It was fitting that the Big East clincher would come here, at Prudential Center.
Before Rick Pitino’s arrival, this building was a house of horrors for St. John’s, like so many Big East arenas.
But Pitino has changed so much in just three years, and Friday night, for the second consecutive year, St. John’s won in Newark.
This time, a 72-65 victory clinched the program’s second straight Big East regular season crown.
That last happened in 1985-86.
Of course, it was Zuby Ejiofor leading the way despite foul trouble, scoring eight of his team-high 21 points in the final 6:25.
His two clutch free throws with 27.3 seconds to go pushed the lead to five, and his feed to Dillon Mitchell for a layup on the following possession iced the game.
The likely Big East Player of the Year making player of the year plays.
Oziyah Sellers keyed a game-clinching 12-2 run with clutch 3-pointers, Ejiofor scored on consecutive drives and St. John’s shut down Seton Hall when it had to.
Sellers and Bryce Hopkins each scored 11 points, Dylan Darling was terrific on the ball dealing with the Seton Hall pressure with nine points and five assists, and Mitchell added six points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Adam “Budd” Clark had 15 points for Seton Hall, which now has to win the Big East Tournament to reach the NCAA Tournament.
St. John’s (25-6, 18-2) will be the No. 1 seed in next week’s Big East Tournament. The Red Storm will open up play on Thursday at noon at the Garden.
