Zuby Ejiofor’s triple-double helps St. John’s blow out Villanov

Rick Pitino did not minimize the situation.

Before Saturday night’s crucial game against Villanova, Pitino said it was the “most important game” of his three years at St. John’s.

That’s because three days earlier, St. John’s suffered a 32-point loss to UConn that put its chances at the Big East title in jeopardy.

Pitino knew St. John’s needed a strong response. And boy, did the Red Storm deliver on its promises.

No. 15 St. John’s bounced back with a dominating 89-57 victory over Villanova at Madison Square Garden to keep pace with the Big East race.

Zuby Ejiofor recorded his first-ever triple-double, with 16 points, 12 rebounds, a career-high 10 assists and three blocks.

It was an emphatic return to form for Ejiofor, who managed just six points on 2-of-5 shooting and four rebounds in Wednesday’s 72-40 loss to UConn in Hartford.

“Championship teams are responding positively,” Ejiofor said. “And I think that’s exactly what we did tonight.”

After missing its last 24 shots in Wednesday’s loss, St. John’s (23-6; 16-2 conference) made 14 of its first 22 shots Saturday.

Ian Jackson scored a career-high 19 points with a career-high five assists, fueling a St. John’s defense that forced 16 turnovers.

St. John’s is still a half-game behind No. 6 UConn for first place in the Big East but, more importantly, remains tied with the Huskies in the loss column. UConn improved to 17-2 in conference play Saturday with a 71-67 victory over Seton Hall.

“You want to see how a team reacts after a terrible game,” Pitino said.

“It’s a game whether you lose by 30 or one. I know the media doesn’t believe it, but it really doesn’t make any difference. It’s a loss. It’s a bad loss because of the way you played, and it’s a bad loss because you were alone in first place. So now we just have to keep winning and try to share a title with Connecticut.”

The win completes a regular-season sweep of Villanova (22-7; 13-5) and ensures St. John’s will be no lower than the No. 2 seed in the Big East tournament.

Pitino gave a sold-out crowd of 19,812 a shock when he emerged from the Tunnel Garden in a new custom white suit he had made for Saturday night’s “White Out” game.

After Wednesday’s lopsided loss, Pitino considered wearing something more traditional, believing that a white suit should be “a celebratory thing, and right now I’m not in the mood to celebrate.”

But Pitino’s commitment to this garish outfit signaled that St. John’s wouldn’t panic after UConn’s rout.

His players matched that energy, starting the game on an 11-2 run, in which point guard Dylan Darling — making his first start since Dec. 6 — scored or assisted on each of the Red Storm’s first four baskets.

Jackson then gave the Johnnies a boost coming off the bench with a team-high 11 points in the first half, including a windmill dunk after a steal that put St. John’s up 28-14.

Ejiofor got going later in the half, at one point hitting a 3-pointer and completing an alley-oop dunk — both thanks to assists from Oziyah Sellers — on consecutive possessions.

St. John’s shot 19 of 33 (57.6%) in the first half and took a 48-23 lead into the break.

“Whatever happens, it’s going to be a tough game,” said Villanova head coach Kevin Willard, who was an assistant under Pitino with the Boston Celtics and at Louisville.

“But I worked for him for 10 years, so I imagine what training was like the last two days. [after the UConn loss]. And I think the biggest difference is that this is a veteran team, so you knew Zuby wasn’t going to go out and lay an egg. And he didn’t.

Ejiofor collected his last two assists at the end of the second half, first on a jumper from Sadiku Ibine Ayo, then another from Joson Sanon.

When Sanon’s shot crossed the net with 3:12 remaining, a raucous crowd cheered warmly for Ejiofor.

It was the second triple-double by a St. John’s player in the last 25 years, the other coming from Kadary Richmond last season.

“The last two possessions I was just playing in the offensive flow,” Ejiofor said. “Me at the top of the key, just crushing it. I have great teammates who can shoot the ball really well. … It was a really special moment.”

St. John’s has two games remaining: Tuesday night against Georgetown (13-16; 5-13) at the Garden, and Friday night against Seton Hall (19-10; 9-9) in Newark.

UConn has just one game left, with a road meeting with Marquette (10-18; 5-12) scheduled for Saturday.

All of this sets up a very big week to decide the Big East.

“I felt really bad about [UConn loss]but they felt just as bad,” Pitino said of his players. “And when the players match my disappointment, that’s a good sign.”