St. John’s University’s basketball team is heading to San Diego. They are a No. 5 seed in the East region, and will play Northern Iowa in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.

Head coach Rick Pitino, who brought the team back to prominence, is getting ready to study Northern Iowa’s basketball team.

What You Need To Know

St. John’s University’s basketball team is heading to San Diego. They are a No. 5 seed in the East region, and will play Northern Iowa in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday

The Johnnies won the Big East tournament on Saturday night, becoming back-to-back champions, beating the University of Connecticut in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden

St. John’s is hoping to go further than they did during last year’s NCAA Tournament, when they were knocked out after round two

“We know nothing about them now except statistics, and statistics don’t always tell the story, so we got to study them,” Pitino said at a press conference following the announcement. “Right now, we’re playing good basketball, and that’s the most important thing. Not who you’re playing, but make sure you’re playing good basketball.”

The players are planning to give it everything they’ve got.

“Every opponent that you play in the tournament is never going to be easy, like coach has said, and our biggest thing is how we prepare each and every day and how we approach each day,” St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor said.

The Johnnies won the Big East tournament on Saturday night, becoming back-to-back champions, beating the University of Connecticut in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden.

After the game, the Empire State Building was lit up in red and white to honor their win. They are heading into March Madness with a lot of momentum, and fans are pumped.

“To be here, to be a part of it, it sends chills throughout my body,” Katie Donohoe, a student and president of Redzone at St. John’s, told NY1. “It’s something I’m going to remember for the rest of my life.”

“When St. John’s is good, the city is behind them wholeheartedly,” Billy Rabold, an alumni and super fan, added. “People that have graduated 40 years ago and people who are freshmen, they’re always getting together, they’re celebrating, they’re cheering together.”

Pitino says the team will head to San Diego on either Tuesday or Wednesday.

The Johnnies hope to go further than they did during last year’s NCAA Tournament, when they were knocked out after round two.

NY1 will be following along as St. John’s chases the national title.