St. John's dancing, meets Gonzaga first

With the New York television audience staring hard at the NCAA Tournament selection show Sunday, CBS saved St. John's opening matchup against Gonzaga late Thursday night in the Denver subregional for the last game announced in the 68-team field.

Although they knew on a rational level there was no way they could be omitted from the field, St. John's seniors were on pins and needles waiting for the words they've dreamed of hearing for four years.

"After the third bracket was announced, we were wondering if they'd give us a call [Monday] and say, 'We made a mistake,' " forward Justin Burrell joked. "We were in shock. We couldn't understand what was going on. The anticipation building was like a long drumroll."

The Red Storm (21-11) is the sixth seed in the Southeast Regional and needs two wins to advance to New Orleans for the Sweet 16. It is St. John's 27th NCAA Tournament bid but its first since 2002, an appearance that later was vacated by the NCAA for violations committed under the regime of former coach Mike Jarvis.

St. John's was dropped one or two seeds after the season-ending knee injury to forward D.J. Kennedy in their quarterfinal loss to Syracuse in the Big East Tournament. Kennedy watched the show with his teammates at a midtown steakhouse but did not attend the news conference at the New York Athletic Club.

Coach Steve Lavin said Kennedy will serve as a student assistant coach.

"The experience was bittersweet for him," Lavin said. "He's proud in knowing our team couldn't be in this position without his contribution, yet he's devastated with the realization he's not going to be able to participate in the NCAA Tournament. He's handled it with grace and class. If he wasn't emotional, he'd be a robot."

In response to a groundswell of support for Kennedy on Twitter, forward Sean Evans, who is Kennedy's roommate and best friend, said he's planning to distribute T-shirts with the "DoItForDJ" slogan originated on the Internet. Evans unveiled the black T-shirt with red lettering in front of Kennedy at the team gathering and added his own slogan to the back: "I am my brother's keeper."

"We want to make it a trending topic on Twitter," Evans said.

Kennedy's loss will open up more playing time for Evans, who has played a progressively larger role down the stretch. "After the Rutgers game, [Lavin] came to me and said I'm a lead dog now,'' Evans said. "He's giving me the opportunity to play. Coach [Mike] Dunlap told me, 'Sean, if this is going to be your team, you've got to take them by the collar.' Coming from where I was, it's an honor."

The selection committee did the Red Storm no favors. Not only is Gonzaga (24-9), in Spokane, Wash., closer to Denver, but potential third-round opponent Brigham Young (30-4), in Provo, Utah, is even closer. The third-round game could be a TV ratings blockbuster since it features Cougars star Jimmer Fredette, a native of Glens Falls, N.Y., who is the leading scorer in the nation.

After making a season-opening trip to St. Mary's, winning the Great Alaska Shootout, visiting UCLA, winning five Big East road games and beating Top 10 teams, including Duke and Pitt -- No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament -- the Red Storm has shown its toughness.

"Our conference sets us up for things like that,'' Burrell said. "We're prepared.''