There was no doubt that the biggest question mark surrounding the St. John’s basketball team during the entire season, especially in the NCAA Tournament, was the production it would get from its backcourt.
Entering its Sweet 16 matchup against Duke it was even a bigger importance considering the anticipated reliance on the 3-point shot but the Johnnies guards did not have a big enough game, which ultimately led to the end of its season.
The top-seeded Blue Devils escaped with an 80-75 win to advance to Sunday’s Elite 8 matchup against either No. 2 seed UConn or No. 3 seed Michigan State.
With 11.2 seconds left, St. John’s trailed by three, 78-75, as Dylan Darling brought the ball up the floor and was hoping to tie the game. The Red Storm were hoping for a kick out to either Zuby Ejiofor or a shooter in the corner, but Darling took the triple that was just to the right of the top of the key and came up short.
“We were trying to set a screen, a high screen, and get them to help,” Rick Pitino explained of the play. “We didn't necessarily want that shot, but that's okay. He had a slight opening, and he had the gumption to take it.”
While the shot wasn’t the best look for St. John’s, it highlighted the other issues with its guard play.
The combination of Oziyah Sellers, Ian Jackson, Joson Sanon, and Darling scored 18 points and were 7-of-28 from the floor, making only 4-of-20 attempts from 3-point range. Darling had eight of those points and snapped a 0-for-16 streak from 3-point range with two triples.
“That's not the reason [we lost].,” Pitino added of the final possession. “I never look at offense as a reason you lose. Obviously, they weren't going to give us a 3. I always look at defense, and we couldn't guard them to the basket, and that's the reason we lost the game.”
In comparison, St. John’s frontcourt of Zuby Ejiofor, Bryce Hopkins, Dillon Mitchell, and Ruben Prey combined for 57 points on 9-of-12 shooting from 3-point range.
“We made our mistakes. It's no one's fault. They all tried their tails off to win this game…It wasn't that he didn't run the play correctly. It's just that he missed the shot,” Pitino continued.