CHICAGO — It’s go time.
There are no more games standing in the way. Friday night, it will be No. 3 Connecticut and No. 22 St. John’s at the Garden in prime time.
The two teams will enter the showdown on a winning streak, St. John’s having won eight straight and UConn 18 in a row.
The Huskies lead the Johnnies by one game atop the Big East.
“It’s UConn, Friday night, MSG, what else can you ask for?” Zuby Ejiofor said after St. John’s knocked off DePaul 68-56 at Wintrust Arena.
UConn is coming off back-to-back blowouts over Creighton and Xavier by a combined 59 points.
Their lone loss was at the hands of top-ranked Arizona.
“Now we’re going to play a team that is the best offensive team in the league, the best defensive team in the league, one of the elite teams in the nation,” coach Rick Pitino said. “They don’t really have a weakness. They have two great centers, they have three or four great shooters they put out there. Different from last year, they’re a great defensive team now.”
Bryce Hopkins shined in his return home, finishing with 15 points and six rebounds.
The Oak Park, Ill., native had family, friends and even the coaching staff from his high school, Fenwick, in attendance.
CHECK OUT THE LATEST BIG EAST STANDINGS AND ST. JOHN’S STATS
“It just means a lot to come back to where it all started, and be in the place I am today,” he said. “It felt good to be back in Chicago and play in front of my support system.”
With the win, St. John’s equaled a program record with its ninth consecutive Big East road victory.
The previous mark was set in 1985-86.
At halftime, DePaul retired the jersey of Rod Strickland, the former Knick and Bronx native who is now coaching at LIU. … The Johnnies committed just seven turnovers in the win, and are averaging only 8.2 turnovers during this eight-game winning streak.
