St. John’s (28-6) enters this NCAA Tournament matchup as one of the hottest teams in the field, riding a dominant stretch that includes a Big East regular season and tournament title and wins in 19 of its last 20 games under Rick Pitino. The Red Storm bring a balanced profile with strong efficienc y on both ends, led by standout forward Zuby Ejiofor. However, this is far from a comfortable draw against Northern Iowa Panthers (23-12), the Missouri Valley champions, who play at one of the slowest tempos in the country and rely on disciplined defense and perimeter shooting to control games. ...read more read less