PROVIDENCE, R.I. — St. John’s took out the trash.
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 they started the last two games of the Big East Tournament: poorly. They missed their first five shots and found themselves down 7-0 immediately. They trailed 20-14 at one point. There were obvious jitters, most of the Red Storm players on this stage for the first time.
Aaron Scott and Richmond were both on the bench with two fouls. The bench helped bring the Johnnies back, contributing to a 16-2 run that settled them down. Smith scored five points in the spurt, providing a jolt. Omaha had a chance to get even or lead going into the break, but turned the ball over. On the other end, Smith found Vince Iwuchukwu, who scored inside and drew the foul, giving St. John’s a five-point halftime lead.
The biggest surprise of the opening half was on the glass, where St. John’s was minus-10. Omaha had a whopping 12 offensive rebounds and doubled up the Johnnies in second-chance points, 10-5. St. John’s made up for it from 3-point range, hitting six of them, two apiece from Luis and Wilcher.
When the second half started, St. John’s picked up right where it left off from the Iwuchukwu 3-point play. Luis hit a 3-pointer, Richmond scored inside and Scott sank a 3-pointer. Luis threw down an alley-oop dunk in transition and the lead was up to a game-high 13 points, forcing a quick Omaha timeout.
The bloodletting was only beginning. The lead would grow to 28 at one point, after Deivon Smith found Richmond for a layup with a nifty behind-the-back pass. St. John’s was going to advance in March Madness for the first time in 9,135 days.
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