The Garden Felt Like Eden Again

With The Rockaway Times’ star sports columnist out on maternity leave, I hope she won’t mind if I swim over into her lane this week.

I made up my mind Monday afternoon to write about what was nothing short of an epic Friday night at Madison Square Garden, as the St. John’s Red Storm took down the third-ranked UConn Huskies.

The only problem was that the Johnnies had a very quick turnaround, hosting the Xavier Musketeers on Monday night — also at MSG. This marked the second iteration of the “Pitino Bowl” this season. Richard Pitino, son of Johnnies head coach Rick Pitino, is now at the helm at Xavier. And while he has come up empty twice so far, you can tell he wants to beat dear ol’ dad oh-so-badly.

I was just starting to jot down some notes from Friday when Monday’s game turned into an absolute down-and-dirty battle in Midtown Manhattan.

In the end, after a sloppy performance by St. John’s, the Red Storm pulled out an 87-82 overtime victory over Xavier.

I thought Monday’s game might throw a wrench into this week’s column. Instead, it only amplified the message.

I know I’m jumping around a bit, but let’s rewind to Friday night.

This matchup against UConn — led by the most hateable person in the world, Dan Hurley — was circled on calendars the moment the schedule was released.

Since Rick Pitino took over at St. John’s, this has easily become the best rivalry in a conference famous for heated rivalries. These two teams, with these two coaches, could be plucked from today and dropped into any era of Big East history. They were built for this.

And Friday night delivered exactly that: Big East basketball.

The Garden was electric. There was plenty of speculation that UConn fans would show up in force, and I’ll admit I was guilty of worrying about the crowd makeup myself. But the moment you stepped into the World’s Most Famous Arena, those fears vanished. It could have been dead silent — which it most certainly was not for a single second — and you still would’ve known who that building belonged to. From the floor to the rafters, it was a sea of red. A beautiful sight.

As impressive as the visuals were, the sound mattered most. The Garden was rockin’. The usually vocal UConn fans were drowned out from the opening tip by those pulling for New York’s team.

The game was tied at halftime, just like Monday’s matchup — exactly how you’d expect it to be. In a gutsy second-half performance, St. John’s, led by Zuby Ejiofor, Dylan Darling, and Dillon Mitchell, pulled away from the country’s third-ranked team and completed the upset.

It was glorious. We’ll see UConn on their turf on February 25.

Then came Monday night.

No one expected the Johnnies to be sharp. They had just pulled off one of the program’s biggest regular season wins this century. I didn’t play a single minute, and I’m still feeling it from Friday night — so it’s no surprise the players were, too.

Add in the extra ingredients: Pitino vs. Pitino, and don’t forget that when these teams met just 16 days earlier, it was a nail-biter that came right down to the wire.

Still, the gritty Johnnies found a way again. The win improved them to 19-5 overall, 12-1 in conference play, and extended their winning streak to 10 games.

These were tough wins against tough teams, led by tough coaches. This was Big East basketball.

And that’s just it. It doesn’t matter if it’s a top-ranked team or one struggling to stay above .500 — if it’s a Big East Conference game, you know you’re in for a treat.

I wasn’t around for the days of Lou Carnesecca and John Thompson. And my best memories of Jim Boeheim came during his ACC years. What always made the Big East special wasn’t just the players or the style of play — it was the coaches and the personalities they brought year after year.

The Big East lost its way for a while. It’s safe to say now: it’s officially back.

Rick Pitino, Dan Hurley, Ed Cooley, Kevin Willard, Shaka Smart, Shaheen Holloway, Thad Matta, Richard Pitino — these guys are among the best to ever do it. And no matter who’s coming to town, these are games you want to be a part of, because you know they’re going to be special.

As the defending Big East champions — both regular season and tournament — St. John’s carries a target on its back, early non-conference losses or not. Good. Bring it on. That’s the only way you should want it. And it’ll make any success this season taste that much sweeter.

That said, maybe we can try to avoid playing Xavier again in March.

Let’s go, Johnnies.