NEW YORK — Among the things St. John’s focused on in its renaissance during coach Rick Pitino’s second season was winning a Big East tournament championship.
Creighton made it a goal to win an elusive Big East championship in leader Ryan Kalkbrenner’s final season, even as injuries and other factors forced some adjustments.
The two dreams collide Saturday as top-seeded St. John’s attempts to win the conference tournament for the first time since 2000, while second-seeded Creighton is seeking its first title in five tries since joining the conference in the 2013-14 season.
The Red Storm (29-4) were picked fifth in the preseason poll by Big East coaches but won 10 straight from Jan. 4-Feb. 7 on the way to their first outright regular-season title since 1985 and the No. 6 ranking in the nation.
On Friday, the Red Storm erased an early 15-point deficit and pulled away in the second half for a 79-63 victory over No. 25 Marquette, the fifth seed, thanks to a powerful showing from Zuby Ejiofor.
A backup to Joel Soriano last season, Ejiofor scored 23 of his career-high 33 points in the second half and was 11-for-15 shooting on the night. It was the most points in school history in a conference tournament game and the most in the semifinals since Kemba Walker scored 33 in 2011 for UConn.
“It’s been crazy,” said Ejiofor, the Big East’s Most Improved Player this season. “It’s been a crazy ride. Last year didn’t go as planned. We want to be in these moments. We want to go into the NCAA Tournament. This year we’re putting ourselves in a great position to do that.”
The Red Storm held Marquette to 39 percent from the field and forced 17 turnovers.
“This was a brilliant night for us, and now we’re in the championship game,” Pitino said.
Creighton (24-9), which lost Pop Issacs to season-ending hip injury in early December, advanced as it gave Kalkbrenner had plenty of help in a 71-62 victory over third-seeded UConn on Friday. Kalkbrenner was held to 12 but Jasen Green was 8-for-10 shooting and scored a career-high 19.
“We’ve had a lot of adversity this year,” Bluejays coach Greg McDermott said. “I’ve heard coaches talk all year long. that we lost because we didn’t have this player or that player. We lost our second leading scorer eight games in, and here we are in the Big East championship game and finished second in the league.”
Jamiya Neal (19 points) helped to key an offense that shot 52 percent, including 75 percent in the first half as it took a 46-35 lead.
The teams split their meetings in the regular season. Creighton earned a 57-56 home win on Dec. 31 when Steven Ashworth scored 18 . St. John’s recorded a 79-73 home win on Feb. 16 when Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis and Ejiofor combined for 41 points and Kalkbrenner tweaked his right foot in the second half and finished with 12.
“They just come at you in waves, and they wear into you with their tenacity and their physical nature of their play,” McDermott said of St. John’s.
–Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media
