March Madness: St. John's cruises past Northern Iowa in first round of NCAA Tournament
St. John's forward Dillon Mitchell, above, dunks as Northern Iowa guard Trey Campbell looks on during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament on Friday in San Diego. Credit: AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez
SAN DIEGO — St. John’s may have been given a No. 5 seeding for the 2026 NCAA Tournament, but it treated No. 12 Northern Iowa the way top seeds traditionally treat No. 16s in Friday night’s East Regional first-round game at Viejas Arena.
The Red Storm were on the attack from the tipoff, scored the game’s first 13 points in just a shade over three minutes, built the lead to 21 before halftime and coasted to a 79-53 victory.
The Red Storm (29-6), who have won seven straight and 20 of their last 21, will meet fourth-seeded Kansas — which beat 13th-seeded California Baptist, 68-60, late Friday night — in the second round on Sunday. St. John’s will be attempting to earn a spot in the Sweet 16 for the 10th time and first since 1999.
St. John’s was a No. 2 seed in the 2025 tournament, in which it also reached the round of 32, but the Red Storm were upset by No. 10 Arkansas.
Zuby Ejiofor had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Bryce Hopkins had 13 points and six rebounds. Oziyah Sellers scored 11 points, including three three-pointers. Dylan Mitchell had seven points and nine rebounds and Dylan Darling had six points, five rebounds and five assists for St. John’s.
Trey Campbell had 14 points for Northern Iowa (23-13).
St. John’s clicked like a well-oiled machine in the first half, with virtually every part of its game working. It shot 55% from the floor and was 7-for-15 on three-point attempts.
St. John’s led 47-28 at halftime and never let Northern Iowa get closer than 13 points after intermission.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
