It’s been a near perfect two and a half months for the St. John’s basketball team and, despite the No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament and getting shipped out to San Diego for the first weekend, the vibes remain high with the Red Storm.
After its domination of the Big East Tournament last week, the Johnnies will be looking to keep that same mojo rolling into March Madness on Friday evening when playing No. 12 Northern Iowa in the Round of 64.
Granted, every time St. John’s takes the floor there must be non-negotiables in order to a win a basketball game such as domination from Zuby Ejiofor, the Big East Player and Defensive Player of the Year.
However, the Red Storm are going to need a few other things to go its way if it wants to extend it season to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2000.
Key No. 1: Bryce Hopkins must continue Big East Tournament form
There have been stretches this season in which Bryce Hopkins has looked like the former All-Big East First Team selection, but none were better than the three games he put together during the Big East Tournament.
Hopkins averaged 15.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.0 steals per game in the Red Storm’s title run while making 16-of-23 shot attempts. It led to a spot on the All-Big East Tournament Team and served as a reminder as to what he can be when he’s healthy and aggressive.
If St. John’s can get some semblance of the same Bryce Hopkins that took the floor at Madison Square Garden, it will be a very tough out this week.
Key No. 2: Backcourt has to be consistent
It’s been the Jekel-and-Hyde show for most of the season for the Red Stom backcourt. At times, the combinations of Dylan Darling, Oziyah Sellers, Ian Jackson, and Joson Sanon have been great while they’ve also struggled in key spots.
However, consistency will be the key in the NCAA Tournament.
Darling struggled offensively for the entirety of the Big East Tournament until the final seven minutes against UConn. Jackson has been boom-or-bust for nearly the entire season like Sanon, who has been a bit more consistent over the last three weeks.
Sellers, the most lethal 3-point shooter on the Johnnies, has been showing up in the big moments this season and will need to find a couple of more big shots this season.
Don’t even be surprised if Lefteris Liotopoulos finds himself with the ball in his hands in a big moment, seeing seven minutes against UConn in the Big East Championship and 17 minutes in last year’s Round of 32 due to foul trouble.
St. John’s is shooting only 33.2-percent from the outside as a team this season.
Key No. 3: Stay out of foul trouble
St. John’s had its season end last season in part due to foul trouble. It was a killer against Arkansas as RJ Luis struggled with his shot and Kadary Richmond was glued to the bench, eventually playing only 16 minutes after fouling out midway through the second half.
It’s something that cannot happen again this year.
The Red Storm only committed 17 fouls in its Round of 64 win over Omaha last year with nobody accumulating more than three fouls, but its 20 fouls against Arkansas proved to be detrimental to its chances of advancing.
If St. John’s is able to defeat Northern Iowa and gets a matchup with Kansas, it cannot find itself searching the bench to replace its starters or it could be a long night for the Johnnies.