Roger Rubin: St. John's Zuby Ejiofor has triple-double in 32-point win over Villanova
St. John's Zuby Ejiofor reacts after scoring a three-point basket against Villanova in the first half of Big East men’s basketball game at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
It was a perfect night for the perfect pairing: St. John’s coach Rick Pitino and star Zuby Ejiofor.
Pitino and the 15th-ranked Red Storm turned the page on their worst performance of the season — the 32-point loss to No. 6 Connecticut last Wednesday — by demolishing Villanova, 89-57, on Saturday night before a rollicking sellout crowd of 19,812 at the Garden. And in a game in which many Red Storm players shined, none burned brighter than Ejiofor.
He delivered the program’s fifth triple-double in four decades with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to keep St. John’s hope of repeating as the Big East regular-season champion on trajectory. Mark Jackson had a triple-double in 1985-86, followed by David Cain in 1992-93, Ron Artest in 1998-99 and Kadary Richmond last season.
Perhaps no one knows what it’s like to be part of a Pitino-coached program better than Villanova coach Kevin Willard, who served as his assistant for a decade, with the Celtics in the NBA and then at Louisville. He recounted how losses like the one the Red Storm suffered to UConn incensed the ultra-competitive Pitino and made everyone “fear for your life.”
Of Pitino’s coaching, he added, “He’s got 900 wins and national championships because he does it better and is more intense than anybody. And I think he has the perfect player in Zuby. Zuby and him really match so well together. I think that’s why they’ve been so successful.”
Pitino values work ethic and a high motor, and Ejiofor delivers both. Pitino detests losing and Ejiofor, in his three Red Storm seasons, has adopted that. Pitino seeks to develop raw talent like Ejiofor’s, and the 6-9 senior center has gone from a solid interior defender as a sophomore to the odds-on favorite to be Big East Player of the Year.
“When you put that St John’s uniform on . . . you’re coming to get better, you’re coming to bring it every single day because the coaching says ‘bring it every single day,’ and that’s Zuby,” Pitino said. “It’s a great match because he brings it every single day. That’s what the great ones do.
“I get on Zuby as much as [anyone],” he added. “I give him a lot of love because he knows I love him . . . I know I can count on him every single day.”
“He gets on my butt as much as he would get on [anyone] . . . and that’s how [we] created a special bond,” Ejiofor said. “I’ve been able to experience a [Big East] regular-season title and tournament title under him, and that’s something we’re chasing again. And we’re looking forward to the [NCAA] Tournament and going further as well. He’s the head of the ship, teaching us the ways of being a championship-level program.
“You see what this game means to him, and it’s not just the basketball,” Ejiofor added. “I literally grew up here the past three years. I remember coming in nervous with Coach Pitino and St. John’s and trying to perform . . . I still make mistakes, but I am able to play through it [now], and that starts with him.”
St. John’s (23-6, 16-2) was all over Villanova (22-7, 13-5) right out of the gate. Dylan Darling got his first start at point guard since Dec. 6 and set the tone early with five points and a pair of assists that led to five more points as the Red Storm went up 11-2. They added a 17-3 run that included seven points and three steals by Ian Jackson (19 points, five rebounds, five steals), and a 16-1 run with nine points from Ejiofor made it 48-18 with 1:15 left in the half. Villanova never got closer than 17 after that.
Said Willard: “Life happens. You get your [expletive] kicked every once in a while.”
St. John’s remained a half-game behind UConn (27-3, 17-2) and has a tiebreaker advantage over the Huskies.
Said Pitino: “Sometimes when you lose, you know, it’s ‘the world’s coming to an end,’ and no, it’s not. You saw what great players do when they have a bad loss. They come, they bring it, and now they have a great win. In my eyes, pure class. No hanging their heads. Let’s get to work. That game’s over.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
