Overview
- No. 5 St. John’s faces No. 4 Kansas at 5:15 p.m. ET on CBS from Viejas Arena in San Diego.
- Sportsbooks list St. John’s as a slight favorite (~-3 to -3.5) with the total near 144–145 and moneyline leaning Red Storm.
- Rick Pitino and Bill Self, both multi-title Hall of Famers, have met only once previously, with Kansas beating Pitino’s Iona in 2021.
- Key matchup features St. John’s Big East Player of the Year Zuby Ejiofor, a former Jayhawk coming off a double-double, against KU star freshman Darryn Peterson, who scored 28 in Round 1.
- St. John’s rides a seven-game win streak after routing Northern Iowa, Kansas advanced past Cal Baptist, injury reports show no major absences to core rotations, and the winner earns a Sweet 16 trip to D.C., likely against the East No. 1 seed.