Access the St. John's beat like never before
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting withZach Braziller about the inside buzz on St. John’s.
TRY IT NOWPROVIDENCE, R.I. — In the building where St. John’s once celebrated, it suffered heartbreak.
Nearly three months ago, they won at Amica Mutual Pavilion at the buzzer, one of the memorable moments of this unforgettable season.
Saturday afternoon, it was the site where the dream year came to a sudden halt.
There will be no Sweet 16 for Rick Pitino and his Johnnies.
They will have to settle for a frustrating second-round exit in the NCAA Tournament after this 75-66 loss to No. 10 Arkansas and John Calipari.
“I’ve had a lot of tough losses and I’ve had a lot of great victories in the NCAA Tournament, and it always ends with you hating this moment,” Pitino said.
Second-seeded St. John’s Achilles’ heel, shooting, was its undoing.
Zuby Ejiofor reacts after St. John’s lost to Arkansas on March 22. Charles Wenzelberg
Rick Pitino congratulates John Calipari. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Rick Pitino speaks with his team during the second half. Charles Wenzelberg/New York PostThey shot a nightmarish 28 percent, went 2-for-22 from 3-point range and got almost no production from stars RJ Luis Jr. and Kadary Richmond, who shot a combined 5-for-24.
Arkansas’ length and athleticism proved to be problematic, reminiscent of St. John’s loss in the Bahamas to fellow SEC school Georgia.
Obviously, it didn’t help that Richmond managed just five points in 16 foul-plagued minutes or that Luis, the Big East Player of the Year, shot 3-for-17 from the field and was on the bench for the final 4:56.
Asked why he sat Luis, Pitino referred to his poor night shooting, and said: “I’m not going to knock one of my players.”
Luis faulted himself afterward, saying he let his teammates down.
He took the loss hard.
RJ Luis Jr. sat in crunch time. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
RJ Luis Jr. and St. John’s could not rally enough in the second half. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
St. John’s season came to an early end. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post“I should’ve been more of a leader,” the junior said. “That’s on me.”
St. John’s managed just five assists, was limited to five points in transition and missed eight of its final nine shots. Arkansas blocked seven shots.
The Johnnies’ 66 points were their fewest in a game since a win at Georgetown on Jan. 28.
“We haven’t faced that type of length and athleticism this year. That’s not the reason we lost the game,” Pitino said. “We lost the game because we did not move the basketball enough and that led to us shooting a very low percentage.”
John Calipari’s Arkansas squad is moving on. Charles Wenzelberg/New York PostZuby Ejiofor was St. John’s best player by far, notching 23 points and 12 rebounds.
Deivon Smith added 13 points and six rebounds.
Billy Richmond III led Arkansas (22-13) with 16 points.
The loss ends a remarkable year that saw the Red Storm win their first outright Big East regular-season title since 1985 and first Big East Tournament crown in 25 years.
Karter Knox reacts after scoring during Arkansas’ win over St. John’s on March 22. Charles WenzelbergBut they had higher hopes, of reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time in 26 years.
“Obviously, it sucks,” Ejiofor said. “I felt like we could have been better in a lot of areas. It just sucks.”
It was a familiar first-half script: a slow start. St. John’s found itself down 14-6 at the first media timeout. They began by missing eight of their first 10 shots.
Zuby Ejiofor dunks the ball during the St. John’s loss to Arkansas on March 22. Charles WenzelbergThey pulled even at 24 following a 10-2 run that was powered by Ejiofor, and led by as many as four, but closed the half by missing their last seven shots and going scoreless over the final 2:38.
Arkansas scored the final seven points of the period to take a three-point lead into intermission.
Want to tune into as much March Madness as you can? DIRECTV Stream and Hulu + Live TV both have you covered with every channel you’ll need, plus free trials.
St. John’s shooting struggles continued into the second half, and the Johnnies were down 10 after a Jonas Aidoo dunk with 16:25 remaining.
Arkansas scored 18 of the first 27 points of the second half and took a 12-point lead into the under-12 timeout.
D.J. Wagner attempts a shot during Arkansas’ win over St. John’s on March 22. Charles WenzelbergSt. John’s (31-5) reeled off seven straight points to get within six. They were down by only two points twice in the final minutes, but never could get even. The clutch basket and the key stop eluded the Johnnies.
“We couldn’t come back,” Luis said. “We didn’t have it.”
Deivon Smith and St. John’s were bounced from the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. Charles WenzelbergAfter the opening-round win over Omaha, Ejiofor said it was the first of what St. John’s hoped would be six steps to a national championship. It was not to be.
CHECK OUT THE LATEST BIG EAST STANDINGS AND ST. JOHN’S STATS
Instead of a flight to San Francisco, the Johnnies are going home for good.
The Sweet 16 will have to wait until next year.
