Fans shared their opinions before, during, and after the unexpected loss to the Providence Friars. Before the game, Johnnies fans around the Garden displayed optimism, but after the game, total shock, expressed in one often-stated conclusion: “It’s depressing.”
First Half
The Johnnies jumped out to a 13-0 lead after 3:45 of play. Zuby Ejiofor led the way with two three-pointers as the Friars left him unguarded from three-point land, and he took advantage.
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On defense, Ejiofor continued to guard Friars all over, including well away from the rim, and Bryce Hopkins was quick to cover up, dropping back towards the Johnnies’ defensive rim to grab rebounds. Ian Jackson scored four points, and Hopkins ended the run with his own three-pointer to increase the Johnnies’ advantage to thirteen. The Johnnies seemed to be “cruising” both offensively and defensively.
Ruben Prey, Dylan Darling, and Dillon Mitchell entered the game, and the Johnnies maintained their double-digit lead due, in particular, to the excellent play of Prey. He hit a driving layup courtesy of a goaltending call against the Friars, then blocked two Providence shots within 30 seconds, resulting in a shot clock turnover.
Despite Prey’s efforts, the Friars were nibbling away at the Red Storm’s lead. Even with Ejiofor and other starters returning, the Johnnies were losing their playmaking ability. Shots by anyone not named Ejiofor were rushed as the team was running weaves 20 feet from the basket, seemingly waiting for an opening to feed Ejiofor under the basket. Sometimes these efforts were successful, but when they weren’t, there didn’t seem to be an offensive contingency plan. With 4:44 to play, the earlier 13-point advantage was gone as Jamier Jones hit a layup, and the Friars led 25 to 24.
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One fan commented that it was a low-scoring game, and a second added that the Johnnies were doing the job defensively and outrebounding the Friars. However, the Friars’ defense had stepped up, and another Red Storm player besides Ejiofor needed to contribute.
Oziyah Sellers hit his first jumper with 4:27 to play in the half, and the Johnnies, with the aid of Lefteris Liotopoulos, Ejiofor, and a Sellers jumper with twenty-two seconds remaining in the half, managed to take a seven-point lead into halftime, 38-31.
Halftime
The confidence before the game was no longer evident. Nervousness took over amongst Red Storm fans despite leading by seven and having grabbed twenty-four rebounds, while Providence grabbed seventeen. The fact that St. John’s had made five three-pointers to one for Providence led fans to say the team should have been ahead by more than seven. Two fans shared their expectation that Sellers would be the Johnny to step up to aid Ejiofor in the second half. He certainly looked hot in pregame warmups.
Second Half
Providence had taken down but four offensive rebounds in the first half. But they came out as a different team in the second half. Jamier Jones took down an offensive rebound and dunked the ball, and the lead was down to three, 38-35, with 18:23 gone in the half. Shortly afterwards, Sanon hit a step-back three to extend the lead to five, 41-36. Would Sanon possibly be the one to step up in the second half as he did in the Georgetown game?
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After Oziyah Sellers picked up his third foul at the 15:49 mark of the half, he was removed. With Sellers gone, it was clear the Johnnies were getting desperate to find another contributor on offense. Meanwhile, Stefan Vaaks was just getting hot, hitting a three-pointer to cut the Johnnie lead to three.
Ejiofor was performing with energy on both the offensive and defensive boards. He was regularly fed by his teammates and, even when he wasn’t hitting his shots, he was drawing fouls and racking up points. His only shortcoming was his free-throw shooting.
Bryce Hopkins, despite the jeers from Providence fans throughout the game, hit two driving layups. With 7:52 to play, the Johnnies led 61-52 (check). Was Hopkins to be the helper to Ejiofor?
However, it would not be Hopkins or Sanon to assist in bringing home a victory. Sellers hit a running ten-footer from the right of the paint for a 68-63 lead with 3:21 to play.
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But the real hero would be the freshman from Estonia. A four-point play by Vaaks cut the Johnnies’ lead to one. Jamier Jones hit two free throws to put the Friars ahead by one.
With 2:22 in the game, Ian Jackson hit two free throws to give the Red Storm the lead, but, once again, Vaaks made another three to put Providence ahead, and the Johnnies were unable to respond. Vaaks sealed the win with a driving layup with 12 seconds to play.
Coach Kim English jumped three feet into the air, fist pumped to the ceiling as the St. John’s players hung their heads heading to the handshake line at the game’s end.
Takeaway #1: Last year’s “refuse to lose” mentality is missing from this team (so far)
Last season, wing Aaron Scott fought tooth and nail for 50/50 balls, and his teammates followed his example. Coach Pitino stated several times last season that “this team refuses to lose”. That goes for not just the game result, but every loose ball and every battle for rebounding position. Who, besides Zuby Ejiofor, will commit through their hard work to join this year’s “refuse to lose” club? If this team wants to end their second-half slumps, they can start in the hustle department.
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Takeaway #2: St. John’s’ offense needs to be more creative in the clutch
When the going gets tough, what alternate play do the Johnnies have to complement the play besides “feed Zuby”? Sellers is a shooter who is exceptional when setting his feet prior to shooting. So is Liotopoulos. Run some plays for them from the corners. Either feed into and then kick out from the high post, or, although harder to perfect, kick out from driving guards after they draw defenders’ double team on drives to the basket.
Takeaway #3: The Red Storm struggled with court vision
Too many times, over-aggressive play can restrict court vision. The Red Storm seemed uncertain as to the action to take in the front court, as they had few fast-break opportunities. With the exception of the first three minutes of the game, Providence’s defensive plan was working. Red Storm guards were able to feed Ejiofor under the basket at times, and Ejiofor had to aggressively fight for these passes. When there was no opening for a drive to the basket or a feed to Ejiofor, the Johnnies had teammates open, but struggled to find them. This led to passes that resulted in turnovers, even, at times, directly to a receptive Friar player.
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These are problems not easy to erase, particularly when the team does not have an established first-string point guard to direct traffic. The Johnnies clearly miss the leadership of Kadary Richmond, who led the team during the 2024-25 season.
Outlook
How committed this Red Storm team is to playing with a refuse-to-lose mindset will ultimately determine whether this St. John’s team can turn it around. That message wasn’t received after late-game meltdowns against Auburn and Kentucky, but could this team take it to heart after Saturday’s debacle and finally change for good when there is still plenty of time left to do so?
