St. John’s is the back-to-back Big East champion after picking up a dominant win in the tournament final over UConn. The Red Storm looked strong in the 72-52 win over the Huskies.
St. John’s went on a 10-0 run to open the game, going up by as many as 17 points in the first half. The Huskies fought back, but they completely failed to score from the field in the final eight minutes of the game. UConn went 1-for-15 down the final stretch.
St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor was absolutely dominant on both sides of the court, putting up 18 points as well as 9 rebounds, 7 blocks and 3 steals. Bryce Hopkins also hit 18 points for the Red Storm, while Tarris Reed Jr. led UConn with 17 points.
The victory likely felt extra sweet for St. John’s, who lost to UConn by 32 points at the end of February as the regular season ramped down. Despite entering the tournament as the No. 1 seed, with UConn as the No. 2, the Red Storm were ranked lower than the Huskies in the AP poll — 13th vs. UConn’s sixth.
Two major additions to the bullpen were in good form, as Luke Weaver and Devin Williams each pitched a scoreless inning in a 6-3 exhibition game win. Weaver struck out one in his inning, while Williams fanned three.
Tough start
Craig Kimbrel allowed a run on three hits. Carlos Mendoza remains impressed with Kimbrel’s stuff, though, as the 37-year-old looks to find a place in the pen on his eighth team in the past six years.
Caught my eye
Mark Vientos was back at third base, this time for Team Nicaragua, as they prepare for the WBC.
Vientos has mostly been working at first base this spring, as the Mets look to use him, Brett Baty and newly signed Jorge Polanco there this year.
Forty-six years after a bunch of unheralded amateurs stunned the heavily favored Soviet Union en route to winning Olympic gold, the U.S. men’s hockey team engineered another epic victory.
The Americans won a battle of the sport’s superpowers on Sunday, toppling longtime nemesis Canada 2-1 in overtime to win their country’s first Olympic gold in men’s hockey since the famed 1980 “Miracle on Ice.”
Jack Hughes scored the decisive goal, ripping a shot past Jordan Binnington less than three minutes into 3-versus-3 overtime.
Hughes was called for a penalty with less than four minutes in regulation, with Team USA fending off the Canadian power play just before time expired. The Americans defeated Canada despite a 42-28 shots on goal disparity, with Connor Hellebuyck recording 41 saves.
The All-Star break traditionally marks the proverbial halfway point of the season. That means it’s time to dish out midterm grades for the New York Knicks.
The captain is once again an All-Star, has upped his defense in recent games and New York is blessed to have him. He could do a better job at times, though, of steering the group towards more ball movement.
The forever Knick has missed a few games due to his injury management program, but he’s a game changer when he’s on the court and is in the best shape we’ve seen since his early freak-of-nature days.
“Deuce” underwent surgery for a core muscle injury last week and will be out for six-to-eight weeks. He will possibly miss the rest of the season and it’s a big blow. The two-way guard has been great on both sides of the ball and is on the biggest bargain contract in the NBA.
Like a Swiss army knife, Hart does it all and continues to show why he’s been the heart and soul of this group since coming over from Portland three years ago. Despite having a heavily bandaged ring finger on his shooting hand, the 9-year pro is making teams pay for leaving him open.
Despite missing 25 games with a flare up in his already damaged right shoulder, the sharpshooting guard hasn’t missed a beat and been a key cog off the bench.
We’ve seen the six-foot-seven menace wreck games with his defensive ability. He does goes MIA on occasion and plays so hard on both ends that he’s sometimes visibly exhausted. When he’s at his best, the Knicks are at their best.
TalkNet 