Rick Pitino and the St. John's Red Storm are gearing up for the 2026 NCAA Tournament. College basketball insider John Fanta believes they have a shot at the Final Four.
Fanta answered a question on Wake Up Barstool about St. John’s making a run into the Final Four. He seemed to think they could do at first, but at the end of the rant, he says they could make a deep run into the second weekend of the tournament.
“They are long and athletic with Dillon Mitchell being the swiss army knife. Bryce Hopkins is playing the best basketball of his career, and Zuby Ejiofor is a top ten player right now, I think in America. This guy had seven blocks in the Big East Championship Game. If St. John’s gets anything from the perimeter, and I’m looking at you Ian Jackson, Joson Sanon, Oziyah Sellers. If one or two of those guys can deliver some shot making. You know that Dylan ‘Church Bells’ Darling will deliver it, that was a nasty slam that sent the 19 thousand plus into a frenzy. The Johnnies have what it takes to make it to the second weekend of the tournament,” Fanta said at the 1:11:08 mark.
What lies ahead for St. John's this tournament
It's possible for St. John's to pull off the deep tournament run. However, it will take lot for them on both sides of the ball, especially on offense.
As a team, St. John’s shoots 33.2% from 3-point range, which is up from last year’s accuracy of 30.4% from 3-point range. That 33.2% has St. John’s near the bottom of NCAA teams in the country from 3-point range. They’re 222 out of 250 teams. Defensively though, they do hold opponents to shooting only 31.3% from 3-point range against them.
St. John's boasts a 28-6 overall record on the season, having gone 18-2 in its Big East matchups. They secured the regular-season title and the conference tournament, showing their candidacy as an elite threat for the national championship.
The No. 10 Red Storm will look forward to their journey in the NCAA Tournament. Securing the 5-seed in the East Regional, they take on the 12-seed Northern Iowa Panthers in the first round on March 20 at 4:10 p.m. ET.
