St. John's Advances to Big East Final

0:00On March 14, St. John's grabbed a spot in the Big East Tournament Championship game for the second year in a row after beating Seton Hall. 78-68 in the semi-finals. Zubi-Ecchio IV led with 20 points, while Joseon Santon came off the bench for 15. The 13th ranked Red Storm, now 27-6, improved to 10-1 as the top seed. This puts the defending champs one win away from repeating as tournament winners, something they've never done despite owning the regular season. A. Past two years. Under Coach Rick Patino, they've reached a semi as in all three of his seasons here, a big turnaround for missing them entirely from 2001 to 2023. Seton Hall fought hard, but couldn't overcome the deficit, with Bud Clark topping them at 17 points. The pirates made a late push, closing the gap to 6, but St. John's held fire from the free-throw line. It's the sixth straight win for the Red Storm in this Hudson River rivalry. The Johnny's jumped out strong, starting both halves with big runs,

1:03including 11 straight to open the second and build a 19-point lead. Santon heated up early with three threes before the break, helping them lead 38-30 at halftime. Next up, Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, St. John spaces the winner of Georgetown and second-seated Yukon. They split the regular season series with Yukon and swept Georgetown, setting up an intriguing final.