Overview
 
No. 15 St. John's used an 18-0 edge in points off turnovers in the opening half to score 48 points on its way to an 89-57 victory Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. The Red Storm rebounded from a 72-40 loss at No. 6 Connecticut on Wednesday night.
 
"No matter what," said Villanova head coach Kevin Willard, "we knew this was going to be a tough game. I worked for (St. John's coach Rick Pitino) for 10 years so I kind of imagined what practice was like the last few days for them.
 
"I think the biggest difference is that they're a veteran team. You knew Zuby (Ejiofor) wasn't going to come out and lay an egg. He was phenomenal."
 
Ejiofor ended the night with a triple-double: 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
 
Villanova forward Matt Hodge went down with a leg injury early in the second half and did not return. There was no update on him following the game.
 
Storm Surge
 
A Bryce Lindsay shot gave the Wildcats the first points of the contest, but St. John's scored the next 11 points, including five from guard Dylan Darling to craft an 11-2 edge. Devin Askew was credited with two points on a Red Storm goaltending call to shave the margin to 11-4 at the first official timeout of the night.
 
Deep balls from Acaden Lewis and Askew helped pull Villanova to within 15-11. But the Red Storm scored the next four points to take a 19-11 edge into the second official timeout with 12:26 on the first half clock. St. John's connected on 8-of-12 from the field over those first seven plus minutes.
 
A deep ball from Hodge closed the deficit to 21-14 but the hot shooting of the Red Storm continued with another corner 3-pointer. St. John's then forced a steal that led to Lewis' second foul, ruled a flagrant one. Two more steals by the Red Storm led to four more points and 30-14 lead with 8:51 to play in the period.
 
Transition Points
 
Villanova has often enjoyed an edge in the points off turnovers over the course of the last three months. In Wednesday night's win over Butler, it outscored the Bulldogs 22-11 in that department.
 
Over the first 12:09, it was a different story. St. John's owned a 16-0 edge in that category, helping to fuel an offense that converted 12-of-18 field goal attempts to stretch the lead to 32-14.
 
Villanova, meanwhile, was hard-pressed to generate points against the physical brand of pressure the Red Storm delivered. The Wildcats were 5-of-15 from the field in that span.
 
The Wildcats tied a season-low with 23 first half points. St. John's took a 48-23 lead into the locker room at the break. Villanova was 7-of-27 from the field (.259) in the half while the Red Storm owned a 23-14 edge on the glass and a 22-6 margin on points in the paint.
 
Askew's eight points paced the Wildcats in the half.
 
Second Act
 
The Wildcats were able to ride the work of Duke Brennan and Askew to make some headway. A 7-0 spurt helped narrow the gap to 60-41.
 
But the most troubling development of the half came early in the session. Hodge went to the floor in front of the Wildcats' bench and had to be helped from the court. The red-shirt freshman went to the locker room and did not return.
 
Following the game Willard said he did not have an update on Hodge.
 
A 9-0 surge by the Red Storm midway through the period pushed the lead up to 67-41.
 
The Wildcats battled but it was an uphill struggle the rest of the way as the Red Storm rode the energy of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden.
 
"The big thing was that they made shots early," Willard stated.
 
Up Next
 
The Wildcats are scheduled to fly to Chicago on Tuesday for a Wednesday night battle at DePaul (8:00 p.m.). They will then close out the regular season next Saturday at Finneran Pavilion against Xavier (noon). Prior to the game Villanova will honor Askew, Brennan, and Wade Chiddick as it celebrates "Senior Day."