St. John's University Athletics
Sunday, March 22
San Diego, Calif. (Viejas Arena)
5:15 p.m.
St. John's University
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Kansas
Fifth-Seeded St. John’s Readies for Sunday Showdown with Fourth-Seeded Kansas in NCAA Tournament Second Round
3/21/2026 2:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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Red Storm and Jayhawks will tip-off at 5:15 p.m. ET from San Diego with Sweet 16 berth on the line
SAN DIEGO - The fifth-seeded St. John's men's basketball team (29-6) will battle fourth-seeded Kansas (24-10) on Sunday in the NCAA Tournament East Region Second Round.
The Johnnies and Jayhawks will square off for a berth to the Sweet 16 beginning at 5:15 p.m. ET from Viejas Arena in San Diego. CBS will carry the national telecast with Kevin Harlan, Robbie Hummel, Stan Van Gundy on the call. Lauren Shehadi will serve as the sideline report. A video stream will additionally be available on March Madness Live.
The LEARFIELD St. John's Radio Network broadcast will be available with John Minko and Brandon Tierney on 1050 AM ESPN New York, the Varsity Network, TuneIn, Sirius XM Channels 201 or 203 and the St. John's Red Storm App.
For a list of watch parties around New York City and all over the country visit the St. John's Alumni page here.
St. John's opened the 2026 NCAA Tournament with a 79-53 rout of 12th-seeded Northern Iowa, tying for the second largest margin of victory ever in the program's 31 appearances in the Big Dance. The Red Storm sprinted out to a 13-0 cushion and never looked in its first round matchup. The win marked the Johnnies' first in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments victories since the 1999-2000 seasons.
Zuby Ejiofor recorded his eighth double-double of the season on Friday, tallying 14 points and 11 rebounds, in addition to four blocks on Friday. The big man moved into the top-five all-time in career blocks at St. John's, tying Tariq Owens (2016-18) with 163 swats, good for fifth place on the leaderboard. Over the last seven games, the BIG EAST Player of the Year is averaging 19.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.4 blocks per game.
Bryce Hopkins delivered his fifth straight double-digit scoring performance against UNI on Friday. The All-BIG EAST Second Team selection finished with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting at Viejas Arena.
In the postseason, the Red Storm has capitalized on fast starts engineering an 8-0 run or better in all of its last four contests, dating back to the BIG EAST Quarterfinal victory over Providence on March 12. St. John's has not trailed since the 2:01 mark of the first half in its regular season finale at Seton Hall on March 6.
The Red Storm is seeking its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1999, when St. John's advanced to the Elite Eight. The program will make its 14th all-time second round appearance since 1979 on Sunday.
Sunday's contest will feature two all-time greats in Rick Pitino and Bill Self patrolling the sidelines. The duo has combined for 1,755 wins, 10 Final Four appearances and four National Championships. Despite both of their long-tenured coaching successes, the pair of all of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers will meet for just the second time. Self's then-No. 4 Jayhawks outlasted Pitino's Iona Gaels, 96-83, in the ESPN Events Invitational on Nov. 28, 2021.
St. John's and Kansas, two of the top-eight winningest programs in NCAA Division I Basketball history, will meet in the Big Dance for the first time in 74 years. The two squads faced off in the 1952 National Championship game in Seattle with the Jayhawks taking home their first of four national titles in an 80-63 decision. The two programs will meet for the 15th time with Kansas leading the series, 9-5. The last meeting came on Dec. 3, 2021, with the Jayhawks recording a 95-75 victory in the first-ever college basketball game at UBS Arena. The Red Storm's last win over Kansas came on Dec. 30, 1987.
Kansas comes into Sunday's contest after a 68-60 victory over 13th-seeded Cal Baptist. The Jayhawks led by as many as 26 in the second before an 18-2 Lancers run made it a six-point game in the final minute. Darryn Peterson led all scorers with 28 points in the winning effort.
Peterson, one of the expected most highly-touted prospects in the upcoming NBA Draft, averages 20.2 points per game. The rookie phenom has reached the 20-point mark in 13 of his 23 appearances for the Jayhawks.
Kansas ranks eighth nationally in defensive efficiency according to KenPom, allowing 67.8 points per possession. The Red Storm's last four opponents- Kansas (8), UConn (13), Seton Hall (20) and Northern Iowa (26) all check in inside the top-30 in defensive efficiency. The Johnnies have averaged 76.3 points per game against the three aforementioned squads.
The winner of Sunday's contest will meet the winner of top-seeded Duke and ninth-seeded TCU in the East Regional Sweet 16 at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. on Friday, March 27.
The Johnnies and Jayhawks will square off for a berth to the Sweet 16 beginning at 5:15 p.m. ET from Viejas Arena in San Diego. CBS will carry the national telecast with Kevin Harlan, Robbie Hummel, Stan Van Gundy on the call. Lauren Shehadi will serve as the sideline report. A video stream will additionally be available on March Madness Live.
The LEARFIELD St. John's Radio Network broadcast will be available with John Minko and Brandon Tierney on 1050 AM ESPN New York, the Varsity Network, TuneIn, Sirius XM Channels 201 or 203 and the St. John's Red Storm App.
For a list of watch parties around New York City and all over the country visit the St. John's Alumni page here.
St. John's opened the 2026 NCAA Tournament with a 79-53 rout of 12th-seeded Northern Iowa, tying for the second largest margin of victory ever in the program's 31 appearances in the Big Dance. The Red Storm sprinted out to a 13-0 cushion and never looked in its first round matchup. The win marked the Johnnies' first in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments victories since the 1999-2000 seasons.
Zuby Ejiofor recorded his eighth double-double of the season on Friday, tallying 14 points and 11 rebounds, in addition to four blocks on Friday. The big man moved into the top-five all-time in career blocks at St. John's, tying Tariq Owens (2016-18) with 163 swats, good for fifth place on the leaderboard. Over the last seven games, the BIG EAST Player of the Year is averaging 19.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.4 blocks per game.
Bryce Hopkins delivered his fifth straight double-digit scoring performance against UNI on Friday. The All-BIG EAST Second Team selection finished with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting at Viejas Arena.
In the postseason, the Red Storm has capitalized on fast starts engineering an 8-0 run or better in all of its last four contests, dating back to the BIG EAST Quarterfinal victory over Providence on March 12. St. John's has not trailed since the 2:01 mark of the first half in its regular season finale at Seton Hall on March 6.
The Red Storm is seeking its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1999, when St. John's advanced to the Elite Eight. The program will make its 14th all-time second round appearance since 1979 on Sunday.
Sunday's contest will feature two all-time greats in Rick Pitino and Bill Self patrolling the sidelines. The duo has combined for 1,755 wins, 10 Final Four appearances and four National Championships. Despite both of their long-tenured coaching successes, the pair of all of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers will meet for just the second time. Self's then-No. 4 Jayhawks outlasted Pitino's Iona Gaels, 96-83, in the ESPN Events Invitational on Nov. 28, 2021.
St. John's and Kansas, two of the top-eight winningest programs in NCAA Division I Basketball history, will meet in the Big Dance for the first time in 74 years. The two squads faced off in the 1952 National Championship game in Seattle with the Jayhawks taking home their first of four national titles in an 80-63 decision. The two programs will meet for the 15th time with Kansas leading the series, 9-5. The last meeting came on Dec. 3, 2021, with the Jayhawks recording a 95-75 victory in the first-ever college basketball game at UBS Arena. The Red Storm's last win over Kansas came on Dec. 30, 1987.
Kansas comes into Sunday's contest after a 68-60 victory over 13th-seeded Cal Baptist. The Jayhawks led by as many as 26 in the second before an 18-2 Lancers run made it a six-point game in the final minute. Darryn Peterson led all scorers with 28 points in the winning effort.
Peterson, one of the expected most highly-touted prospects in the upcoming NBA Draft, averages 20.2 points per game. The rookie phenom has reached the 20-point mark in 13 of his 23 appearances for the Jayhawks.
Kansas ranks eighth nationally in defensive efficiency according to KenPom, allowing 67.8 points per possession. The Red Storm's last four opponents- Kansas (8), UConn (13), Seton Hall (20) and Northern Iowa (26) all check in inside the top-30 in defensive efficiency. The Johnnies have averaged 76.3 points per game against the three aforementioned squads.
The winner of Sunday's contest will meet the winner of top-seeded Duke and ninth-seeded TCU in the East Regional Sweet 16 at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. on Friday, March 27.
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