postgame press conference.