Johnnies beat Kansas, await Duke in first Sweet 16 appearance since 1999

By Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

For the first time since 1999, the St. John’s Red Storm are dancing beyond the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. A dominant showing against the #12 University of Northern Iowa Panthers and a gritty win over the #4 Kansas Jayhawks put the Johnnies into the Sweet 16, where they take on top overall seeded Duke.

Storm Watch in San Diego

The Red Storm opened with a 13-0 lead in their opening round matchup in San Diego. While the UNI Panthers boasted one of the best defenses in D1 hoops, they were no match for a fast paced and physical St. John’s squad.

The Johnnies led by as much as 21 in the opening half, going into the break up 47-28. To nobody’s surprise, leading the way was Zuby Ejiofor with 11 points, 5 rebounds, and a pair of blocks. The St. John’s senior was left off all three All-American but showed off on the national stage, dominating on both ends of the floor.

The Red Storm stifled the Panthers’ offense, forcing Northern Iowa to shoot a measly 39% from the floor and 21% from three, well below their season averages. UNI only got two points off the bench, though Trey Campbell and Leon Bond III both had solid games as starters.

St. John’s pulled away in the second frame, going on to win 79-53. Ejiofor tallied a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards to go with his 4 blocks. Bryce Hopkins added 13 points and Dillon Mitchell pulled down another 9 rebounds.

In the other matchup in San Diego, #4 Kansas took on the #13 Cal Baptist Lancers. It was a fairly comfortable matchup for Bill Self’s squad, holding their opponents to just 18 first half points before fending off a decent second half comeback attempt. 

Presumptive #1 overall NBA draft pick Darryn Peterson scored 21 in his NCAAT debut. Dominique Daniels Jr. led the Lancers with 25, but it wasn’t enough for Cal Baptist as they fell 68-60.

For Whom the Bells Toll

The matchup between Rick Pitino and Bill Self marked the second straight year Hall-of-Fame coaches clashed in the second round. In the 2025 tournament, John Calipari’s Arkansas took down Kansas in the opening round before downing the Red Storm in round two.

This year both coaches were safe from the Razorbacks, who advanced to the Sweet 16 in the West region where they take on #1 Arizona. Still, Kansas vs St. John’s marked the third time coaches with 2+ national titles clashed in March Madness.

The Johnnies shot early and often, showing confidence even when the three pointers stopped falling. They took an early advantage but weren’t able to build a gap against Kansas in the first half. St. John’s took 23 three pointers in the opening half, setting a record for a team coached by Rick Pitino. They only hit seven, with three of those shots coming in the opening three minutes of action.

“They don’t believe we can shoot and we’re proving them right,” said Pitino during an in-game interview. “But we’re gonna keep on shooting them until they go in.”

The shooting got more conservative in the second half, as the Red Storm went 4/12 from downtown. They were able to coast into the back end of the half up 14 points, their largest lead of the night, but Kansas began to chip away at the deficit.

Up just one point, Bryce Hopkins came up clutch with the biggest three of the night. The senior transfer didn’t hesitate as he caught and shot from the elbow to put the Johnnies up by four with 1:30 left to play.

The Jayhawks stayed close, scoring to bring the lead down to two before Peterson drew a shooting foul to tie the game from the free throw line. With a few fouls to give, Kansas intentionally fouled to limit the Red Storm shot clock to just over three seconds for the final possession.

Three seconds was all that was needed as Dylan Darling drove into the lane for a quick layup as time expired. The Red Storm piled onto the junior guard, celebrating his only made field goal of the night.

The 67-65 win marks the first trip to the Sweet 16 this century for St. John’s, setting up some thrilling matchups in Washington DC this weekend.

Johnny vs Goliath

Now the biggest test of the year awaits Pitino and the Red Storm. The Duke Blue Devils struggled against #16 Siena in the opening round, but they looked much more like the tournament’s top seed as they thrashed TCU in the round of 32. Still, they wouldn’t be the first #1 seed to crash out of the tournament, as the defending champion Florida Gators fell to #9 Iowa in the second round, the biggest upset of the tournament so far.

It will be another test against future NBA talent as Duke features the Boozer brothers, Cameron and Cayden. The freshman fraternal twins will look to carry Duke to a 6th ever program title, and interestingly enough the Blue Devils defeated the Red Storm at some point in each of their previous title-winning campaigns.

The other Sweet 16 matchup in the East Region features another Hall of Fame coach in Tom Izzo. His #3 Michigan State Spartans will take on a future Hall of Famer in Dan Hurley and the #2 UConn Huskies in what’s sure to be an incredible matchup in DC.

Should the Johnnies and Huskies both advance, it would set up a remarkable BIG EAST rematch on one of the biggest possible stages.

Tip-off between the Red Storm and Blue Devils will be at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC on Friday, March 27 at 7:10pm. The Huskies and Spartans will play afterwards at 9:45pm. The winners will clash in the Elite Eight on Sunday, March 29.