Pitino Makes Big East History For St. John’s
Photo: Andrew Rosario – NY Beacon
Madison Square Garden
By Robert Rizzo
When you win in New York, you win big.
St. John’s Men’s Basketball did just this last Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, like the program accomplished a year ago in the same building.
But this? This was different.
Saturday’s 2026 Big East Conference Tournament Championship had it all with No. 2 UConn, winning back-to-back national titles in 2023 and 2024 vs. No. 1 St. John’s, the defending Big East Tournament champions and back-to-back regular season champs, going at it.
For all the marbles between Dan Hurley and Rick Pitino.
As St. John’s got the best of UConn throughout the championship matchup, 72-52, with a sold out crowd of 19,812, the Red Storm, successfully defending its tournament title, once again made history, soaking in championship glory.
“This second time coming around, it was more so not even about me, it was more so about the new guys that came in,” said Zuby Ejiofor, with 18 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks in Saturday’s win—earning the Dave Gavitt Award as the tournament’s most outstanding player.
“I wanted to win for them. I wanted them to feel the thrill of winning a championship here in MSG. And we accomplished that goal.”
Editor’s Note: Robert Rizzo is a guest correspondent for the New York Beacon. Mr. Rizzo is a journalist and editor for Latino Sports. You can see all of his articles on: www.latinosports.com.
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