Ejiofor leads St. John’s against Butler after 33-point game

By Canadian Press on January 6, 2026.

St. John’s Red Storm (9-5, 2-1 Big East) at Butler Bulldogs (10-5, 1-3 Big East)

Indianapolis; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: St. John’s plays Butler after Zuby Ejiofor scored 33 points in St. John’s 77-71 loss to the Providence Friars.

The Bulldogs are 7-2 on their home court. Butler ranks fourth in the Big East with 16.9 assists per game led by Michael Ajayi averaging 3.0.

The Red Storm are 2-1 against Big East opponents. St. John’s ranks sixth in the Big East allowing 72.9 points while holding opponents to 41.4% shooting.

Butler makes 46.4% of its shots from the field this season, which is 5.0 percentage points higher than St. John’s has allowed to its opponents (41.4%). St. John’s scores 10.5 more points per game (85.4) than Butler gives up to opponents (74.9).

The Bulldogs and Red Storm match up Tuesday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Ajayi is averaging 16.3 points and 12.3 rebounds for the Bulldogs. Finley Bizjack is averaging 16.2 points over the last 10 games.

Ejiofor is averaging 15.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks for the Red Storm. Bryce Hopkins is averaging 12.2 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bulldogs: 6-4, averaging 81.3 points, 35.5 rebounds, 16.1 assists, 6.9 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 45.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.0 points per game.

Red Storm: 6-4, averaging 80.2 points, 33.6 rebounds, 14.3 assists, 7.3 steals and 6.1 blocks per game while shooting 43.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.4 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press

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