Welcome to the thread for Friday’s NCAA Tournament game between St. John’s and Northern Iowa, where the winner advances to face the victor of 4-seed Kansas vs. 13-seed Cal Baptist in the second round. Please be respectful in the comment section and do not share any illegal streams of the game.
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Game information
Who: 5-seed St. John’s Red Storm (28-6) vs. 12-seed Northern Iowa Panthers (23-12)
When: Friday, March 20, 2026, 7:10 p.m.
Where: Viejas Arena, San Diego, California
TV: CBS
Radio: ESPN New York 880 / 1050 and Westwood One
Series History: This is the first all-time meeting between the Red Storm and the Panthers.
KenPom Predicted Score: St. John’s to win, 71-62 (80% chance of St. John’s win)
Injury news
There is no injury news for Friday’s NCAA Tournament first-round game.
What to watch for
Putting the “D” in San Diego: St. John’s will head into the NCAA Tournament with the best defense in the country since February 15, according to BartTorvik , topping the country with an 89.2 adjusted defensive rating. The Red Storm won their latest Big East Tournament title with suffocating defense. Over three games, they held their opponents to shooting 40.1% overall and 24.5% from three. In the championship game, they held UConn to a season-low 33.9% from the field and 3-of-19 from deep, and forced 15 turnovers against the Huskies for a second time this season.
Zub’ Bisou Bisou: Inexplicably, Zuby Ejiofor did not make one of the three AP All-American teams to end the season. Ejiofor is averaging 16.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.1 blocks (leading his team in all categories), and became the first player to win the Big East’s Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards since Josh Hart did in 2017. It’s obvious that how far the Red Storm goes this March will depend on how dominant their star center can be. He can start on the right foot against a Panthers team that ranks among the ten worst teams in offensive rebound percentage.
Bryce’d Out: Bryce Hopkins’ strong play of late has been a revelation for St. John’s, who waited all season wondering when the All-Big East version of Hopkins would appear. Last week in the Big East Tournament, he played downhill and overwhelmed opposing defenders, bullied them near the basket, and didn’t hesitate to shoot from the perimeter if he had space. Over the Red Storm’s dominant three-day run, Hopkins averaged 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest on 69.6% shooting. If that wasn’t a Garden anomaly and actually an indicator of Hopkins’s resurgence, this would raise the Johnnies’ ceiling significantly.
UNI Both Know This Could Be Close: Of all mid-majors, few are synonymous with the magic of March as Northern Iowa. Many remember their Cinderella run to the Sweet Sixteen after upsetting No. 1 seed Kansas in 2010, or when they ripped the heart out of 6-seed Texas at the buzzer in the 2016 first round. They’re still led by the same person, as Ben Jacobsen enters his 20th year as Panthers head coach.
The Missouri Valley champions are also good enough to add another chapter to their Big Dance mythology, ranking top-25 in KenPom defense this season. St. John’s has never faced Northern Iowa in program history, let alone the NCAA Tournament, but Rick Pitino has. The Hall of Famer led his 4-seed Louisville Cardinals to a gritty 66-53 win over the 5-seed Panthers in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
Soup’s Hot: Northern Iowa leading scorer Trey Campbell is an anomaly in the transfer portal era, starting four years with the Panthers and never choosing to leave his hometown of Cedar Falls. Campbell was shooting unconsciously in the Missouri Valley tournament, putting up 17.8 points per game on 48.1% shooting and 14-of-29 from three (48.3%) to lead the Panthers to four wins in four days. The Red Storm’s guards must keep Campbell from getting to his spots and catching fire if they want to avoid the upset.
The Name’s Bond, Leon Bond: Former four-star recruit Leon Bond has found a home with the Panthers after beginning his career as a bench player for Virginia. Bond is averaging 11.9 points and 4.8 rebounds, while shooting 47.3% from the field and 36.5% from deep. The 6-foot-5 wing was named to the All-MVC defensive team alongside Campbell.
Mess With The Panthers, You Get the Hornseth: Will Hornseth has been holding down the paint for the Panthers as they dealt with leading rebounder Tristan Smith missing action due to injury. Hornseth leads the Panthers with a 60.4% shooting percentage, and he puts up 11.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. Both Hornseth and Smith will have their work cut out inside, as they each stand 6-foot-8 or shorter.
Pregame links
- Why St. John’s men’s basketball could make a big NCAA Tournament run
- Mike Francesa said on his podcast that Zuby Ejiofor transferred from Kansas because he didn’t want to play behind Joel Embiid, who hasn’t played for the Jayhawks in 12 years. The St. John’s alum later issued a retraction, spelling Ejiofor’s first name as “Zoobie”.
- The Athletic’s Andy Behrens picked Johnny Thunderbird as the mascot to win in a hypothetical bracket of NCAA Tournament mascots fighting each other.
- Notable people who are picking St. John’s to win the National Championship include Jimmy Fallon, Saint Peter’s legend Doug Edert, and the Pride of New Jersey, The Rizzler.
- We regret to inform you that Charles Barkley is picking the Johnnies to make a run to the National Championship game. Hopefully, he’s correct for a change.
- St. John’s basketball not changing approach entering matchup with Northern Iowa — Kevin Connelly, Storm The Paint
- Zuby Ejiofor aims to end St. John’s career with deep NCAA Tournament run — Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News
- Video: UNI Panthers prepare for NCAA opener vs. St. John’s — NBC 7 KWWL
- Rick Pitino during Thursday’s media availability: “I can be out of coaching next year. I’m 73. I wanna have the greatest time of my life. I want to coach this game like it’s the last game I’ll ever coach.” — SNY
