SAN DIEGO – Friday night, St. John’s began what it hopes will be a long NCAA Tournament run against No. 12 Northern Iowa in an East Region opening-round game.
The Post’s Zach Braziller takes a look at four keys for the fifth-seeded Johnnies:
Zuby has to be Zuby
Last March, St. John’s couldn’t survive a nightmarish performance from its best player, when RJ Luis shot 3-of-17 in a loss to Arkansas. There is even more responsibility riding on the broad shoulders of Zuby Ejiofor, the Big East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. He is the Johnnies’ leader in points (16.1), rebounds (7.1), assists (3.5) and blocked shots (2.1). The popular, high-character 6-foot-9 forward is their defensive linchpin and safety valve on the offensive end. It would be hard for St. John’s to survive a poor night from Ejiofor. It is worth noting that in that Arkansas loss, Ejiofor was the Johnnies’ best player by a large margin, tallying 23 points and 12 rebounds.
Protect the defensive glass
St. John’s has come a long way in this department since non-conference play, when poor defensive rebounding directly led to losses to Alabama, Kentucky, Iowa State and Auburn. They were tops in the Big East in defensive rebounding percentage in conference play. A big part of that was Coach Rick Pitino going to a three-forward starting lineup with Dillon Mitchell and Bryce Hopkins flanking Ejiofor following a Jan. 3 loss to Providence. Still, nobody in the Big East could really match the Red Storm’s combination of size and athleticism up front. That will be different in this tournament, granted St. John’s gets past Northern Iowa.
Can Bryce Hopkins’ ascension continue?
Ejiofor was the Most Outstanding Player of the Big East Tournament, and deservedly so after his brilliant play across three games, but an argument can be made that Hopkins’ performance was the biggest development for St. John’s. He was efficient offensively, terrific defensively and consistent. In the tournament, he averaged 15 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals. He also shot 50 percent from 3-point range. He hit the biggest shot of the three games, a left-elbow jumper that changed the momentum of the championship game after Connecticut had gotten within seven in the second half. When Hopkins is an offensive force, it changes St. John’s dynamic, because it doesn’t have to depend so much on Ejiofor.
3-point shooting
St. John’s improved in this area this season, but it still entered the tournament 217th in the country in 3-point percentage at 33.2, a figure that was only slightly better in conference action (33.9). It does have more consistent options than a year ago in Oziyah Sellers, Joson Sanon and Ian Jackson. To go far, the Red Storm will have to make shots from deep, because scoring inside will be difficult the further they advance. There are reasons for optimism. Sellers and Sanon have been more productive of late, and Dylan Darling has made a number of clutch 3s this season. The guards will be needed to come through. Remember, in the dismal finish a year ago to Arkansas, the Red Storm shot a dreadful 2-of-22 from distance.
