This winning streak started against Butler, when Rick Pitino went to a big lineup just over three weeks ago.
The big change was naming Dillon Mitchell one of the starters, a move that may have turned this once-teetering season around.
The latest example came Wednesday night.
The do-it-all 6-foot-8 forward was all over the floor in a thorough 92-70 victory over Butler in front of 14,361 at the Garden, as No. 25 St. John’s extended its winning streak to seven games.
“I’m having so much fun watching Dillon Mitchell play. I don’t think I’ve said that too many times in my 52 years [of coaching], having fun watching a person play,” Pitino said. “Whether it’s him coming down as a point forward and attacking the basket or making a great pass, or throwing it to Zuby [Ejiofor] and him cutting to get open, he really knows how to play.
“It’s not like having another point guard on the floor, it’s like having another coach on the floor, which is great.”
Mitchell scored (14 points), he rebounded (13 boards), he distributed (four assists) and most importantly he defended by limiting Butler leading scorer Finley Bizjack to 11 points and blocking three shots. In his 36 minutes, St. John’s (16-5, 9-1 Big East) outscored the Bulldogs by 24 points.
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It was similar to that first Butler game, when Pitino used Mitchell’s size to neutralize the 6-foot-4 Bizjack, and it handcuffed the Bulldogs (13-8, 4-6). Mitchell completely locked down Bizjack, who had averaged 25.6 points in his three previous games — all Butler wins.
“He’s added a heckuva dynamic for them,” Butler coach Thad Matta said.
While St. John’s has improved in several areas, and a number of players have made progress, Mitchell has changed so much with this team. In this seven-game winning streak, he’s averaging 11.4 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the role of a point forward, lessening the pressure on Ian Jackson to handle the ball.
“He’s changed a lot, a versatile player, able to do a little bit of everything,” Ejiofor said. “Just a really gritty guy. He gets it done on both sides of the ball. I can’t say enough good things.”
After two thrilling, come-from-behind victories over Seton Hall and Xavier last week, the Johnnies hardly had to sweat Wednesday night. They led 18-5 early and were up 14 at the break. The lead grew to 20 midway through the second half, and it was over by that point.
Ejiofor was terrific in notching 15 points, six rebounds, five assists and three blocks, and Joson Sanon (13 points) scored in double figures for the first time since New Year’s Eve. Jackson chipped in 18 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Butler entered the game having won three straight, and needing a win to help its NCAA Tournament hopes. But St. John’s was the team that played with desperation, dominating the glass (plus-10) and points in the paint (plus-14). They didn’t give Butler any hope of pulling off an upset.
“We were able to turn our season around a little bit in this seven-game stretch,” Ejiofor said. “It takes every guy on the team being committed to our team goals. We got back in the rankings, but I don’t think that’s exactly what we’re talking about, ‘Oh, we’re ranked, so we can take our foot off the gas even a little bit.’ No.
“It took us a little while, but I think we’re finally starting to get it — we’re starting to understand Coach Pitino and his system a lot better than we did to start the season.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
