One Major Takeaway from St. John's Red Storm Blowout Victory Against Iona

Here is one major takeaway from the St. John's Red Storm win against Iona

Nov 8, 2026; New York, New York, USA; The St. John's Red Storm bench celebrates in the second half against the Iona Gaels at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. John’s Red Storm were able to cruise to a victory on Sunday against Iona in what ended up being a blowout win. 

Coming off a win in their opener against Monmouth, the Red Storm looked like an improved team against Iona in their second game of the season. Like in their first game, St. John’s jumped Iona and never looked back. 

This is the type of performance that the program wanted to see against a team that they are better than, and they delivered. The Red Storm opened things up with a 54-23 lead at halftime, and they never looked back. 

St. John’s defense was once again really impressive in this one, with Iona turning the ball over quite a bit. In the loss, Iona had 19 turnovers, and the Red Storm recorded nine steals. This helped set the tone for the game, but it was the offense of St. John’s that stole the show. 

Red Storm Can Score 

Nov 8, 2026; New York, New York, USA; St. John's Red Storm guard Tounde Yessoufou (24) grabs a rebound in the second half against the Iona Gaels at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With 104 points in the win, it was one of the best offensive showings in all of college basketball to start the season. Scoring 100 points in regulation is not an easy thing to do in 40 minutes of play, but the Red Storm were able to get it done. 

Leading the way for them in the win was Tounde Yessoufou. The Red Storm have some very talented scorers on their team, and Yessoufou is one of them. The transfer from Baylor was a very good scorer in the Big 12 last year, and he played well in this game. 

In the win, he totaled 23 points on nine-for-14 shooting from the field, including going four-for-seven from beyond the arc. Following right behind Yessoufou was Ian Jackson, who scored 17 points on seven-for-12 shooting from the field and three-for-eight from three-point range. 

With those two leading the way in terms of scoring, it was Quinn Ellis who helped do the facilitating. The talented point guard was able to record 11 assists and turned the ball over just one time. Ellis going into double-digits in assists is something that many believed he could accomplish in a game. It only took him two games to reach that feat, and he did it in just 24 minutes of action. 

Overall, while Iona wasn’t the best opponent that St. John’s will face this year, this is the type of performance that the program wants to see in a game like this.