The Syracuse Orange led by 11 points at one point, but the St. John’s Red Storm picked up the physicality as the game transitioned into the second half. The Orange couldn’t keep up with the Red Storm tempo and strength in the last 20 minutes of regulation but found Jesse Edwards enough to force overtime. However, the Orange got sloppy and careless in overtime to lose 76-69.
The tempo was set early by St. John’s, who looked to use its tempo early on to throw Syracuse’s interior zone defense off balance. Judah Mintz immediately responded in kind by taking the Red Storm game plan and throwing it right back at their face.