LAS VEGAS — If Tuesday’s rousing rout of Baylor was a step in the right direction, then Wednesday was a major step back.
With a chance to head home on a winning note, St. John’s was sloppy, shaky defensively and blew an 11-point second-half lead in a dismal 85-74 setback to No. 21 Auburn.
The Red Storm were outscored by 20 points in the second half, and by 17 over the final 9:53.
There was no defense to speak of, outside of a brief stretch late in the first half.
Auburn piled up 44 points in the paint and shot 64 percent after halftime.
A hobbled guard Dylan Darling logged an ineffective seven minutes due to a hamstring injury as Auburn guard Tahaad Pettiford torched the 14th-ranked Johnnies for 27 points.
“This is a very average defensive team. They are not locked in like last year,” coach Rick Pitino said. “Last year our guards rebounded, and this is not a locked-in defensive team because they are new to each other. They are either going to get it or they’re going to continue losing. It’s a matter of wanting to get it, wanting to be a great defensive team. If they do, they’ll get it. If not, they won’t, and they’ll have a long season.”
St. John’s (4-3) fell to 1-3 in power-conference games and has dropped six consecutive games against ranked nonconference opponents.
A day after combining for 48 points, Bryce Hopkins and Oziyah Sellers shot 3-of-17 from the field and 1-of-10 from 3-point range.
St. John’s was led by Zuby Ejiofor’s 24 points, although he managed only seven after halftime.
The Johnnies committed 14 turnovers, leading to 20 Auburn points, and were again hurt on the glass, allowing 13 second-chance points.
“It was overall a bad night by just about the entire senior class,” Pitino said. “Those nights happen and Auburn took advantage of it and swung the game around.”
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St. John’s started poorly, a reverse of Tuesday’s win over Baylor.
They were sloppy, disorganized and lacking intensity on defense. The Johnnies had already committed six turnovers by the under-12 timeout.
Auburn was slicing through the Red Storm defense with ease, scoring 20 of its first 23 points in the paint. Ejiofor, scoring on almost every touch inside, kept St. John’s close until it found its footing.
Over the final 5:26, sparked by reserve Sadiku Ibine Ayo’s energy, St. John’s held Auburn to three points.
The Storm exploded on the other end, finishing the half on a 15-3 run to turn a seven-point deficit into a nine-point lead at the break.
Ejiofor enjoyed his best half of the trip, scoring 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
The bench, led by five points apiece from Ian Jackson and Ibine Ayo, was productive in more than doubling up Auburn’s reserves, 15-7.
St. John’s pushed the lead out to 11 early in the second half, but then the defensive rebounding issues returned.
Two Auburn second chances led to a quick six points and the lead was soon down to a single possession.
Auburn later reeled off six straight points to pull even at 61.
Ibine Ayo answered to give St. John’s the lead back entering the under-8 timeout.
But the Red Storm fell apart from there, and now will have plenty of time to think about this trip.
Their next game isn’t until Dec. 6 against Ole Miss.
“Everybody is trying to compare last year’s team to this year’s team. It’s a totally different team,” Ibine Ayo, a tri-captain, said. “We have to figure out what we’re going at and figure out how we can win games together with this team.
“We can blame each other, but I think we have to stay more focused and learn how to win together as a team.”
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