Latest news with #ZubyEjiofor
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Zuby Ejiofor listens to Pitino, delivers solid first pitch at Mets game
St. John's men's basketball coach Rick Pitino, center left, speaks at a press conference alongside forward Zuby Ejiofor, left, John Franco, center right, and center Vince Iwuchukwu, right, before a baseball game between the Miami Marlins and the New York Mets, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith) St. John's men's basketball player Zuby Ejiofor gets set to throw out a ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the New York Mets and the Miami Marlins, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith) St. John's men's basketball player Zuby Ejiofor gets set to throw out a ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the New York Mets and the Miami Marlins, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith) St. John's men's basketball coach Rick Pitino, center left, speaks at a press conference alongside forward Zuby Ejiofor, left, John Franco, center right, and center Vince Iwuchukwu, right, before a baseball game between the Miami Marlins and the New York Mets, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith) St. John's men's basketball player Zuby Ejiofor gets set to throw out a ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the New York Mets and the Miami Marlins, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith) NEW YORK (AP) — The basketball season is over, but Zuby Ejiofor is still heeding Rick Pitino's advice. Ejiofor, the 6-foot-9 St. John's forward who earned first-team all-Big East honors while helping the Red Storm to its first conference title in 25 years, threw out the first pitch at Citi Field Wednesday prior to the series finale between the New York Mets and Miami Marlins. Advertisement 'He gave me a little advice,' Ejiofor said of Pitino, who threw out the first pitch before a Mets-Yankees game in 2023. 'He said not to bounce it.' Despite saying he had 'zero' experience in baseball, Ejiofor's pitch from the top of the mound landed right in the glove of John Franco, the St. John's alum and former Mets closer who stood at the plate in front of eight of Ejiofor's teammates. 'If Zuby takes care of business and doesn't hurt our superstar alumnus here, it'll be a good start for the Mets, the hottest team in baseball,' Pitino said before New York pursued its seventh straight win. Pitino — wearing a personalized No. 41 jersey, the same number retired in Tom Seaver's honor — appeared with Ejiofor, Franco and Red Storm center Vince Iwuchukwu at a pregame press conference. Franco was presented with a St. John's No. 45 uniform — the same number he wore in his final six-plus seasons with the Mets. Advertisement The 72-year-old Pitino, who was born in New York City and raised on Long Island, recalled going to Yankees games as a child with his sisters but also said he cheered for the Mets. 'I used to go watch Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, reserves like Hector Lopes, Johnny Blanchard, (Tony) Kubek, (Clint) Richardson,' Pitino said. 'But I was also a Mets fan of (Jerry) Koosman, Seaver and going back to Tommy Agee. I'm one of the few people that rooted for both teams. Anything with 'NY' on it, I'm 100% behind it.' Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said he enjoyed watching as St. John's became the biggest winter sports story in New York by going 31-5 and winning an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2000. The Red Storm's season ended with a 75-66 second-round loss to Arkansas. 'When you get a team that is doing something special like they did — we saw it last year with us, it was our story where nobody knew if we were able to do anything,' said Mendoza, who led the Mets to the NLCS after a 24-35 start. 'It's a pretty cool feeling. It's a privilege, it's an honor, when you have the ability to represent and do something special the way they did.' Advertisement Pitino said he's looking forward to getting back to work with the Red Storm, who lost Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis Jr. to the transfer portal but added former Providence star Bryce Hopkins. He acknowledged St. John's needs to improve offensively in order to become a national title contender. The Red Storm finished second in the nation in defensive efficiency but 68th in offensive efficiency, per Each of the teams that made the Final Four — champion Florida along with Houston, Duke and Auburn — finished in the top 10 in offensive efficiency. 'We need shooting as much as anything,' Pitino said of the Red Storm, who shot 44.5% from the field and ranked among the nation's bottom 20 teams in 3-point shooting at 30.1%. 'It's the offensive teams that really go far in the tournament. You have to have a great offense. And we were not a great offensive basketball team this season.' ___ AP MLB:
Boston Globe
22-03-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
John Calipari gets upper hand in rivalry with Rick Pitino as Arkansas proves too much for St. John's
Zuby Ejiofor had 23 points and 12 rebounds for Big East champion St. John's (31-5) — an unprecedented sixth school Pitino has taken to the tournament. His history in Providence — the Friars reached the 1987 Final Four in his tenure — gave him a home-court advantage. Advertisement But in a poor-shooting foul-fest, Arkansas (22-13) barely did enough to eliminate St. John's — making the Red Storm the first team seeded No. 4 or higher to exit what's been a chalky tournament so far. The teams combined to make four 3-pointers on 41 attempts, with St. John's shooting 28 percent from the floor overall. After cutting an eight-point lead with eight minutes left to two, 62-60, the Red Storm missed their last seven 3-point attempts.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
St. John's Red Storm and Arkansas Razorbacks meet in NCAA Tournament second round
Arkansas Razorbacks (21-13, 9-11 SEC) vs. St. John's Red Storm (31-4, 21-2 Big East) Providence, Rhode Island; Saturday, 2:40 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Red Storm -7.5; over/under is 144.5 BOTTOM LINE: No. 5 St. John's and Arkansas meet in the NCAA Tournament second round. The Red Storm have gone 21-2 against Big East teams, with a 10-2 record in non-conference play. St. John's ranks fourth in the Big East with 16.0 assists per game led by Kadary Richmond averaging 5.4. The Razorbacks are 9-11 against SEC teams. Arkansas is 4-2 in games decided by less than 4 points. St. John's makes 45.1% of its shots from the field this season, which is 3.1 percentage points higher than Arkansas has allowed to its opponents (42.0%). Arkansas has shot at a 46.5% rate from the field this season, 6.9 percentage points higher than the 39.6% shooting opponents of St. John's have averaged. TOP PERFORMERS: RJ Luis averages 1.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Red Storm, scoring 18.5 points while shooting 34.3% from beyond the arc. Zuby Ejiofor is averaging 14.4 points and eight rebounds over the past 10 games. Johnell Davis averages 1.7 made 3-pointers per game for the Razorbacks, scoring 11.4 points while shooting 32.9% from beyond the arc. D.J. Wagner is shooting 40.6% and averaging 13.0 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Red Storm: 10-0, averaging 80.5 points, 38.4 rebounds, 17.3 assists, 8.2 steals and 4.6 blocks per game while shooting 45.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.0 points per game. Razorbacks: 6-4, averaging 76.6 points, 30.9 rebounds, 13.6 assists, 7.8 steals and 5.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.6 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
USA Today
20-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
St. John's Red Storm vs. Omaha Mavericks: March Madness First Round live stream, TV channel, start time, odds
St. John's Red Storm vs. Omaha Mavericks: March Madness First Round live stream, TV channel, start time, odds The No. 2 seed St. John's Red Storm (30-4) will try to beat the No. 15 seed Omaha Mavericks (22-12) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Watch this contest at 9:45 p.m. ET on CBS. St. John's defeated Creighton 82-66 at home in its last game. Its top scorers were RJ Luis (29 PTS, 10 REB, 61.11 FG%, 3-3 from 3PT) and Zuby Ejiofor (20 PTS, 53.33 FG%). Omaha beat St. Thomas 85-75 at home in its most recent game. Its top scorers were JJ White (29 PTS, 5 AST, 71.43 FG%, 3-5 from 3PT) and Marquel Sutton (22 PTS, 18 REB, 43.75 FG%). Ahead of this college basketball matchup, here is what you need to get ready for Thursday's action. Check out: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll Watch the NCAA Tournament on Sling TV! St. John's Red Storm vs. Omaha Mavericks Game day: Thursday, March 20, 2025 Thursday, March 20, 2025 Game time: 9:45 p.m. ET 9:45 p.m. ET TV: CBS CBS Live stream: Fubo (Regional restrictions may apply) Fubo (Regional restrictions may apply) Live stream: Paramount+ - Watch Now! NCAA Basketball Odds and Betting Lines Spread: St. John's -18.5 St. John's -18.5 Total: 149.5 College basketball odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Thursday at 6:59 p.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub. Watch the NCAA Tournament on Sling TV! Follow the latest college sports coverage at College Sports Wire.
Fox Sports
20-03-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
St. John's Red Storm play Omaha Mavericks in first round of NCAA Tournament
Associated Press Omaha Mavericks (22-12, 16-3 Summit League) vs. St. John's Red Storm (30-4, 21-2 Big East) Providence, Rhode Island; Thursday, 9:45 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Red Storm -18.5; over/under is 147.5 BOTTOM LINE: No. 5 St. John's plays in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Omaha. The Red Storm are 21-2 against Big East opponents and 9-2 in non-conference play. St. John's leads the Big East averaging 38.1 points in the paint. Zuby Ejiofor leads the Red Storm with 9.1. The Mavericks are 16-3 in Summit League play. Omaha scores 78.1 points while outscoring opponents by 3.1 points per game. St. John's is shooting 45.1% from the field this season, 0.3 percentage points higher than the 44.8% Omaha allows to opponents. Omaha scores 12.2 more points per game (78.1) than St. John's gives up to opponents (65.9). TOP PERFORMERS: RJ Luis is averaging 18.4 points and 7.2 rebounds for the Red Storm. Ejiofor is averaging 15.4 points and 7.6 rebounds over the last 10 games. Tony Osburn averages 2.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Mavericks, scoring 12.2 points while shooting 40.4% from beyond the arc. Marquel Sutton is shooting 52.3% and averaging 22.8 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Red Storm: 9-1, averaging 79.3 points, 36.6 rebounds, 17.1 assists, 8.7 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 45.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.0 points per game. Mavericks: 8-2, averaging 84.0 points, 34.2 rebounds, 15.8 assists, 6.0 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 49.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.3 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. recommended
