After the first one, coach Shaheen Holloway threw his hands into the air as Luis lobbed the ball to Smith in transition, Smith returned an alley-oop back across the paint and Luis finished the dunk. “Let’s go Johnnies” chants even broke out inside The Rock.

St. John’s blew past Seton Hall early with a huge first half and then rolled to a 79-51 Big East victory at Prudential Center. The Storm’s win was its fifth in a row and 11th in 12 games. More important: their victory combined with Xavier’s win at No. 7 Marquette, puts St. John’s (16-3, 7-1) alone in first place in the Big East.

RJ Luis went for 22 points and 8 rebounds and Zuby Ejiofor had 15 and 9 for St. John’s (16-3, 7-1 Big East), which has won five straight and is poised for the program’s first NCAA Tournament main-draw bid since 2015.