SAN DIEGO — Bryce Hopkins, 3-point sniper?
Suddenly, the senior forward is lighting it up from distance.
On Sunday, he set a St. John’s NCAA Tournament record with six 3-pointers in nine tries as the fifth-seeded Johnnies advanced to the Sweet 16 with a pulsating 67-65 victory over No. 4 Kansas at Viejas Arena.
“I wanted to come here to play meaningful basketball and have a chance to make a big run in March,” Hopkins said. “We’re definitely doing it.”
Hopkins’ success from long range has been a recent boon. He has hit multiple 3-pointers in three straight games after failing to do so in consecutive games all season. His previous career high for made 3s in a game was three.
“He passed up three wide-open ones. I said, ‘Man, everybody dreams of getting hot like you. You’ve got to take them,’ ” coach Rick Pitino said. “He finally said, ‘I gotcha, Coach.’ And right in front of our bench, I said, ‘Kill it, Hop.’ And he did it. And that was a big play for us.”
Pitino was referring to a Hopkins 3-pointer with 1:29 remaining that pushed a one-point lead to four.
Hopkins has been terrific of late, averaging 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in the past six games.
He’s also shooting a blistering 57.8 percent from 3-point range.
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Now, he’s in the Sweet 16 for the first time.
“I feel like I’m a good shooter. I practice every day. It’s a matter of me being confident,” Hopkins said. “My guys give me confidence. It fell tonight. It feels really good to be going to the Sweet 16.”
Hopkins and St. John’s have hit 21 3-pointers in two NCAA Tournament games, a key to the Red Storm advancing to the second weekend for the first time since 1999.
That’s their most 3s in consecutive games this season.
“We shoot a lot of 3s. We practice. It’s a matter of guys being confident and taking them,” Hopkins said. “They fell tonight in the biggest moment of most of our careers.”
Now, the Red Storm will play their next game at Capital One Arena, where they hit a season-high 15 3-pointers in a win over Georgetown on Dec. 31.
“Hopefully, we can come back and make another 15 3s when we go there,” Hopkins said.
