No. 2 St. John’s dancing shoes will go back on the shelf as they fell to No. 10 Arkansas in the Round of 32 on Saturday, 75-66.
The length from the Razorbacks’ lineup, both guards and big men, caused problems for St. John’s. The Red Storm are one of the nation’s most physical and aggressive teams, and Arkansas matched their physicality from start to finish.
The Johnnies were the bullies in the Big East – Arkansas punched them in the mouth early, causing RJ Luis Jr. and Co. to struggle when driving to the basket. The Big East Player of the Year shot just 2-of-11 from the field in the first half, missing multiple layups that he’s used to making.
Luis finished the game going 3-of-17 from the field and on the bench in the final few minutes with the game on the line. There was a lid on the basket for Luis all afternoon, but Pitino left his leading scorer on the bench with the game on the line.
Zuby Ejiofor put the team on his back, scoring 23 points. Ejiofor absorbed the contact, embraced the physicality of the Razorbacks, and made Calipari’s squad pay at the charity stripe. He shot 8-of-9 from the free-throw line in the first half, and 9-of-11 for the game, but it wasn’t enough to come out on top.
Luis and Kadary Richmond, the team’s top-two leading scorers shot a combined four-for-19. Without either of them shooting well, St. John’s had no chance. Aaron Scott also went zero-for-eight from the field. The three combined for 21 points.
Richmond and Simeon Wilcher had to sit for most of the first half due to foul trouble. The ice-cold performances from Richmond and Wilcher could be the result of sitting a majority of the first half, along with the 20-minute break at halftime. Richmond later fouled out in the second half on a controversial call that had Pitino in disbelief.
Anytime the Johnnies went on a run of its own and cut the deficit to a few points, the team’s No. 1 ranked defense in the country couldn’t get a stop, which was unlike Pitino’s team.
It was a magical season for Pitino and St. John’s – they won their first Big East regular season title outright for the first time in 40 years. They won the Big East Tournament for the first time since 2000. They earned themselves their highest national ranking, No. 5, since December of 1991. St. John’s also won its first NCAA Tournament game since 2000.
The team’s success this season will likely draw many recruits and transfer portal talent to Jamaica, Queens. Some NIL candidates might end up playing for Pitino next season as well.
But for now, St. John’s 2024-2025 historic season has come to an end. For a fanbase that was starving for any sort of success, got more than they ever could’ve dreamt of. Johnnies faithful, as long as Pitino is at the helm, St. John’s has a chance to make a deep run.
