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No. 18 St. John’s seeks share of Big East title at Seton Hall

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NCAA Basketball: Seton Hall at St. JohnJan 20, 2026; New York, New York, USA; St. John’s Red Storm forward Dillon Mitchell (1) celebrates in the direction of Seton Hall Pirates guard A.J. Staton-McCray (14) in the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

No. 18 St. John’s is on the verge of clinching at least a share of the Big East Conference regular-season title.

Seton Hall’s improvement is so drastic from last season that it earned a bye in next week’s Big East tournament and is seeking a signature win to enhance its bubble status for the NCAA tournament.

All that is on the agenda Friday night when the regional rivals meet in the regular-season finale in Newark, N.J.

St. John’s (24-6, 17-2 Big East) will end the regular season before No. 4 UConn (27-3, 17-2) faces Marquette on Saturday. If the Red Storm and Huskies finish tied, the Big East said the NET ranking will determine the top seed. As of Wednesday, UConn was No. 8 and St. John’s was No. 22.

“It would mean everything,” center Zuby Ejiofor said after scoring 23 points to help the Red Storm overcome a 12-point deficit in the second half in Tuesday’s 72-69 win over Georgetown.

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“We’ve put our heart and soul into every day, every practice, every game,” Ejiofor said. “More than anything, I want the guys to experience that moment of winning a championship because they deserve it. That’s what they came here for. They came here for a reason. They came here to win big.”

St. John’s can clinch a share of the regular-season title for the sixth time in school history and the first time in consecutive seasons since 1984-85 and 1985-86.

The Red Storm have followed up their humbling 32-point loss at UConn on Feb. 25 with a lopsided win against Villanova and the comeback against Georgetown.

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In the final 14:08, St. John’s outscored the Hoyas 36-21 as Joson Sanon scored all 15 of his points in that span. Dylan Darling added 12 points, including the tiebreaking layup after a steal with 6:43 left.

“We had to really dig deep … and that’s what it’s all about with a good basketball team, digging down,” St. John’s coach Rick Pitino said. “We did a lot of good things with 10 minutes to go in the game to come away with a victory.”

Picked last in the conference’s preseason poll, Seton Hall (20-10, 10-9) will finish fourth after going 2-18 in the Big East last season.

The Pirates are 0-3 this season against St. John’s and UConn with the losses by a combined 14 points, including a 65-60 loss at St. John’s when Seton Hall lost a 15-point lead in the second half on Jan. 20.

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The Pirates are 4-2 in their past six games. Seton Hall rebounded from last weekend’s four-point loss at UConn with a 77-68 win at Xavier. Adam Clark scored 16, although he injured his quad, according to coach Shaheen Holloway.

“Obviously, it’s a good accomplishment, but there’s a lot of work still to be done,” Holloway said on his postgame radio interview. “We’re fighting for something. Like I told these guys: Nothing else matters right now except Friday night, making sure our seniors go out on a good note.”

–Field Level Media

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Monday gallop to shape Gin Twist’s 2026 campaign

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The decision on whether Gin Twist forges ahead to another start or enters a spell phase hinges on her performance in a track gallop.

Lindsay Park’s two-year-old filly is a potential runner in Saturday’s Listed Redoute’s Choice Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield, contingent on a satisfying showing in Monday’s gallop.

She was the hot favourite dispatched in the Group 3 Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes (1200m) at Flemington March 28, leading early before stopping to take third.

Ben, Will and J D Hayes prepare Gin Twist, who was accounted for by more than three lengths by the Sydney mare Satono Glow.

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Ben Hayes mentioned optimism surrounds the filly’s readiness for Saturday, as she exhibits no adverse aftereffects from the race.

“We’ll make a decision on Monday whether she runs or not after she does some work,” Hayes said.

“We feel that one, she raced a bit fresh last week and two, she didn’t handle the heavy track, but she has pulled up fine.

“It is a good opportunity for her and if she doesn’t work well, we won’t run her, but if she works well, we’ll run her.”

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The filly had previously claimed the Listed Festival Stakes (1000m) victory at Flemington on February 28, and was next in line as third emergency for Group 1 Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill on March 21.

Lindsay Park refrained from interstate travel for her, aware a start was improbable.

Hayes is of the view that Gin Twist copes with 1200m and merits another attempt on a good track.

“I think she is a very fast horse, and 1200 metres is her limit,” Hayes said.

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“But it is hard to judge her off that run over 1200 metres, which was down the straight, and on a heavy eight (track).

“We can find out if she can the trip and then we’ll know how to place her next prep.”

Secure the best value with betting sites offering markets for the Redoute’s Choice Stakes.

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Liv Morgan breaks character to discuss her relationship with Rhea Ripley

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Liv Morgan broke character to comment on her relationship with WWE star Rhea Ripley. Both Ripley and Morgan will be challenging for major titles at WrestleMania 42.

In an interview with Esteban Ramirez, Liv Morgan broke character to comment on her relationship with Rhea Ripley. The Judgment Day star noted that she knew her former rival was going to be a star while they were in NXT together and left Ripley her locker when she got called up to the main roster.

“Rhea and I have quite a bit of lore. I remember back in the Performance Center when I saw her, I knew that she was gonna be a star. It was just very evident to me. So when I had gotten called up to the main roster, I had left Rhea my locker. I told her, ‘You can have my locker, you can move your stuff into my locker.’ She didn’t even have a locker yet,” said Morgan.

The Women’s Royal Rumble winner added that they will always be connected and compared their rivalry to Batman and The Joker.

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“I came back on the Liv Morgan Revenge Tour and took everything that she loved including Dominik, the Judgment Day and the Women’s World Championship. So I feel like we are both the heroes and villains in each other’s stories. She is the Batman to my Joker, and I am the villain in her hero’s story, and she is the villain in my hero’s story,” she added. [H/T: WrestleTalk on X]

You can check out the interview in the video below:

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Morgan will be challenging Stephanie Vaquer for the Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania 42.

Liv Morgan comments on recent WWE injury

WWE RAW star Liv Morgan recently discussed her injury last year that caused her to miss several months of WWE television.

In an interview with Brad Gilmore, the 31-year-old noted that the injury was devastating for her last year as she was on an upward trajectory. The WWE veteran added that she was upset about the situation during her hiatus last year.

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“I do feel like in the moment that I got injured, I was on a very upward trajectory. And so the injury obviously devastated me. I was very, very angry the whole entire time I had off time,” she said.

Liv Morgan says she was “angry the whole time” when she was recovering from shoulder injury: “I was mad the whole entire time,” Morgan said. “I got injured in a moment [when] I had multiple things going on for me. I was really enjoying and loving what I was doing. So to have all

Only time will tell if Liv Morgan can defeat Stephanie Vaquer to become champion once again at WWE WrestleMania.