St. John’s found itself on upset alert early. Nerves hung over the second-seeded Johnnies as they missed shots, surrendered rebounds and watched their deficit grow in the first half of Thursday night’s NCAA Tournament opener against a No. 15 Omaha team with nothing to lose. It was an inauspiciou s start for Rick Pitino’s Red Storm, who entered Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I., as 18.5-point favorites but largely lacked experience at the Big Dance. “We came out very tight,” junior guard RJ Luis Jr. said. “This is our first time playing [in the tournament], so I think it was a little bit of nerves.” But St. John’s, as it so often has this season, found its form in the second half, rolling to an 83-53 victory to set up a marquee second-round matchup with John Calipari’s No. 10 Arkansas on Saturday afternoon. It was the resurgent Red Storm’s first NCAA Tournament victory since 2000 and the largest in school history. “Very happy with the win,” Pitino said. “Very happy we’re advancing.” Playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019, the Johnnies (31-4) fell behind, 7-0, and later trailed, 20-14, as Omaha (22-13) dominated the glass and challenged them to shoot 3-pointers. After starting 2-of-9 from behind the arc, the Red Storm made four of their next five 3-point attempts. That included one by Deivon Smith that gave them their first lead, 22-20, with 6:22 remaining before halftime. The 3-point surge came amid a 16-2 run by the Red Storm. Still, St. John’s led just 33-28 at halftime. That was largely the result of hard-hustling Omaha out-rebounding St. John’s by 10 before the break, helping the Mavericks score 10 second-chance points. “It’s just a matter of getting in the flow of the game,” said junior forward Zuby Ejiofor, who totaled only 10 minutes in the NCAA Tournament as a freshman at Kansas two years ago. “We have been starting out pretty slow. Once we all talked to each other and got more engaged and got back to our game, especially in the second half when ultimately it matters the most, we just came together and did whatever it takes to win.” Indeed, St. John’s dominated on both ends in the second half, outscoring Omaha, 50-25. Luis drilled three 3-pointers after halftime, helping him to a game-high 22 points in his NCAA Tournament debut. The Big East Player of the Year shot 8-of-14 from the field, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range, and exited to “MVP” chants in the game’s waning minutes. “We cleaned it up in the second half and we got back to our identity, which is defense,” Luis said. “We brought up the pressure, and we’ve just got to go back and learn from our mistakes in this game and prepare for Saturday.” Omaha, the Summit League champion making its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, finished just 18-of-70 (25.7%) from the field, though it did corral 24 offensive rebounds. “I’m not thrilled with the rebounding,” Pitino said. “I’m thrilled with everything else. We got them to take a lot of bad shots. Defense was excellent.” St. John’s finished 14-of-37 (37.8%) on 3-point attempts, up from its season average of 30.4%. With their first win at the Big Dance in a quarter-century, the Johnnies snapped yet another drought. They previously won their first outright Big East regular-season championship since 1985 and their first Big East Tournament crown since 2000. Thursday’s victory followed a similar formula to the Red Storm’s wins over Marquette and Creighton in the conference tournament — games in which they fell behind in the first half. The latest feat came about 175 miles from their campus in Queens, allowing St. John’s fans to pack the arena. The city of Providence continues to be good to Pitino, who famously led Providence College to the Final Four in 1987 toward the beginning of his career. St. John’s now turns its focus to an Arkansas team (21-13) that outlasted Bill Self and No. 7 Kansas, 79-72, in the earlier night game in Providence. Saturday’s meeting between St. John’s and Arkansas (21-13) is set to renew a decades-long rivalry between Pitino and Calipari. They first squared off 33 years ago, when Pitino, then at Kentucky, beat Calipari, then at UMass, in the Sweet 16. That game was just the start of an epic back-and-forth that’s seen the Hall of Famers meet in two Final Fours — and win one apiece; go head-to-head in the NBA and Conference USA; and later share a state when Pitino led Louisville and Calipari helmed Kentucky. Saturday’s game is the first between Pitino and Calipari since 2016. The latter leads the all-time series, 13-10. “We have not seen this size and athleticism all year,” Pitino said of Calipari’s Razorbacks. “We know what we’re up against.” ...read more read less