The Red Storm will play 15-seed Omaha in the First Round on Thursday (9:45 p.m., CBS)
The NCAA men’s basketball tournament selection committee has named St. John’s a 2-seed in the West Region during Sunday’s bracket reveal show, pitting the Red Storm against 15-seed Omaha in the first round of the tournament.
St. John’s officially punched their ticket for the 2025 NCAA Tournament by defeating Creighton and winning the Big East Tournament for the first time since 2000. This auto-bid marks their first appearance in March Madness since 2019 and their first time in the tournament’s main draw since 2015.
Hall of Fame head coach Rick Pitino not only resuscitated a once-proud program but has turned St. John’s into one of the defining stories of this college basketball season. In his second season in charge, Pitino constructed a concrete-tough, defense-first roster led by Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis, Jr., the conference’s Most Improved Player of the Year Zuby Ejiofor, and two-time All-Big East selection Kadary Richmond. The Red Storm have the highest KenPom adjusted defensive rating in the nation, ranking within the top-25 nationally in two-point percentage defense, block percentage, and steal percentage.
St. John’s racked up a laundry list of accomplishments and broken droughts. The Red Storm won their first share of the Big East regular season since 1992, achieved their highest AP poll ranking since 1991, and their first outright Big East regular season title since 1986. They also eclipsed the 30-win mark for the third time in program history and tied the Big East record for most regular season wins with 18, matching last season’s National Champion UConn Huskies.
The Johnnies will also look to break a few more dry spells over the next few weeks. St. John’s has not won an NCAA tournament game since 2000, the second-longest drought among high-major programs. They have also not reached the Sweet Sixteen since 1999, the Final Four since 1985, and the National Championship game since 1952.
The Red Storm’s opponent on Thursday is the Summit League champion Omaha Mavericks, who are making their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance and are ranked 156th in KenPom. Led by third-year head coach Chris Crutchfield, the Mavericks enter March Madness with a 22-12 and having won their conference regular season and tournament titles.
Either St. John’s or Omaha will face the winner of the 7-versus-10 matchup between the Kansas Jayhawks and Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday, meaning Rick Pitino could face either Bill Self or John Calipari in a matchup of Hall of Fame head coaches.
Thursday’s first-round tournament game will be hosted at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island (9:45 p.m., CBS).