The classy Alexander returned home and found out how much things had changed.
St. John's has new players, a new coach, and a team that bears little resemblance to its previous team.
Alexander, a third-year starting point guard at St. John's who transferred to Butler due to a coaching change, received a warm welcome from Red Storm fans.
Johnny's players weren't that kind.
St. John's shut down Alexander and overwhelmed Butler after halftime as it continues to show improvement under coach Rick Pitino. On Tuesday night, it was Danis Jenkins, not Alexander, who was the best point guard on the floor, leading the Johnnys to an 86-70 victory inside Carnesecca Arena.
St. John's (10-4, 2-1) had six players score in double figures, led by Jenkins, who had 17 points, seven assists and five rebounds while holding Butler to 32.3 percent shooting in the second half. did. Joel Soriano (12 rebounds) and RJ Lewis each had 14 points, and freshman Brady Dunlap had a season-high 13 points.
Chris Ledlum, questionable with a sprained ankle, not only played, but had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds as St. John's won the Battle of the Glass by 11 points and outscored Butler in second-chance points by 16.
Alexander scored all 11 of his points in the first half, going 5-of-12 from the field and committing three turnovers. DJ Davis led Butler (10-4, 1-2) with 25 points.
The Bulldogs' leading scorers, Pierre Brooks and Jamil Telford, were held to a combined 20 points on 5-of-20 shooting.
The first 20 minutes were interesting with Johnny mostly in control.
They led by up to eight people and never trailed.
The big surprise was Dunlap, who entered the game with 18 points on the season, scoring 10 in the first half. He looked more confident than he had all season, reacting instead of overthinking.
Jenkins also had a strong first half with 10 points, 4 assists, and no turnovers, while Soriano had 8 points and 7 rebounds.
He put an exclamation point on the first half with a spinning move along the baseline and an emphatic dunk that sent St. John's to a breakup seven.
During his pregame introductions, Alexander received warm applause. After that, he performed well in the first half, scoring 11 points.
Late in the second half, St. John's fans began booing Alexander and Soriano refused to take a shot.
He often talked to Johnny's bench.
Butler came out of the locker room hot from deep at the start of the second half and quickly pulled within three points.
As in the first half, St. John's responded every time the Bulldogs got close, pushing the lead to a game-high 10 points on Jenkins' coast-to-coast driving layup.
Dunlap's 3-pointer cut the lead to 12 points, but then St. John's started shooting itself in the foot.
Butler cut the deficit in half with turnovers on three consecutive possessions, and Pitino called a timeout with 12 minutes, 48 seconds left.
Butler had several chances to close in, but couldn't convert.
Lewis, on the other hand, took advantage of the opportunity to take over. He scored on a spinning left-handed finger roll, then came up with a steal and scored again in transition.
By the next media timeout, St. John's was firmly in control with a 13-point lead and the result was no longer in doubt.
