Roger Rubin: St. John's-Syracuse matchup is back, and here are five memorable moments
St. John's forward Willie Glass holds a sign high above the rim in Madison Square Garden that reads "St. John's The Beast Of the East" after the Red Storm defeated Syracuse in the Big East Tournament final on March 8, 1986. Credit: AP/Ray Stubblebine
St. John’s coach Rick Pitino always wants his team's fans to pack the Garden, but he seemed especially adamant about wanting them there for Sunday’s 7 p.m. game against Syracuse.
He said of the Orange, “They’re back, and by that I mean they have great fans and our fans . . . have got to be in the Garden because Syracuse is going to come 3,000, 4,000 strong.”
It’s certainly possible, though Pitino may be thinking back to the era of the old Big East before Syracuse bolted for the ACC in 2013. Its fans loved the Garden and especially a matchup against St. John’s.
Syracuse particularly enjoyed tormenting St. John’s when they played in the same conference. Beginning in 2006, the school ran ads on the top of New York City taxis that proclaimed Syracuse “New York’s College Team.” It clearly got under the skin of Red Storm players because, when St. John’s snapped a nine-game losing streak against the Orange on Dec. 6, 2014, guard Phil Greene IV brought up the taxi ads unprompted.
Syracuse and St. John’s were one of the great rivalries in the pre-breakup Big East and continued to face each other for a few seasons after the Orange departed. The 13th-ranked Red Storm (3-0) will be meeting Syracuse (2-1) for only the second time in a decade.
With the old rivalry in mind, here are five very memorable moments from the series:
1. The blocked shot
St. John’s staged a spectacular comeback to win the 1986 Big East Tournament championship game at the Garden. Syracuse led the entire game, and by as much as 13 points in the second half, before Ron Rowan made a baseline jumper with eight seconds left to give St. John's its first and only lead. Orange star Dwayne “Pearl” Washington tried to answer with a drive to the basket, but St. John’s Walter Berry blocked his shot to preserve the win.
Berry was on hand when the Red Storm won the 2025 and 2026 conference tournament title games. After Zuby Ejiofor had seven blocks in the ’26 final, Berry was asked about his famous blocked shot and replied, “The block gets bigger and bigger over time.”
2. Titans at the dome
In a 1984-85 season that ended with St. John’s playing in its most recent Final Four, the 88-83 win over Syracuse before more than 32,000 at the Carrier Dome on Feb. 23, 1985, was one of the high points along the way. St. John's was No. 1 in the nation and the Orange were No. 7. Willie Glass scored 22 points and Chris Mullin had 16.
3. Blackwell’s buzzer-beater
Syracuse’s Todd Burgan lost his handle on the ball in the final seconds of overtime, but Ryan Blackwell collected it and got off a shot to beat the buzzer and give the Orange a 69-67 victory in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament in March 1998. The Red Storm had knotted the score at 64 when the St. John’s star then known as Ron Artest sank a three-pointer. Artest forced overtime on a layup with 1.7 seconds left.
4. Silver-lining blowout
With former star Mullin now the coach, St. John’s was in the midst of a second miserable season when it traveled to the Carrier Dome for a non-conference game in what became a 14-19 season. Shamorie Ponds had 21 points as the Red Storm handed the Orange their worst home defeat, 93-60. Orange fans showered their team with boos after the loss.
5. The 2001 marathon
Brooklyn product Allen Griffin had 31 points at the Garden as No. 19 Syracuse defeated the Red Storm, 93-91, in two overtimes to finish the regular season. St. John’s had won 15 straight Big East games at the Garden.
The Red Storm forced the first overtime when Willie Shaw converted a four-point play with 38 seconds left in regulation. Shaw finished with 25 points and Omar Cook had 22. Griffin had 17 of his points in the two overtimes.
Hall's motivation
Auburn transfer Keyshawn Hall had a pair of goals in mind before he transferred from Auburn to St. John’s for this season. He wanted to finally play in an NCAA Tournament game and he wanted to improve his overall game — especially his defense — to improve his chances to play in the NBA.
A pair of stars from the 2025-26 St. John’s team who went on to be drafted, Dillon Mitchell (by the Celtics) and Bryce Hopkins (by the Nuggets), made the case that helped sway him toward playing for Pitino. They were all together at the NBA Draft Combine in the spring and Hall asked Mitchell about playing for Pitino.
“He said, ‘He's a great guy . . . he cares. He’s going to be there for you and he’s going to push you,’ ” Hall said Friday before practice. “Bryce told me the same thing. He said, ‘Like when I first got there [via transfer from Providence], I didn't know if I was going to like it, but I ended up loving it.’”
Ellis in elite company
Quinn Ellis had six points, nine assists, six rebounds and four steals and didn’t commit a turnover in St. John’s win over Colgate on Wednesday. That performance makes him the only Division I player since the 2005-06 season to have three straight games with at least seven assists, at least three steals and zero turnovers in three straight games.
In his three games with St. John’s, he has amassed 27 assists and two turnovers in 90 minutes.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
