St. John's Advances to Sweet 16 for First Time Since 1999, Defeats Kansas
St. John's advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999, defeating fourth-seeded Kansas 67-65 on Sunday with a last-second basket. This followed Kansas's 68-60 victory over Cal Baptist in the first round on Friday night.
Kansas's First-Round Victory
On Friday night, fourth-seeded Kansas (24-10) defeated No. 13 seed Cal Baptist 68-60 in their NCAA Tournament opener.
Kansas established a commanding 48-22 lead early in the second half. Cal Baptist, led by Dominique Daniels Jr.'s 25 points, then initiated an 18-2 run, dramatically reducing the deficit to 66-60 with 1:16 remaining. A mid-range jumper attempt by Daniels did not connect, and Tre White secured the win for Kansas with a dunk.
Darryn Peterson led Kansas with 28 points, including four 3-pointers. Kansas shot 40% from the field overall. Kansas coach Bill Self acknowledged the victory, while Cal Baptist coach Rick Croy praised his team's resilience in their first NCAA Tournament appearance.
Kansas advanced to face No. 5-seeded St. John's, which had previously defeated Northern Iowa 79-53.
St. John's Eliminates Kansas in Second Round
On Sunday, St. John's secured a 67-65 victory over Kansas, marking their first advancement to the Sweet 16 since 1999.
Dylan Darling made a driving layup as time expired, which was his only basket of the game, to secure the win for St. John's.
St. John's led 58-45 with 7 1/2 minutes remaining. Fourth-seeded Kansas then completed a 20-7 run, tying the game at 65-all with 13.1 seconds left after two free throws by Darryn Peterson. Kansas used four fouls to reduce the clock to 3.9 seconds before Darling's decisive shot.
For St. John's (30-6), Zuby Ejiofor and Bryce Hopkins each contributed 18 points. Ejiofor also recorded nine rebounds. For Kansas (24-11), Darryn Peterson scored 21 points, and Melvin Council Jr. added 15 points and nine rebounds.
Coaching ShowdownThe game featured a matchup between Hall of Fame coaches Rick Pitino (St. John's, 73) and Bill Self (Kansas, 63), both with multiple national titles. This was their first encounter in the March Madness tournament and second overall career matchup.
Team Context and Tournament Outlook
St. John's recorded its second and third NCAA Tournament victories in the past 25 years this weekend. The team has won 21 of its last 22 games since early January, and previously won both the Big East regular-season and tournament titles.
St. John's is now scheduled to face No. 1 overall seed Duke in the East Region semifinals in Washington.
Kansas concluded its season with a 24-11 record. The team had not reached the Sweet 16 since their 2022 national championship, and lost six of its final 11 games following a victory against Arizona on February 9.