St. Johns demolishes Seton Hall as Kadary Richmond thrives against old team
Rick Pitino was right.The extra spotlight Saturday didn’t bother Kadary Richmond, even as Seton Hall fans inside Prudential Center booed him every time he touched the ball against his former team.
Signs from the Pirates student section taunted Richmond.They tempted the stoic guard and dared him to lose his composure with a hostile backdrop that inevitably followed his decision to bolt to the Johnnies from the Pirates.By the time the second half arrived, though, the boos had mostly faded.
Richmond still dribbled the ball, still scored, still did everything required to finish with a stat line of 12 points, six assists and five rebounds.The jeers returned when Seton Hall made a brief run, but at that point, St.John’s had already constructed a lead that topped 20.
The Johnnies were already in position to cruise to a fifth consecutive win — and an 11th across their past 12 games — with their dominant 79-51 victory and move into sole possession of first place in the Big East after Xavier upset No.7 Marquette earlier Saturday.RJ Luis led St.
John’s with 24 points and eight rebounds.Zuby Ejiofor finished with 15 points and nine rebounds despite early foul trouble keeping him on the bench for a chunk of the first half.So on a night bookmarked well ahead of time as Richmond’s return to face his former team, St.
John’s turned the showdown into an all-around clinic.The Johnnies have strung together some of their best basketball of the season since the calendar flipped to 2025.
They even got point guard and engine Deivon Smith back — albeit with mixed results — after he missed Tuesday’s game with a bruised right shoulder.Everything has started to click at the right time for St.John’s, and its climb up the conference standings finally reached the top.
A top 25 ranking could follow Monday.It didn’t take long for the Johnnies to take control Saturday, with Seton Hall starting 1-for-21 and finishing the first half just 13.3 percent from the field.Rich...