St. John’s shuts down No. 3 Villanova in upset

NEW YORK (AP) — Freshman guard Posh Alexander and his pumped-up teammates doused Mike Anderson with water after their biggest win yet under the second-year St. John’s coach.

Just outside Carnesecca Arena, students cheered so loudly from their dorms that jubilant players could hear them in the locker room.

It was that kind of night for the suddenly surging Red Storm.

“I let them see another side of me,” a smiling Anderson said.

Alexander scored 16 points and St. John’s smothered No. 3 Villanova, upsetting the ice-cold Wildcats 70-59 on Wednesday to halt their nine-game winning streak.

Julian Champagnie had 14 points — all in the second half — and a career-high 13 rebounds for the rising Red Storm (12-7, 6-6 Big East), who have won five straight games and six of seven.

This one, Champagnie said, showed they are “a legit team.”

And now, maybe one with a legit shot at an NCAA Tournament push.

Flashing quick and active hands all over the court, St. John’s turned up its pressure defense and hounded the experienced Wildcats (11-2, 6-1) into 17 turnovers and 32% shooting in an ugly performance.

“I thought our defense was the catalyst,” Anderson said. “It was the Johnnies’ night.”

Villanova was held 12 points below its previous season low for its first loss since Nov. 28 to Virginia Tech in overtime. The Wildcats went nearly four weeks between games because of coronavirus issues before returning with a Jan. 19 win over Seton Hall.

“I think the press was what we expected. I think our response was what I didn’t expect,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “They really took us out of what we wanted to do.”

St. John’s has been a surprising thorn in Villanova’s side recently, with wins over a top-ranked Wildcats team in February 2018 and against the defending national champions in 2019.

The latest victory gave St. John’s its first four-game Big East winning streak since the 2014-15 NCAA Tournament team. Three of the wins have come on the road, too.

Alexander, who plays with a relentless frenzy and leads the Big East in steals, added six assists, four rebounds and three thefts.

“He had a phenomenal night,” Anderson said. “He plays all out, both ends of the floor.”

Alexander dominated his critical matchup with senior star Collin Gillespie, who was 0 for 8 from 3-point range and committed six turnovers in a forgettable four-point performance.

With a little under seven minutes left, Alexander stripped Gillespie at midcourt and coasted in for an uncontested dunk that gave St. John’s its largest lead at 58-41.

Gillespie entered with 12 turnovers all season while playing 35 minutes per game and averaging 15.5 points. The Wildcats came in averaging only 8.3 turnovers, best in the country.

St. John’s, third in the nation at 9.9 steals per game, finished with eight and also blocked seven shots to help produce an 18-8 edge in fast-break points.

It felt like more.

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had 14 points and 17 rebounds for Villanova. Caleb Daniels scored 16.

“They’re a really good team. I don’t think their record does them justice,” Robinson-Earl said. “They play really hard. ... They were a really tough team defensively.”

Villanova scored the first seven points of the game, but St. John’s opened the second half with a 15-4 blitz to build a 14-point lead with 13:30 remaining.