Meet the Big East champion St. John’s Red Storm, who enter March Madness as the No. 5 seed in the East.
Location: Queens
Enrollment: 16,651 undergraduates (20,435 total)
Coach: Rick Pitino (3rd season)
Last NCAA appearance: 2025
NCAA Tournament history: 31 appearances, 28-33
How they got here: St. John’s started slowly and was 9-5 after an ugly home loss to Providence on Jan. 3. Since then, few teams have been better. The Johnnies have won 19 of their past 20 games and became the first Big East team ever to win back-to-back outright regular-season and postseason titles. The versatile frontcourt of Zuby Ejiofor, Dillon Mitchell and Bryce Hopkins has been dominant, and Dylan Darling has emerged as a key piece at point guard. The nation’s top-ranked transfer class delivered two more titles to Queens.
Starters
G Dylan Darling
7.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.5 apg
G Oziyah Sellers
10.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.7 apg
F Dillon Mitchell
8.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 3.1 apg
F Bryce Hopkins
13.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.0 apg
F Zuby Ejiofor
16.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 3.5 apg
Key reserves
G Ian Jackson
9.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.2 apg
G Joson Sanon
8.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.6 apg
G/F Sadiku Ibine Ayo
1.9 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 0.5 spg
F Ruben Prey
3.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 0.9 apg
Player to Watch
No matter what happens in the NCAA Tournament, Zuby Ejiofor will be remembered as a Red Storm legend, as the face of the first three years of the Rick Pitino era. The dynamic 6-foot-9 forward followed up a Big East Player of the Year award by being named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after averaging 19.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 blocks and 3.0 assists in three games. He is the team leader in scoring, rebounds, assists and blocked shots.
Key Numbers
12: The Red Storm’s national ranking in defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions).
35.8: St. John’s offensive rebounding percentage, the 28th highest in the country.
6: Teams that Pitino has led to the NCAA Tournament as head coach — a number unmatched in college basketball history.
59: Wins the past two seasons, St. John’s most in a two-year span since the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons.
13: Red Storm wins away from home.
