For the first time in six years, St. John’s returned to the NCAA Tournament.
Thursday night, the Red Storm revisited Amica Mutual Pavilion for its opening round in the Big Dance. In a dominant record-setting 83-53 victory over Omaha, resilience was tested before a second-half boat race.
RJ Luis Jr. led the Johnnies with 22 points and eight rebounds in their first tournament victory since 2000.
Whether it was the pressure of avoiding an early exit as a 2-seed, March nerves or the sound of banging trash cans, Rick Pitino’s group started completely flat. Almost immediately, the Big East Champions fell down 7-0, causing panic in Rhode Island.
“The whole team, we came out very tight,” Luis said. “Little bit of nerves, but we cleaned it up in the second half and got back to our identity, which is defense.”
Kadary Richmond finally took the lid off the basket by rattling in a mid-range jumper, and Luis exploded for eight straight points, settling the nerves — at least on offense.
Somehow, the Mavericks flipped St. John’s strength against them: dominating the glass. The Red Storm struggled to get consistent stops on the defensive end, conceding 12 offensive rebounds in the first half alone.
With Richmond and Aaron Scott picking up two quick fouls, Pitino turned to his depth to restore the Johnnies’ brand of basketball. Ruben Prey drained a three-pointer as part of a 14-2 run, giving St. John’s a second to breathe.
Suddenly down eight, Omaha turned to the Summit League Player of the Year and Tournament MVP. Marquel Sutton converted on back-to-back layups late in the half, trimming the upset-hopeful’s deficit to just two.
A timely and-one from Vince Iwuchukwu sent the Red Storm into the break with a five-point lead.
Perhaps Pitino reprised his now-infamous halftime speech from the Johnnies’ win at Providence in late December because yet again, the game’s final 20 minutes were all St. John’s.
“Pretty typical of the way we were all season,” Pitino said. “We didn’t play particularly well, because [Omaha is] a tough team to guard.”
After Luis sank a three-pointer on the first possession of the second half, the contest was essentially over. Completely taking over, the Big East Player of the Year spearheaded a 17-5 run, erasing any chatter regarding an upset.
As the triples continued to fall for Luis, Scott and Deivon Smith joined in on the deep-range fun. Eventually, the Red Storm’s three-point total rose to 14, tying a season-high while setting a new program record for most attempts in an NCAA Tournament game with 37.
Despite an uncharacteristic box score from Richmond, Simeon Wilcher stepped into a larger role and flourished. He finished with 13 points on an efficient 5-of-9 shooting, breaking a three-game slump where the promising sophomore never tallied more than seven points.
Postgame, Luis described how constant ball movement creates open looks for Wilcher, and when given the opportunity, “he knocks them down.”
St. John’s outscored Omaha 50-25 in the second half, making a significant statement en route to a date with Arkansas on Saturday at 2:40 p.m. EST.
In their first meeting since the 2016-17 season, Pitino is set to take on Razorbacks’ head coach John Calipari following the latter’s 79-72 win over Kansas.
“We’re going to have to play [our] best game of the season to beat [Arkansas],” Pitino said. “We know that.”
To access the final box score from the St. John’s win over Omaha, click here.
