NEW YORK — D.J. Kennedy scored 16 points and No. 15 St. John's bounced back from a loss to Seton Hall two days earlier with a 72-56 victory over South Florida on Saturday night to close the Big East regular season.
The Red Storm (20-10, 12-6) had a six-game winning streak snapped Thursday in an 84-70 loss at Seton Hall, a game that saw coach Steve Lavin ejected with 1:55 left and forward Justin Burrell get tossed for a flagrant foul with 7.6 seconds left.
No such drama in the final home game for St. John's 10-man senior class. The Red Storm reached the 20-win mark for the first time since 2002-03 and finished in a three-way tie for third place with Louisville and Syracuse.
Through the three-team tiebreaker, St. John's will be the fifth seed and will get a bye into the second round of the Big East tournament on Wednesday.