INDIANAPOLIS — Burn your obituaries.
St. John’s Hospital, left for dead just 10 days ago, is very much alive.
That’s what a team can do with two consecutive double-digit wins in Quad 1.
Three days after surprising No. 13 Creighton at the Garden, Rick Pitono’s Johnnys defeated Butler 82-59 at Hinkle Fieldhouse, winning for the third time in 11 tries at the historic building.
St. John’s University lost eight of 10 games, but has now won three straight and is on its way back to the NCAA Tournament.
Pitino’s team seemed to have resolved its second-half issues.
It prevailed Wednesday, turning a close game into a rout.
Perhaps most impressively, star point guard Danis Jenkins shot on an off night, but it didn’t matter. St. John’s was balanced and efficient.
Seven players scored at least seven points, led by Glen Taylor with 17 points and RJ Lewis with 15 points.
Jenkins had eight points and nine assists, and Joel Soriano had seven points and 13 rebounds.
But on the other end of the floor, St. John’s (17-12, 9-9) is experiencing its biggest upset in a while.
They shut down Creighton’s explosive offense and held Butler to 26 points in the second half while forcing 15 turnovers.
St. John’s had an advantage in second-chance points (17-4) and bench scoring (31-12) and was on its own for much of the second half.
With six minutes left, the building began to empty and they led until the 22nd minute.
With seconds remaining, coach Rick Pitino applauded and thanked the St. John’s fans behind the bench.
Dingle was out for just three minutes in foul trouble and Jenkins missed six of seven shots, but St. John’s still controlled the first 20 minutes.
Taylor (eight points) and Zuby Ejiofor (seven points) made surprising offensive contributions.
