CHICAGO — It’s safe to say six days off didn’t change much for St. John’s.
It certainly didn’t impact the Johnnies’ focus. Didn’t deter from their improved play. If anything, the nearly weeklong break only made them fresher.
Rick Pitino’s team picked up right where it left off, crushing conference cellar-dweller DePaul, 104-77, Tuesday night at Wintrust Arena to move over .500 in Big East play for the first time since late January.
The 104 points equaled a program record in Big East play, tying the 104 it notched against Providence on Feb. 15, 1999.
The two Ivy League transfers, Jordan Dingle and Chris Ledlum, led the way with 19 points apiece. Simeon Wilcher added 12, and Daniss Jenkins, RJ Luis and Nahiem Alleyne had 11 each for St. John’s (18-12, 10-9) — which shot 60.3 percent from the field, made a dozen 3-pointers and piled up 26 assists on 41 made field goals.
After losing eight of 10 games, a skid that put its NCAA Tournament chances in peril, St. John’s has won four straight — three by at least 14 points — and will close out the regular season against 10th-place Georgetown on Saturday at the Garden.
A fifth-place finish and first-round bye in the Big East Tournament remains on the table, depending on how Villanova and Providence finish the season.
St. John’s and Providence are currently tied for sixth, one game in the loss column behind Villanova, which visits fourth-place Seton Hall on Wednesday.
If the three teams finish tied for fifth, St. John’s wins the tiebreaker.
So much had gone right since the Red Storm manhandled Butler for their second straight Quad 1 victory last Wednesday.
Teams they needed to lose, lost. Teams they needed to win, won.
All of a sudden, they found themselves on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble, according to most projections. But none of that would have mattered if St. John’s didn’t take care of business against DePaul.
By halftime, there was no need to worry. The result was all but determined. The Johnnies closed the half on a 30-6 run, turning a two-point lead into a 26-point bulge with a season-high 54 first-half points.
Dingle and Ledlum led the charge, combining to score 26 points on 11 of 14 shooting. Nine different Johnnies scored in the half. They shot 66.7 percent from the field, were plus-11 on the glass and turned nine turnovers into 13 points.
St. John’s only led by two with 9:05 left in the half. DePaul had started hot, making eight of its first 13 shots.
Chico Carter hit a trio of long 3-pointers.
But led the Red Storm went on a furious 25-4 run. Ledlum started it with a steal and slam.
Dingle followed with a jumper and a 3-pointer, then Ledlum sank another triple. Soon, the game was out of hand.
It got flat-out silly in the second half. After Wilcher hit three straight 3-pointers, St. John’s was up by 41 points — yes, 41 — and there was still 11:10 left to play.
