Different year, same expectations.
St. John’s controversially entered the NCAA Tournament as the fifth-seeded team in the eastern region, securing a dual championship in the Big East seemingly wasn’t enough for the selection committee to grant the Johnnies a top-four seed.
Politics aside, the Red Storm were drawn against the No. 12 Northern Iowa Panthers in the Round of 64 – tipping off their revenge tour in “the Big Dance.”
Fresh off of victory in the most difficult conference in the nation, the Johnnies were more than ready for the inferior competition that welcomed them to San Diego.
The Red Storm began this game on a 10-0 run, pummelling the Panthers thanks to two quick Oziyah Sellers (11 pts, 3-9 3PT) three-pointers. Northern Iowa wouldn’t score until four minutes into the game, making it an early 13-2 deficit for the Missouri Valley County conference champions.
This lead proved to be insurmountable for the Panthers, as St. John’s would never lead by less than 14 for the rest of the half. The Johnnies’ immense physical superiority led to a 23-14 advantage in rebounding while staying consistent from beyond-the-arc, making 7-of-14 shots.
A combination of interior dominance and solid three-point shooting put the Red Storm on-top by 19 at halftime, by a score of 47-28. St. John’s stars all found themselves in double-figures at half: led by Big East Player of the Year Zuby Ejiofor (14 pts, 11 rebs, 4 blks) and assisted by Bryce Hopkins (13 pts, 6 rebs) and Sellers, this lead was in safe hands.
But Northern Iowa had one more punch left, breaking off a 8-2 run to open the half in a similar tone to how the game started but for opposite sides. The Panthers only trailed by a manageable 49-36, showing a glimmer of hope.
In response to the punch from Northern Iowa, the Johnnies struck back with a retaliatory 13-6 run and snatched back their 20 point advantage. The Red Storm’s second unit facilitated this effort, Ian Jackson (9 pts, 3-5 FG) and Ruben Prey (8 pts, 4 rebs) fueled their 28 bench points for the game, a significant advantage over the Panthers’ two second unit points.
Now leading by 20 once again, St. John’s planned to stay even with Northern Iowa until the final whistle, which they did.
The Johnnies officially downed the Panthers by a convincing final score of 79-53, adding even more momentum to the Big East Champions’ quest to the National Championship.
While the Red Storm made the No. 12 Panthers seem like easy competition, their next matchup in the dance should be a bigger challenge. The winner of the No. 4 Kansas/No. 13 California Baptist game will meet St. John’s on March 22 to decide who moves onto the Sweet 16.
