The crowd got louder with each steal — more energized, the decibel levels of the Garden rising.
On a festive and feel-good night for St. John’s, in which it responded to the ugly loss to Connecticut with an emphatic blowout of Villanova, the most promising moments belonged to Ian Jackson.
Not necessarily because No. 15 St. John’s needed Jackson at his best Saturday to knock off Villanova, although his best performance as a Johnnie certainly helped. No, this was about March, about the upcoming Big East and NCAA tournaments.
Jackson looked like a different player against Villanova. The 6-foot-5 Bronx native and former top 10 high school prospect was aggressive, decisive and made quick decisions. He went to the basket and didn’t settle for jump shots unless they were wide open. He created havoc on the defensive end. He did a little of everything in notching 19 points, five rebounds and five steals. There were things he hadn’t done all year, whether it was moving without the ball, attacking the glass or creating transition opportunities with his harassing on-ball defense.
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