Rick Pitino’s “let-it-fly” philosophy behind the 3-point line has been refined over the past four decades.
The Hall of Fame coach’s direction to his St. John’s players is more accurately described as “fly and deny.”
Owning the 3-point line and controlling the tempo in Friday’s first-round NCAA Tournament game enabled the Red Storm to cruise to a 79-53 victory over Northern Iowa at Viejas Arena.
“We had to stop it, choke it down and make our 3s,” Pitino said.
That, they did.
Fifth-seeded St. John’s (29-6) went 10 for 29 on 3-pointers while limiting No. 12 Northern Iowa (23-13) to 3 for 14 from behind the arc. The Red Storm also dominated on the boards, outrebounding UNI 45-29, shot 10 more free throws (making nine more) and dictated a faster pace than the Panthers would have liked.
That was the product of St. John’s fast start, which produced a 13-0 lead three minutes into the game. UNI needed 10 minutes to score its first 10 points while struggling with St. John’s full-court defense and dominance on the boards. By halftime, St. John’s had a 47-28 lead.
Ian Jackson #11 of St. John’s gets past Geon Hutchins #2 of Northern Iowa during the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena on Friday, March 20, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
“That wasn’t what we anticipated,” Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson said. “We’ve got a good basketball team, and the start of the game, obviously, shifted a lot of the rhythm or momentum or however you want to kind of picture it in your own mind. It just put us in a tough spot. So for me, I wish I could do that part over.”
There are no do-overs, however. So Northern Iowa headed home while St. John’s fixed its focus on the second round. The Red Storm meets the winner of Friday’s late game between Cal Baptist and Kansas on Sunday at Viejas Arena.
St. John’s shot 55% in the first half. It included seven 3-pointers, one more than the Red Storm averaged per game this season. No fewer than eight St. John’s players launched shots from behind the arc.
“We have our defensive identity,” St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor said. “So defense is our calling card. Offense is going to come … Especially for the rest of the tournament, we know that obviously it’s going to be really huge for us hitting 3s, especially, and holding the opponent down to (fewer) 3s as well.”
Ejiofor led the way with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocked shots — and still wasn’t satisfied with his performance.
“I didn’t play all too well today,” he said.
Said Pitino: “He knows he didn’t play great tonight. He lost a few balls in the paint. He knows he didn’t play great because he’s a great player. But he played good. The great ones know. And Zuby’s always trying to get better. He’s always talking about his teammates.”
Bryce Hopkins #23 of St. John’s celebrates after a three-point basket against UNI during the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena on Friday, March 20, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
His teammates, primarily forward Bryce Hopkins (13 points, 6 rebounds), guard Oziyah Sellers (11 points) and forward Dillon Mitchell (7 points, 9 rebounds), provided plenty of support.
UNI tried to make it interesting in the second half, scoring eight of the first 10 points after intermission. That trimmed the St. John’s lead to 13 points, 49-36, but the Panthers could get no closer. Trey Campbell (14 points), Leon Bond III (12 points) and Will Hornseth (10 points) were all in double figures.
“Once you got past it, once we were past the first three, four minutes, it was a pretty even basketball game for a long time,” Jacobson said. “So one of the things we talked about in the locker room … was knowing that you earned your way here, knowing that you belonged here. This team is good enough to win games in this tournament.”
Just not good enough on this day.