With the victory, the Johnnies have won games in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. St. John’s will face fourth-seeded Kansas on Sunday with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line at Viejas Arena. The game will tip at 5:15 p.m. ET on CBS and 1050 AM ESPN New York.
Northern Iowa entered the contest with the nation’s top scoring defense, allowing 61.9 points per game and ranking third in NCAA Division I in 3-point percentage defense (28.5%). The Red Storm’s 79 points were the second-highest allowed by the Panthers this season. St. John’s nailed 10 triples in its opening game of the Big Dance, the team’s highest single-game total since hitting 12 at Creighton on Jan. 10.
Zuby Ejiofor posted a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double and added four blocks on Friday. The big man has racked up a double-double in consecutive NCAA Tournament games dating back to last season and now has eight this season.
Bryce Hopkins delivered a solid effort to open the NCAA Tournament adding 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting and six rebounds. Oziyah Sellers quickly reacclimated to his home state burying three first half 3-pointers and finished with 11 points.
Dillon Mitchell recorded seven points and nine rebounds, while Dylan Darling dished out a game-high five assists.
St. John’s started red-hot jumping out to a 10-0 run, marking its fourth straight contest with an 8-0 run or better. Mitchell intercepted a pass and took off to the other end finishing the two-handed slam through contact to complete the 3-point play, as the initial scoring spurt stretched to 13. Later in the opening half, Ejiofor and Sellers splashed 3-pointers as the lead grew to 19, 32-13, forcing Northern Iowa into its third timeout at the under-8 media stoppage.
The Panthers trimmed their deficit to 13 before the Red Storm responded offensively as free throws from Ejiofor and five straight points from Hopkins ballooned the advantage back to 20. The Red Storm went to the locker room with a 47-28 lead, tied for its largest margin in an opening stanza in St. John’s NCAA Tournament history. The Johnnies knocked down seven triples in the first 20 minutes.
In the second half, Northern Iowa orchestrated an 8-2 scoring spurt to trail by 13, 49-36, at the under-16 media timeout. The Johnnies answered the bell once again with Ian Jackson flushing a 3-pointer. As the game winded down, UNI got back within 15 before Joson Sanon sealed the deal with back-to-back 3-pointers, nailing the last one with 3:20 to go. Mitchell stamped the exclamation point with an alley-oop slam with 57 seconds remaining to cap off a 14-3 run to end the game.
