St. John's University Athletics
St. John’s Earns Fifth-Seed in NCAA Tournament; Red Storm to Face Northern Iowa on Friday
3/15/2026 7:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Red Storm men’s basketball team will open the Big Dance at Viejas Arena in San Diego
QUEENS, N.Y. – The back-to-back BIG EAST Champions, St. John's men's basketball team, earned the fifth-seed in the NCAA Tournament East Region and will face 12th-seeded Northern Iowa on Friday.
The Red Storm will make its 31st NCAA Tournament appearance at Viejas Arena in San Deigo. The Johnnies will tip-off at 7:10 p.m. ET on CBS. If St. John's were to advance, it would face the winner of fourth-seeded Kansas and 13th-seeded Cal Baptist.
St. John's became the first school in BIG EAST history to win back-to-back outright regular season crowns and tournament championships. The top-seeded Johnnies rolled to their fifth BIG EAST Tournament Championship, winning all three games by double-digits, including a 72-52 triumph over UConn in final on Saturday.
The Johnnies qualified for consecutive NCAA Tournaments for the first time since 1999-2000. Last year, St. John's won its first game in the Big Dance in 25 years with its largest margin of victory in an NCAA Tournament game in program history. St. John's holds a 28-32 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament and will be a five-seed for the third time (1982, 1993). The Red Storm have advanced to nine Sweet 16's, six Elite Eight's, two Final Fours (1952, 1985) and finished NCAA Finalists in 1952.
Rick Pitino will make his 25th NCAA Tournament appearance at his sixth different school. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer holds a 55-22 (.714) all-time record and has made it to three Final Fours at three different schools.
The Red Storm will make its 31st NCAA Tournament appearance at Viejas Arena in San Deigo. The Johnnies will tip-off at 7:10 p.m. ET on CBS. If St. John's were to advance, it would face the winner of fourth-seeded Kansas and 13th-seeded Cal Baptist.
St. John's became the first school in BIG EAST history to win back-to-back outright regular season crowns and tournament championships. The top-seeded Johnnies rolled to their fifth BIG EAST Tournament Championship, winning all three games by double-digits, including a 72-52 triumph over UConn in final on Saturday.
The Johnnies qualified for consecutive NCAA Tournaments for the first time since 1999-2000. Last year, St. John's won its first game in the Big Dance in 25 years with its largest margin of victory in an NCAA Tournament game in program history. St. John's holds a 28-32 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament and will be a five-seed for the third time (1982, 1993). The Red Storm have advanced to nine Sweet 16's, six Elite Eight's, two Final Fours (1952, 1985) and finished NCAA Finalists in 1952.
Rick Pitino will make his 25th NCAA Tournament appearance at his sixth different school. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer holds a 55-22 (.714) all-time record and has made it to three Final Fours at three different schools.
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