St. John’s answers the wake-up call it needed to pull off the biggest win over Villanova

As Rick Pitino said on Friday, a lopsided loss can sometimes be better than a narrow one.

It can serve as a wake-up call and provide additional motivation.

This appears to be the case for St. John.

Seventy-two hours after their meeting An ugly loss in ConnecticutJohnny No. 15 didn’t pick themselves off the proverbial carpet.

They rose together in anger, took out their Villanova frustrations and cruised to an 89-57 victory in a sold-out Garden to remain tied atop the Big East with Connecticut in the loss column.

“The response was everything,” senior star Zobi Ejiofor said during his on-court interview after St. John’s’ biggest win ever over Villanova. “I’m really happy for the players.”

With Pitino donning his white suit after some hesitation, St. John’s had one of the best first half of the season and treated the Wildcats like a sparring partner like no other.

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This was as comprehensive and overwhelming a performance as St. John’s has given this year, defeating the Championship team with relative ease.

Ejiofor responded to the poor outscoring on Wednesday with the first triple-double of his career, recording 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, along with three blocks.

Ian Jackson had his best game of the year with 19 points, five rebounds and five steals off the bench.

Oziyah Sellers added 14 points and the Johnnies held Villanova to a season low in points and converted 16 turnovers into 29 points. St. John’s also recorded a season-high 26 assists and shot 52.5 percent from the field.

It was the kind of rebound St. John’s (23-6, 16-2) was hoping for. The Red Storm entered Hartford, Connecticut, on Wednesday after winning 13 straight games.

Things went sideways early, and afterward Ejiofor said he had to do a better job of making sure his team was ready Saturday night.

They certainly were, and he led the way. When Ejiofor scored his 10th and final assist in the final minutes, the crowd erupted in chants of “Zoooobie.”

Pitino could not have written a better first script. St. John’s produced innings of 17-3 and 16-1. The Red Storm made 14 of their first 22 shots from the field, dished out 15 assists and outscored Villanova in the paint, 22-6.

Jackson was dynamic, scoring 11 points, four rebounds and three steals. On successive possessions, he made robberies, one of which culminated in a windmill jam.

Ejiofor did a little of everything, tallying nine points, six rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Villanova had more turnovers (eight) than field goals scored.

The Red Storm shot 57.6 percent from the field, committed just two turnovers and were plus-nine on the glass. They had a ridiculous 1,455 points per possession in the first 20 minutes.

The only negative: Ejiofor fouled Bryce Lindsay on a 3-point attempt in the final seconds, drawing the ire of Pitino. He did not take his foot off the gas pedal, no matter how big the difference.