00:00Good day for the St. John's Red Storm in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament.
00:0485-72 victory over the Providence Friars.
00:07Dexter Henry, Zach Braziller here in Zach.
00:10Dominant win for St. John's.
00:12This game was never really in doubt at all whatsoever.
00:16What did you like about what the Red Storm did today in their first game of the Big East Tournament?
00:20Yeah, look, they came out right away and made it clear Providence was not pulling an upset.
00:24It's 20-5 out of the gate.
00:26They led by 21 in the first half.
00:28It was really only about a brief spot in the second half where Providence hit a few threes,
00:33made a run, got within 11, but they quickly extinguished that.
00:36I mean, it was round three.
00:38We all know the last time there was a fight and all that.
00:41Look, St. John's kicked their ass all over the court.
00:44Yeah.
00:45I mean, look, 51-30 on the glass, 24 points of transition.
00:49They beat them up.
00:51It was a really impressive opener considering.
00:55Providence had kind of outplayed St. John's in the two meetings this year.
00:57So St. John's was kind of like a, you know, reminder you're not on our level.
01:01Yeah.
01:01Oh, they definitely reminded them.
01:03And after the game, Rick Pitino talked about what he thought about his team's performance
01:07in the Big East quarterfinals.
01:09Well, we played awesome defense tonight, especially the first half was as good as we played over the year.
01:15And when you go in at halftime with that lead and the assist total are 10-2, three-point shots,
01:21which doesn't normally happen.
01:23We go 0-5 against just an awesome shooting team.
01:26We got 15 points.
01:27They got zero.
01:29And rebounding-wise, we were 26 and 13.
01:32Fast breaks, we were 10 for 12.
01:34So first half was brilliant on offense, brilliant on defense.
01:38And second half, it's tough to play with a lead against a good shooting team,
01:42but they made some threes that were amazing.
01:45It's very difficult for our players here because the rules have changed so much.
01:48Forget the poor one.
01:50Right now, on every basket, the offensive player just buries himself into the defensive player.
01:56And it's always a foul.
01:57But before it was 50-50.
02:00Now it's 90-10.
02:04The verticality has got to be you've got to leave your feet.
02:06So that's where we've got to learn to do that.
02:09Because they fake, they fake, they fake, and they barrel into you.
02:12You've got to leave your feet and go vertical instead of into the man.
02:15Outside of that, we played a great game.
02:16One player who was really impressive today was Brian Hopkins.
02:19We talked about the plus 21 on the boards.
02:22He had a double-double today, 14 points, 13 rebounds.
02:25His development has been so key with what he does just offensively and then also on the class.
02:30What did you like and what you saw from him today?
02:32He didn't let the Providence fans get in his head.
02:36He played his game.
02:37He hadn't played great in those first two games against Providence.
02:40He let the game come to him.
02:42Didn't force shots.
02:43He was very official offensively, 6-10 for the field, which has kind of been an issue of late.
02:48To me, Bryce Hopkins was the biggest positive of the game.
02:51You can talk about the rebound of the defense.
02:54St. John's needs this Bryce Hopkins on offense as they face better teams.
02:58He gets no shot.
03:00I thought Bryce played really well.
03:02One of his best performances of the season, and they need that from him.
03:05Okay, and he liked that it came against his former team, and after the game, he was asked
03:09about playing against his former team for the third time this season.
03:12I'll try not to make it out about me.
03:13I know there was a tension coming into the game, me playing my former team.
03:18But, you know, the biggest thing was just playing through my teammates, you know, not doing
03:22too much, and, you know, coming out with the win.
03:24This is the best time to play basketball in March.
03:27Our goal is to win a Big East tournament championship, and Providence just so happened
03:32to be our first matchup.
03:33So, you know, the biggest thing was just coming out today with the win.
03:36All right, Zach, another player we got to talk about is Oziah Sellers.
03:40We've talked all season long about how the guards have to step up.
03:43He stepped up against Providence, and you've got to like the way he's developing, too,
03:47right now.
03:47Yeah, look, second half against Seton Hall, the clincher, who was really good making threes
03:51today, 14 points, efficient offensively.
03:54Patino talked about doesn't make mistakes.
03:56He's where you want to be on defense.
03:57He doesn't turn it over.
03:58He could, you know, be that consistent threat from three going into the NCAA tournament.
04:02That would be huge for this team.
04:04Yeah, and Patino talked about the growth of Oziah Sellers and some of what we saw from him
04:08today.
04:09Bryce was tremendous.
04:12And Oziah's, when you watch Oziah play, he really doesn't make too many mistakes.
04:17He's steady, knows how to cut, knows how to play.
04:19So, he's a terrific basketball player.
04:22If you look at it out there and you say, what did Oziah do?
04:25He did everything right, nothing wrong.
04:27His defense is getting much better in the beginning of the year, and I'm proud of both
04:32of these guys.
04:33They had really a good game.
04:35Okay, so what's next for St. John's?
04:37That is another matchup with Seton Hall.
04:39The two teams just played each other last Friday.
04:43Now they'll see each other in the semifinals.
04:45We know Shaheen Holloway's team is going to play hard, Zach.
04:48We know that for sure.
04:50They're going to want some revenge here.
04:52What are you expecting in this matchup?
04:53What are the keys for St. John's to get a victory here on Friday night?
04:57Look, what could you ask for?
04:58The two local rivals spotting the Big East Tournament title game on the line.
05:03Look, Seton Hall played a tough place.
05:05You're right.
05:05They're going to, Seton Hall's going to do what they do.
05:07They're going to defend.
05:08They're going to try to get to the rim.
05:10They're going to hit the glass.
05:12St. John's made shots like they did in that second half.
05:16They should be fine.
05:17We all know Seton Hall's offensively challenged.
05:20It's going to be a fun night.
05:22Look, I mean, Seton Hall needs this game.
05:25They need to win the Big East Tournament to make the NCAAs.
05:27St. John's wants the Big East Tournament to try to get a four seed.
05:30It's a ton on the line.
05:33Local bragging rights as well.
05:35Oh, yeah.
05:35It should be a fun one.
05:37It's going to be fun.
05:37It's going to be fun for us to watch.
05:39I'm sure the people in the stands, they're going to be having fun.
05:41That's for sure, for those local bragging rights.
05:43St. John's, Seton Hall, going down Friday night to semifinals here at Mansfield Garden.
05:47Zach Braziller will be there.
05:49I'll be here, too.
05:50We're signing off from the Garden.
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