St. Johns cruises to dominant March Madness win over Omaha to set up date with Arkansas
PROVIDENCE, R.I.— St.
John’s took out the trash. Join Post Sports+ for exciting member-only features, including real-time texting with Zach Braziller about the inside buzz on St.John’s.
Omaha never came close to their quirky postgame tradition of beating up a trash bin after victories.Instead, it was the second-seeded Johnnies who were the ones celebrating as Thursday night became Friday morning after their first NCAA Tournament victory in 25 years. First-half nerves for this win-starved fan base turned into a stress-free final 15 minutes as this second-half team continued its dominance over opponents after halftime. St.
John’s scored 12 of the first 14 points after the break, and cruised past the No.15 seed in this West Region first-round game, moving on with an 83-53 mauling that sets up a clash of coaching giants on Saturday at Amica Mutual Pavilion.
The 30-point margin of victory was the largest in St.John’s NCAA Tournament history. It will be Hall of Famers Rick Pitino against John Calipari once again, as St.
John’s meets Arkansas with a Sweet 16 bid on the line. The Johnnies (31-4) left no doubt after a shaky start, imposing their will.At one point, they scored 30 of a possible 38 points, running Omaha off the floor.
Fresh off being named the Big East Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, RJ Luis Jr.hit five 3-pointers and scored a team-high 22 points to go along with eight rebounds.
Simeon Wilcher chipped in 13 points, Zuby Ejiofor added 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks and Kadary Richmond notched 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists. St.John’s equaled a season high with 14 made 3-pointers in 37 attempts, which set a program NCAA Tournament record.
The Johnnies manhandled Omaha (22-13) over the final 20 minutes, outscoring them 50-25.The Summit League school, one of the better 3-point shooting teams in the country, was just 5-of-36 from long range. The Johnnies started the NCAA Tournament like t...