St. John’s has won back-to-back Big East Titles. Can they make it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament?
Rick Pitino has St. John’s basketball all the way back. The Red Storm have won back-to-back regular season and tournament titles in the Big East for the first time in program history.
How they got there:
St. John’s came into the season with huge expectations. This was a team ranked 5th in the AP Poll who returned one of their best players from last season in Zuby Ejiofor, and several high-profile transfers in Bryce Hopkins, Oziyah Sellers, Ian Jackson, Joson Sanon, Dillon Mitchell, and Dylan Darling.
As was the case with a lot of college programs that have a completely retooled roster with players who have had zero games played together, St. John’s had a slow start to the season. They struggled early in their tough non-conference schedule, losing to Alabama, Iowa State, Auburn, and Kentucky.
Following their loss to Kentucky, St. John’s actually fell out of the AP Top 25 Poll altogether. And once Big East Conference play opened up, and St. John’s suffered a loss to Providence, this team sat at 9-5 with a very shaky resume.
Then the team started to find its rhythm, rattling off win after win and securing a huge victory over, at the time, third-ranked UConn Huskies. They saw their winning streak reach 13 games in a row before they had a shocking 32-point loss at UConn in their rematch.
From there on out, St. John’s basketball did not lose another game, finishing 18-2 in Big East play to win their second-straight Big East Regular Season Title. It did not stop there as St. John’s was dominant in the Big East Tournament as well, winning each game by double figures against Providence, Seton Hall, and UConn in the championship game.
General Information:
Team: St. John’s
Location: New York City, N.Y.
Record: 28-6
Head Coach: Rick Pitino (38th season, 3rd with St. John’s)
What to know about St. John’s basketball:
St. John’s is a high-energy team that plays elite defense. They ranked 12th in KenPom in defensive efficiency and are led by the 2026 Big East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, Zuby Ejiofor.
“Johnnies don’t get tired, Johnnies don’t get tired,” was what coach Rick Pitino kept repeating after winning the Big East Tournament Title.
Everything you need to know about Ejiofor and St. John’s can be found by watching highlights of their Big East Tournament Championship game against UConn. Ejiofor led the way with 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 blocks in a 72-52 beatdown.
The strength of this team lies in their front-court with Hopkins and Mitchell joining Ejiofor to make a fearsome trio. This trio gets after it on the backboards, especially on the offensive end, securing over 13 offensive rebounds per game, which is 18th best in college basketball.
The one knock on St. John’s basketball is that they aren’t the best shooting team, ranking in the lower middle portion of college basketball as they rank 223rd in 3PT shooting at just over 33% for the season.
NCAA Tournament prediction for St. John’s basketball: Sweet 16 exit
Seed: 5
This St. John’s team just feels different from the 2-seed St. John’s team last season, which had a disappointing round of 32 exit to 10-seed Arkansas. This team is playing red hot right now and has extra motivation following the early exit last season, and a questionable 5 seed.
St. John’s basketball as a program has not advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 1999, and anything less than that for this team would be a failure. This team plays too hard to be upset in the opening round, even against a pesky 12-seed in Northern Iowa that leads the country in fewest points per game allowed.
From there, it is anyone’s guess. If the team that showed up all throughout Big East play continues to show up, then St. John’s is Final Four good. Their struggles in the non-conference portion of their schedule are concerning, as is their streaky shooting.
A Sweet 16 feels like the right prediction for this team, but it would not be shocking if they bust some brackets and make a run to the Final Four for the first time since 1985. And they might have to go through Kansas, Duke, Michigan State, and potentially UConn for a fourth game, if they want to make it to Indy.