St. John’s Won by 29. Pitino Saw What’s Missing.

Sunday against Rutgers, St. John’s gets its next test: make defenders work, protect the ball and finish possessions on the glass.

By Jason Safford | Relentless Redstorm

Quinn Ellis did not make a field goal against Drexel. Rick Pitino still praised the way he played. Ellis finished with three points, six assists and four steals. His coach valued something the scoring column could not show. Ellis understood how to make defenders work before anyone took a shot.

Sunday at noon, Rutgers brings the next test to Madison Square Garden. St. John’s arrives after Wednesday’s 81-52 win at Carnesecca Arena. The Red Storm forced 25 turnovers and collected 19 steals. It also committed 19 turnovers and made seven of 29 threes. The defense created opportunities. The offense still wasted too many of its own.

“I really love our upside, but we’re behind on our fundamentals,” Pitino said afterward. His concern reached beyond whether shots fell. He wanted players to move the ball and send defenders through screens. Too often, he said, they looked for their own shots instead. He singled out Ellis and Reed Bailey for understanding that difference.

Bailey made all three shots and scored eight points in 14 minutes. One first-half sequence showed how his work connected with Ellis. With 4:08 remaining, Bailey stole the ball. Five seconds later, Tounde Yessoufou dunked off an Ellis assist. Three players supplied the steal, the pass and the finish. That was transition basketball, not proof of a polished half-court offense. But neither player who created the chance needed to take the shot.

Babacar Sane offered his own accounting. He led St. John’s with 17 points against Drexel. Afterward, he described a dollar owed for each Ellis assist that set him up. By his count, Wednesday’s bill came to three dollars. “I owe him three bucks when we get back to the locker room,” Sane said.

Rutgers will test more than whether St. John’s can share the ball. The Scarlet Knights lost their exhibition opener to Villanova, 77-75. They collected 16 offensive rebounds and scored 20 second-chance points. Christian Gurdak finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. Four of his rebounds came on offense. Force a miss, and he can still give Rutgers another shot.

Drexel collected 14 offensive rebounds Wednesday. “If I had one disappointment tonight it was rebounding,” Pitino said, according to the New York Post. He identified it as the priority before facing Rutgers and Texas. His players had done the work to force misses. Too often, they still had more defending to do. Against Gurdak, securing the ball could matter as much as stealing it.

Sunday will not settle what this team can become. It can show whether those first lessons have carried over. Watch the pass after the steal. Follow the players who keep moving after Ellis gives up the ball. Find the defender who keeps Gurdak away from a missed shot. Those choices can reveal progress before the score does.

The most revealing play may belong to the man who never takes the shot.

St. John’s vs. Rutgers | Sunday, October 18, 2026 | Noon EDT | Madison Square Garden | Preseason exhibition | Streaming on B1G+.