Overview
- No. 5 St. John's (29-6) meets No. 4 Kansas (24-10) on Sunday at Viejas Arena in the East Region second round.
- Rick Pitino praised Bill Self’s staying power and all-around acumen after noting Kansas’ frequent lob-dunk looks.
- St. John's enters on a late-season surge that produced Big East regular-season and tournament titles, then a 79-53 opening win over Northern Iowa.
- Kansas advanced 68-60 past Cal Baptist behind freshman Darryn Peterson’s 28 points; the 6-foot-6 guard is averaging 20.1 this season.
- Big East player of the year Zuby Ejiofor faces his former school as Kansas’ top-25 defense, with shot-blockers Flory Bidunga and Bryson Tiller, tests the Red Storm frontcourt.