Rick Pitino didn’t know what to expect.
If his team was ready for this kind of test.
If St. John’s was prepared to play as well it would need to against its first quality opponent.
His players provided him with a resounding answer.
A year ago, the Johnnies didn’t show up in an ugly loss at the Garden to Michigan.
A year later, they distinguished themselves far better, leading almost wire-to-wire in a commanding 85-71 victory over New Mexico and Pitino’s son, Richard.
In the final seconds, chants of, “Who’s your daddy?” rang out.
St. John’s raced out to a 16-point lead, saw the deficit cut to four and controlled the final minutes to improve to 4-0 ahead of a challenging trip to the Bahamas next week that starts against No. 12 Baylor on Thursday night.
All five starters scored in double-figures.
St. John’s held New Mexico star guard Donovan Dent to 12 points on 5 of 12 shooting, crushed the Lobos on the glass by 17 and outscored them by 10 in the paint.
RJ Luis was the best player on the floor, notching 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, and Kadary Richmond stepped up his aggression and followed with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Deivon Smith added 15 points, Aaron Scott had 14 and Zuby Ejiofor tallied 13 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
St. John’s was by far the better team in the first half, stingier defensively, dominant on the glass (plus-11) and better inside.
But New Mexico closed out the half with five straight points to cut a 16-point deficit to 11 and that momentum carried over.
The Lobos quickly got the lead down to single digits after the break and really never went away.
The difference was only four after an 11-3 New Mexico run that Nelly Junior Joseph capped with a layup.
St. John’s answered as it had all afternoon, with a 9-2 burst.
Scott hit a 3-pointer, Ejiofor made two free throws and Richmond scored inside and set up Scott for a layup.
It was back to an 11-point lead and only 5:02 was left on the clock.