The Bruins (37-1) dismantled South Carolina 79-51 in the 2026 NCAA National Championship Game to earn their first title since joining in 1981. It was their 31st straight win after an early-season loss to the Texas Longhorns, whom they defeated in the Final Four to earn a berth in the national championship.

The emphatic victory capped off a dominant run through March Madness for the Bruins, led by 6-foot-7 senior center Lauren Betts, who led the team in scoring in four of their six games. She had 14 points and 11 rebounds during Sunday's historic win.

UCLA put its foot on the gas early, surviving an injury scare to Betts, who received treatment on the bench after appearing to be hit in the throat. It finished the first quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 21-10 lead into the second.

The Gamecocks held their own in the second, but were still outscored 15-13 as the Bruins took a 36-23 lead at the half.

The Bruins, however, put the game – and the trophy – virtually out of reach in the third quarter by outscoring the Gamecocks by 16.

UCLA senior Gabriela Jaquez, whose older brother Jaime played for the Bruins' men's basketball team and is currently a member of the Miami Heat, led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, tacking on 10 rebounds to give her a national championship game double-double.

"I knew we were going to do it. Coming to UCLA, we all set out for a goal, and I imagined this moment," Jaquez said after the final whistle. "I imagined it so many times, and I am just so, so proud."

South Carolina's (36-4) season ended with a disappointing flop in the championship game. Dawn Staley's squad finishes as the runner-up for the second-straight year after winning its third title in program history in the 2023-2024 season.

UCLA's first-ever NCAA title comes after what's been a steady build-up for head coach Cori Close in her 15 seasons at the helm. Despite missing the NCAA Tournament in three of her first four years, she quickly turned UCLA into a perennial postseason team, making it in nine of the next 10 seasons.

"It's immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine," Close said following the game. "It's beyond my wildest dreams."

Coach Close was mentored by the great John Wooden, who led the UCLA Bruins to 10 National Championships, and adopted his well-known "Pyramid of Success," which she says she has taught her own players. 

"In the end, banners hang in gyms and rings collect dust, and the only thing that lasts is who they become and who they impact. And so, I will always value that most," Close said while speaking with CBS LA's Jaime Maggio. "Being at the top of the mountain doesn't mean anything unless you're sharing it in real genuine relationships and authenticity about having real pride in the place you represent."

Last season, the Bruins advanced to their first Final Four, where they fell to eventual champion Connecticut. They returned four of five starters for 2025-2026, adding senior Utah-transfer Gianna Kneepkins to the roster and moving senior Angela Dugalic to the primary option off the bench.

UCLA officials say that a championship celebration is scheduled for Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion. Details for the free event are still being ironed out, officials said. 

Foster returned from a broken foot and rescued the Blue Devils' national title hopes, helping the NCAA Tournament's top seed rally from a 10-point second-half deficit to beat St. John's 80-75 on Friday night and advance to the Elite Eight.

Playing less than three weeks after surgery on his left foot, Foster scored all of his 11 points in the second half. When Cayden Boozer's ballhandling struggles were allowing the Red Storm to extend their lead, Foster came in and turned the game back in Duke's favor.

"To be honest, he had no business playing tonight — 99 percent of guys do not come back to play under the circumstances of what's happened to him," Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer said. "It was incredible the way he willed us."

Isaiah Evans scored 25 points and Cameron Boozer had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils (35-2), who extended the nation's longest active winning streak to 14, but not before the fifth-seeded Red Storm (30-7) pushed Duke to the wire.

Duke will face either second-seeded UConn or third-seeded Michigan State in Sunday's East Region final.

The Blue Devils led 77-74 with 32.4 seconds left when Cameron Boozer missed the front end of a one-and-one. Zuby Ejiofor drew a foul at the other end with 14.7 seconds to play, but the St. John's standout — who finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists — made only one of two free throws.

Evans also made one of two, giving the Red Storm one last chance to tie it, down 78-75. But Dylan Darling — whose layup at the buzzer against Kansas in the previous round put St. John's in the Sweet 16 — missed badly from well beyond the arc. Boozer made two free throws with 1.5 seconds left.

It was just the second loss for St. John's coach Rick Pitino in 14 visits to the Sweet 16 — and just the second loss for this season's Red Storm in their final 23 games.

After a relatively sure-handed first half, the Blue Devils were sloppy to start the second. A turnover by Cameron Boozer led to a dunk by Ejiofor. Then Boozer's brother Cayden had the ball stolen near midcourt by Darling and Ejiofor dunked again to put St. John's up 48-44.

A Duke timeout did little to help. Another turnover by Cayden Boozer led to a layup by Ejiofor. Then 6-foot-11 Ruben Prey sank his fourth 3-pointer in four attempts, and suddenly the Red Storm were up 53-44.

Duke countered by inserting Foster for Cayden Boozer. He helped steady the offense, and the Blue Devils went to a zone on defense. They trailed by 10 before beginning their comeback.

A 3-pointer by Evans put Duke ahead at 63-62. Bryce Hopkins answered with a 3 for St. John's. Then an acrobatic layup by Evans tied it — and the chase was on.

"They're one of the most physical teams we played all year. It's something we talked about every single day, just their physicality, their pressure," Cameron Boozer said. "I thought we did a pretty good job overall. We had some stretches where we gave them a run with turnovers, but through the game overall we did a pretty good job weathering the storm."

Dillon Mitchell dunked home a missed free throw to put St. John's up 69-67. Then Evans made another 3, prompting Pitino to turn his back in apparent disbelief. Cameron Boozer banked in a shot from a tough angle while being fouled with 3:06 to play. The free throw put the Blue Devils up by four.

Foster's pullup jumper put Duke ahead 75-69. Ejiofor responded with a 3 for St. John's, but Foster's driving layup made it 77-72, and the Blue Devils held on.

"It was our defense that broke down," Pitino said. "It wasn't so much not being in the right place. We just got bullied to the basket. They do that to a lot of teams. That's why they're the No. 1-ranked team in the country. We couldn't defend the bully drives."

As expected, St. John's applied pressure from the start, contesting just about every inch of the court. Duke had some of the same problems Kansas did in the previous round, with inbounding the ball an adventure early.

Eventually, the Blue Devils settled in and led 35-28 following an 18-5 run, but four St. John's 3-pointers later, the Red Storm were up 40-39 at halftime.

After shooting just 11 of 35 from long distance against Kansas, St. John's was 9 of 18 in the first half Friday. That included a 3 by Mitchell, who was 0 for 14 from beyond the arc on the season, and a 3-for-3 showing by Prey, who came in averaging 4.1 points per game.

Pitino laments the long postgame wait

Pitino suggested NCAA organizers change the postgame protocol that had Duke, the winning team, going to the podium first.

"You should have the losing team go first because you left us disappointed in the locker room while the other team's celebrating — rightfully so," he said. "You should let the losing team go first and then let the winning team have as long as you want. Just a suggestion because you just left us hanging out there for over a half-hour."

Up next

St. John's: This was Ejiofor's fourth season of college basketball and the fifth for Hopkins, so the Red Storm could look a lot different next season.

Duke: The Blue Devils have plenty of postseason history with each of the teams they could face in the Elite Eight.

He also sent the Johnnies back to the Sweet 16 after 27 long years away.

Darling hit a driving layup for his only bucket of the game, and St. John's advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999 with a 67-65 victory over Kansas in on Sunday.

"I probably don't deserve this," said Darling, who had missed his first four shots badly enough that an exasperated Rick Pitino implored him to stop aiming the ball. "I was pretty bad all night long. But my teammates held it down tonight. Everybody stepped up. Just happy to keep this thing rolling."

St. John's advanced to face No. 1 overall seed Duke in the East Region semifinals in Washington.

Darling's toughness and resilience have immediately impressed his teammates in his first year in Queens after previous stops at Washington State and Idaho State. He even earned the nickname "Big Bells" from Pitino in January because he thought Darling's -- let's call it toughness -- is as big as church bells.

That's how he coolly won it for St. John's after the Jayhawks (24-11) erased a 58-45 deficit with 7 1/2 minutes to play, making a furious 20-7 run capped by Darryn Peterson's two free throws to tie it with 13.1 seconds left.

The Jayhawks had four fouls to give, and they used all four to wind the clock down to 3.9 seconds.

"Bells come up to me and says, run 'Power,' which is a high, back-screen pick-and-roll," Pitino said. "So I walk away, and I said, 'Wait a second. He hasn't scored a bucket, and he wants to run a play for himself?' But he's Bells. And not only did he do it, he went with his right hand. I'm real proud of him, because to want the ball when you haven't made a shot is unbelievable."

Indeed, the left-handed shooter scored with his off hand before his teammates tackled him in front of the St. John's band. The celebration continued in the locker room, where the Johnnies periodically shouted, "Dylan, I love you!" while he spoke to reporters with a sheepish grin.

"I was fully confident in him making a play, a great decision, and he obviously made the best decision possible," said Big East player of the year Zuby Ejiofor, who had 18 points and nine rebounds. "We know who Dylan is. He's a really confident player, a high-level competitor, and he was able to make a big-time bucket."

Bryce Hopkins also scored 18 points for the fifth-seeded Red Storm (30-6), who have roared back to college basketball prominence in just three seasons under Pitino.

The 73-year-old Pitino and 63-year-old Bill Self coached against each other for only the second time in the Hall of Famers' decades-long careers, meeting for the first time in March Madness. They're two of the three active coaches with multiple national titles - and now Pitino still has a chance to claim his third.

With Kansas transfer Ejiofor leading the way, St. John's has won 21 of its last 22 games since early January, capped by the Johnnies' second and third NCAA Tournament victories in the past quarter-century this weekend.

St. John's won the Big East regular-season and tournament titles during its surge, and the Red Storm haven't eased up a bit.

Jayhawks heartbreak

Peterson scored 21 points and Melvin Council Jr. had 15 points and nine rebounds for the fourth-seeded Jayhawks, who still haven't returned to the Sweet 16 since they claimed Self's second national title in 2022.

After Kansas ended Arizona's unbeaten season in a landmark victory on Feb. 9, the Jayhawks subsequently lost six of their final 11 games.

"The tournament, one of the things that makes it so great is that it can be great, but it can also be cruel," Self said. "We obviously put ourselves in a position to play from behind the whole game, and then really competed and played great down the stretch. Just didn't finish what we had started down the stretch."

Up next

"I'm hoping we can get Duke at the buzzer next, to make up for that Christian Laettner shot." -- Pitino, whose Kentucky Wildcats lost one of the most memorable games in Elite Eight history in 1992 on Laettner's game-winning jumper.

The 73-year-old coach is still putting in the effort he expects from his players, and it propelled his revitalized program to an outstanding start to the NCAA Tournament.

Zuby Ejiofor had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Bryce Hopkins added 13 points and fifth-seeded St. John's beat Northern Iowa 79-53 on Friday night for its second March Madness victory since 2000.

Oziyah Sellers scored 11 points for Pitino's gathering Red Storm (29-6), who have won 20 of 21 since early January in increasingly impressive fashion. With a fluid, balanced offensive effort against the nation's stingiest scoring defense, St. John's jumped to a huge early lead at Viejas Arena and never trailed the 12th-seeded Panthers (23-13).

"We're playing really good basketball right now," said Ejiofor, the Big East player of the year who also blocked four shots. "The effort is there. We're competing on both sides of the ball. But I feel we can still take it to a whole new level."

The New York City program resurrected by Pitino ended its 25-year NCAA Tournament victory drought last season. After rolling through the Big East tournament last week, Pitino's current team looks poised to do even better — but the Johnnies didn't take this opener for granted.

"If you allow (Northern Iowa) to control the tempo, they can beat anybody," Pitino said. "We didn't allow them to control tempo. We got out there off our defense, and that was the key to the game. They're much better than this final score, so we were overly concerned."

St. John's will return Sunday to face fourth-seeded Kansas in the East Region bracket.

Trey Campbell scored 14 points and Leon Bond III added 12 for Northern Iowa, which surprisingly snared its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016 by streaking through the Missouri Valley Conference tournament last week with four wins in four days as the sixth seed.

The Panthers' stingy defense hung in against the Big East champions' vibrant offense, but Ejiofor and the Johnnies have resembled a national title contender since shortly after the calendar flipped to 2026. Sellers hit three of their 10 3-pointers while St. John's held Northern Iowa to 3-of-14 shooting behind the arc.

"Well, that wasn't what we anticipated, I would say," Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson said. "The start of the game obviously shifted a lot of the rhythm or momentum. It just put us in a tough spot. So for me, I wish I could do that part over. ... Once we were past the first three, four minutes, it was a pretty even basketball game for a long time."

Indeed, St. John's made five straight shots while scoring the game's first 13 points and taking an 18-point lead in the opening minutes. Northern Iowa missed nine of its first 10 shots and didn't score 10 points until midway through the first half, eventually trailing 47-28 at halftime.

The Johnnies slumped slightly from the field after halftime, but their lead never dipped below 13 points.

Up next

St. John's is one win away from its first trip to the Sweet Sixteen in the 21st century. Bootsy Thornton and an exciting forward then known as Ron Artest led the Red Storm to the Elite Eight in 1999.

Brayden Burries hit four 3-pointers while scoring 18 points, Koa Peat added 15 points and Arizona opened its NCAA Tournament run with a 92-58 victory over Long Island on Friday.

Ivan Kharchenkov had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Big 12 regular-season and tournament champion Wildcats (33-2), who quickly showed why they're the tournament's second overall seed behind Duke.

But one day after the Blue Devils barely won a thriller over Siena and Howard hung with top-seeded Michigan into the second half, the Wildcats earned a comfortable victory precisely because they didn't think of it as a mismatch.

"I don't think playing down to the competition is something that ever enters my mind," Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. "I have a lot of respect for our opponents, and I make sure our players do as well. I told our guys, these 1-16 games, you just don't know. Obviously, the objective is to win the game. You can't get emotionally caught up if the game is close at half or anything like that."

This one wasn't.

Pushing the pace on offense and stifling the Sharks with defense, Arizona went up by double digits in the opening minutes and led the Sharks by 27 in the first half while delighting the thousands of fans who filled Viejas Arena with red. Nobody had to play more than 28 minutes, which should benefit the Wildcats down the road.

"Coach talked about punching them first, hitting them first, and it felt like a home game out there," said Big 12 player of the year Jaden Bradley, who scored only seven points. "The fans brought the energy, so we appreciate that, and defensively we started getting stops."

Arizona will return Sunday to face Utah State in the West Region bracket.

Mason Porter-Brown scored 15 points and Greg Gordon had 12 for the Sharks (24-11), who finished their fourth season under coach Rod Strickland. Long Island has surged from a three-win season in Strickland's debut to win the NEC regular-season and tournament titles this spring while building a national profile for the Brooklyn school.

"That team is predicted to win the tournament, so we knew it was going to be tough," Strickland said. "I think the lights might have hit us a little bit in the beginning. I thought we played a really competitive second half."

The Sharks just didn't have enough to hang with the deep, talented Wildcats, who clearly have a shot to win the first title for any team from the Western U.S. since Arizona won its only national crown in 1997.

Arizona's famed offensive balance was in perfect tune, with six players scoring at least eight points. Burries needed just 10 shots to lead Arizona, which hit 57% of its shots in the first half and maintained that success rate until the final minutes.

Even 11 missed free throws didn't slow the Wildcats' roll. Arizona committed only three fouls in the first half, and LIU didn't shoot a free throw until the second half.

Munyak's magic moment

LIU's last basket of the night was special for the Sharks and their fans, who all erupted in cheers when Eddie Munyak banked in a 3-pointer with 53 seconds left.

Munyak teared up on the court after scoring his first collegiate points with his parents, girlfriend and AAU coach in the crowd. The 6-foot-1 Long Island native said he walked on at LIU and redshirted last season before getting a scholarship this year, but he had played in just one game all season — and didn't touch the ball — before he got to make a lifetime memory in San Diego.

"Emotion came out of me, which is kind of hard to see from a guy like me, really a guy with no emotion," Munyak said with a grin. "That was amazing. I'm still — I feel like I'm floating right now. ... I dedicate my life to basketball. I've been through a lot. Injuries, off-the-floor stuff. It's the greatest."

Up next

The Wildcats made the Sweet Sixteen in three of Lloyd's first four seasons, but have never gone farther.

The Crimson Tide (24-9) advanced to a second-round matchup against fifth-seeded Texas Tech (23-10), a 20-point winner over 12th-seeded Akron in the earlier first-round game at Benchmark International Arena.

Alabama ended the opening half on a 19-7 run to wipe out a 10-point deficit, then built its own lead to 13 before Hofstra (24-11) mounted one last push for a possible upset.

"We focused on just getting stops and pushing our pace. You know they were trying to slow the game down. You could see that in the second half," Philon said. "Our pace kind of broke them down a little bit and we just started running."

Freshman Preston Edmead had 24 points for the Pride, and his 3-point basket pulled the Pride within 67-62 with just over seven minutes remaining. Victory Onuetu's dunk trimmed Alabama's lead to 69-64 and ignited much of a crowd of 17,769 that threw its support behind the underdogs.

Philon was simply too much down the stretch, though, delivering a layup and a long 3-pointer during a surge that enabled Alabama to rebuild the lead to double digits. Taylor Bol Bowen put an exclamation point on the Crimson Tide response with two dunks and a 3-pointer as the lead ballooned to 20.

"Hofstra is a team that's been on a big winning streak," Alabama coach Nate Oats said. "They came in expecting to win and you could tell that. I think they got frustrated late."

Alabama played without star guard Aden Holloway, who was suspended indefinitely following an arrest on a felony drug charge. In the absence of the team's second-leading scorer, Aiden Sherrell, Latrell Wrightsell Jr and Amari Allen stepped up in support of Philon, who had 21 points after halftime.

Hofstra was in the tournament for the first time since 2001, the year after NBA champion and current coach Speedy Claxton helped the school located in Hempstead, New York land a spot in March Madness. The Pride also earned a berth in 2020, but that year's NCAA Tournament was canceled because of the pandemic.

"Proud of my guys' effort," Claxton said. "It's kind of tough to win a game when you give up 17 offensive rebounds. For a team like us in a tournament like this, we pretty much have to play perfect basketball, and we didn't do that."

Taking up the slack

Sherrell had 15 points and 15 rebounds. Wrightsell and Allen each added 11 points.

"I try to get guys involved. I ended up with like seven assists," Philon said. "I was mainly focused on getting the ball out of my hands when I needed to and getting it back if I needed to."

Cruz Davis scored 14 points and German Plotnikov had 11 for Hofstra.

Off the mark

Alabama rolled despite missing 13 of its first 16 3-points attempts and going 12 of 36 beyond the arc overall. Philon scored 21 of his 29 in the second half. He finished 10 of 18 from the field, including 3 of 7 on 3-pointers.

Winless

Hofstra fell to 0-5 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Pride also lost in the first round in 1976, 1977, 2000 and 2001.

Ejiofor and Bryce Hopkins each scored 18 points for the top-seeded Red Storm (28-6), who became the first team to win consecutive Big East Tournament titles since Villanova took three in a row from 2017-19.

"What a beautiful moment. What a surreal moment," Ejiofor said. "We had a target on our backs all year."

Adding to their resurgent rise under 73-year-old Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, the Johnnies joined UConn in 1998 and '99 as the only Big East programs to win both the regular-season and tournament crowns in back-to-back seasons.

It was the fifth Big East Tournament title in school history and the first time the Johnnies have accomplished the feat in consecutive years.

"This championship means the world to us. It means the world to our fans," Pitino said during the postgame celebration on the court. "I'm so proud of every one of our players."

Ejiofor was selected the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, his latest in a string of accolades this week that included Big East Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Oziyah Sellers scored 14 points for St. John's, which took two of three meetings this season between the two conference powerhouses and turned the tables after an embarrassing 72-40 loss at rival UConn on Feb. 25.

The dominant Johnnies never trailed in the tournament and have won all six of their games in this event by double digits the past two years.

The second-seeded Huskies (29-5) were held nine points below their previous season low.

"I didn't crush them in there," coach Dan Hurley said. "They're crushed. We laid an egg. We laid an egg in something we desperately wanted to win."

Tarris Reed Jr. scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half for UConn. Point guard Silas Demary Jr. was helped off the floor late with a left ankle injury, which could be costly heading into the NCAA Tournament.

Hurley said he initially heard the injury was a very mild sprain and hopes "it's not something that lingers."

With their fans in a split crowd roaring at The Garden, the Red Storm ran out to a 10-0 lead, built a 17-point cushion late in the first half and went into the break with a 40-27 advantage.

It was the largest halftime deficit this season for the Huskies, who committed 11 turnovers and shot 36% from the field in the opening 20 minutes.

"All credit to St. John's. They jumped us to start the game," Hurley said. "St. John's is built incredibly well to play in this conference."

St. John's extended the margin to 18 early in the second half before the Huskies responded with a 13-2 spurt that trimmed the gap to 49-42 with 12:34 left, revving up their own chanting fans. But that was as close as they got.

Thinking his players looked tired, Pitino took a timeout and said he told them: "'Johnnies don't fatigue. Johnnies don't surrender.'"

When play resumed, Hopkins hit a jumper and Ejiofor drained a 3-pointer before scoring in the post. Dylan Darling later scored six straight points, and the Red Storm won going away.

"We knew they were going to make their runs. But we knew we had to fight back and that's exactly what we did," Ejiofor said.

It was the third time UConn and St. John's squared off for the Big East Tournament title, after splitting matchups in 1999 and 2000. And this marked the first time the championship game featured two of the conference's seven charter members since the Johnnies beat the Huskies 80-70 in that 2000 game.

The hot-tempered Hurley was whistled for a technical foul 7:26 into the game after stamping his feet loudly on the sideline, apparently wanting a foul called as Demary made a reverse layup.

UConn remained tied with Georgetown for the most Big East Tournament championships at eight.

St. John's scored the first eight points in all three tournament games this week and led for more than 118 of 120 minutes.

Up next

UConn figures to be a high seed in its sixth straight NCAA Tournament, which will set a program record.

St. John's is headed to consecutive NCAA Tournaments for the first time since making three straight from 1998-2000. It will be Pitino's 25th appearance, with six schools.

Bryce Hopkins had 15 points and 10 rebounds as the 17th-ranked Red Storm breezed past Creighton 81-52 on Saturday for their 13th straight victory -- marking the program's longest winning streak in 41 years.

Dylan Darling scored 17 points off the bench and Zuby Ejiofor added 15 for the first-place Johnnies (22-5, 15-1 Big East), who led wire to wire and held Creighton to 32% shooting in their 18th win in 20 games.

"This was the best defense we played all season," coach Rick Pitino said. "The guys were totally locked in because of their respect for Creighton and their ability to score."

It was the largest blowout by St. John's in a Big East game since a 91-57 win over Butler at Carnesecca Arena on campus in February 2022 -- and the school's biggest margin of victory against a conference opponent at Madison Square Garden since a 90-57 thrashing of No. 6 UConn on Feb. 1, 1992.

St. John's hadn't won 13 in a row since a 19-game run in 1984-85 on the way to a No. 1 national ranking, a top seed in the NCAA tournament and a Final Four berth under Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca.

"Our staff is doing a phenomenal job of getting the guys (ready)," Pitino said. "It's one thing to be a great scout and break it down, but it's getting the players to listen to every little detail, and they're listening to every little detail. I'm proud of them for that."

Ejiofor and Hopkins have been at the forefront for the Johnnies all season, but the emergence of Darling and Dillon Mitchell is a huge reason for the turnaround.

With starting guard Ian Jackson sidelined by a sprained right ankle, Darling played 28 1/2 minutes and provided four rebounds, three assists and three steals in a bounce-back performance. The gritty point guard went scoreless in 13 minutes Wednesday and fouled out of a 76-70 victory at Marquette.

"I told him in the handshake line: I think that Darling's changed their team in a lot of ways the last six weeks," Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. "There's a confidence about him and there's a tenacity and toughness defensively. And obviously they have that across their roster, but in preparing for this game and watching film, in a lot of close games he's making huge plays on both ends of the floor."

Mitchell, who didn't even attempt a field goal against Marquette but helps immensely in all areas, had 10 rebounds, seven assists and zero turnovers Saturday before a red-clad crowd of 19,328 on Johnnies Day at Madison Square Garden.

"He's a summa cum laude basketball player," Pitino said. "If you have to get a rebound in the game, he's the guy that's going to get it. ... He's just a great basketball player."

The 6-foot-8 senior forward also finished with six points and a steal.

"We have a lot of offensive threats and it's my job to try to get them good shots," Mitchell said.

St. John's entered with the third-longest winning streak in Division I and the best among high-major programs. The team hasn't lost since a 77-71 defeat against Providence on Jan. 3 at MSG.

Creighton committed 18 turnovers and was outrebounded 44-30. Unable to build off a big upset Wednesday at No. 5 UConn, the Bluejays (14-14, 8-9) were limited to a season-low 0.7 points per possession in their most lopsided loss this season.

St. John's scored the first eight points, went ahead by 12 just 4:18 into the game and took a 42-27 advantage into halftime. Creighton went 8:45 without a field goal in the second half as the Red Storm used a 25-4 spurt to open a 69-38 lead with 8:31 left.

"St. John's, they're terrific. Their defensive versatility makes it very challenging for us with the particular roster that we have," McDermott said.

Seeking their second consecutive Big East championship, the Red Storm began the day with a half-game lead in the conference standings over UConn, scheduled to play later at third-place Villanova.

St. John's visits Connecticut on Wednesday night for their second showdown this season. A victory would give the Johnnies a 14-game winning streak in Big East play, which would match their 14-0 start in 1984-85 for the program record.

Pitino said Jackson could have played Saturday, but was held out because he hadn't practiced. He's expected to be available against UConn.

The Red Storm, however, have raised the bar even higher in 2025-26.

Expectations in Queens for more Big East regular season and tournament titles, and a deeper run in the NCAA tournament are literally through the roof, thanks to head coach Rick Pitino engineering one of the nation's top transfer recruiting classes.

The offseason work was definitely noticed, as St. John's entered the AP's preseason Top 25 ranked No. 5, its highest such ranking since starting at No. 7 in 1984-85, the last time the program reached the Final Four.

St. John's key transfers

There were many questions about how Pitino would pivot from the loss of eight players from last season's team, which finished 31-5 and ranked No. 11 in the final AP poll.

Among the key departures were top scorer and Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis Jr., who entered the portal before declaring for the NBA Draft, shooting guard Kadary Richmond (out of eligibility), guard Aaron Scott (out of eligibility), and guard Simeon Wilcher (transferred to Texas).

Pitino, who has won two national championships and has led three different schools to a total of seven Final Fours during his legendary coaching career, got right to work and ended up pulling off what many college basketball insiders concluded is the best transfer recruiting class in the country. Several high-profile imports will work alongside top returner Zuby Ejiofor to help the Red Storm navigate what is a very ambitious pre-conference collection of games before the nightly dogfight that is the Big East schedule.

Leading the way is Bryce Hopkins, a 6-foot-7 forward who missed most of the last two seasons at Providence due to a knee injury. However, in 50 career games with the Friars, Hopkins averaged 16.1 points and was a member of the All-Big East First Team in 2022-23.

One of St. John's biggest problems last season was outside shooting. Pitino appears to have addressed that and then some with the additions of three of the nation's best available shooting guards. 

Ian Jackson, who stands 6-5 and could play some point, was the second-leading scorer for North Carolina last season as a freshman, after hitting nearly 40% of his 3-point attempts.

Joson Sanon, a 6-5 sophomore from Arizona State who can also create his own shot, converted 37% from behind the arc and averaged 12 points last season.

Oziyah Sellers, a 6-5 catch-and-shoot senior who comes over from Stanford, shot 40% from 3 and averaged 13.7 points last season.

Pitino also secured the services of 6-1 guard Dylan Darling, the 2024-25 Big Sky Conference Player of the Year for Idaho State known for his touch from deep. Darling could play his way into a featured role considering he is the only true point guard on the roster.

As for another low-post presence who can get the job done at both ends of the court, the Red Storm will turn to 6-8 forward Dillon Mitchell, who shot 60% from the floor and grabbed 6 rebounds over 107 career games for Cincinnati (last season) and Texas (2022-24).

St. John's top returning players

Ejiofor, a 6-9, 245-pound senior forward, emerged on the scene last season as a force in the paint for St. John's, averaging nearly 15 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 58% from the field. For his efforts, he was named to the All-Big East First Team and was named a co-captain of the 2025-26 squad. Expect Ejiofor to be in the conference Player of the Year discussion as the season progresses.

Sadiku Ibine Ayo, also a team captain, is a 6-6 senior forward who brings top-end athleticism on both offense and defense and figures to play a more prominent role this season.

The Red Storm will also be looking for contributions from a pair of returning sophomores -- 6-11 center Ruben Prey and 6-4 swingman Lefteris Liotopoulos.

St. John's has a loaded 2025-26 schedule

The Red Storm overcame a slow start in its exhibition opener last Saturday before pulling away in the second half for 73-63 win over visiting Towson, the preseason favorites to win the Coastal Athletic Association.

"We were tight tonight playing in front of the home crowd. Guys were nervous," Pitino said. "No matter how experienced a team you are, the first exhibition game everybody's nervous. But we didn't panic, we stayed with our defense, stayed with our offense -- the offense got better."

Pitino called out several of his players -- both new and returning -- for not playing well, but said things will sort themselves out.

"We're going to play much better than this, but for our first game out, I was very pleased," Pitino said.

Pitino and his charges will have a better idea of what their potential is after they meet No. 7 Michigan in another exhibition game this Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

St. John's opens the regular season on Nov. 3 against Quinnipiac at Carnesecca Arena before a showdown with No. 15 Alabama at MSG on Nov. 8. The Red Storm also travel to the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas during Thanksgiving week to take on Iowa State and Baylor.

Key December games include Ole Miss on Dec. 6 at the Garden and a much-anticipated meeting with Kentucky, which Pitino led to the national championship in 1996, on Dec. 20 in Atlanta as part of the CBS Sports Classic.

For the complete schedule, with TV broadcast information, please click here.

The Huskies earned their record 12th title with an 82-59 win over defending champion South Carolina on Sunday night in Tampa, Florida.

The parade was originally scheduled for Saturday, but was postponed for one day due to rain in the forecast. 

When did the UConn parade start and end?

The parade began at 1 p.m. and was followed by a rally outside of the main entrance of the XL Center on Trumbull Street at approximately 1:30 p.m. Players, coaches and other guests were on hand to give speeches.

Map of route for UConn parade

The parade stepped off at the State Capitol building at the intersection of Trinity and Elm streets. From there, it proceeded north on Trinity Street, went through the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch, turned right (east) onto Jewell Street, turned left (north) onto Trumbull Street, and ended at the intersection of Asylum and Trumbull streets.

Street closures for UConn parade

• Trinity Street, between Capitol and Elm streets from Pulaski Circle, was closed between 8 a.m. and approximately 12 p.m.
• Trumbull Street, between Church and Asylum, was closed from 9 a.m. to approximately 3 p.m.

UConn women's basketball championship history

With their 12 championships, all won under legendary coach Geno Auriemma, the Huskies are the most decorated program in NCAA history. They lifted the trophy in 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and, now, 2025. The next closest is Tennessee with eight, but none since 2008.

In their victory over South Carolina on Sunday, graduate student Azzi Fudd and freshman Sarah Strong each scored 24 points, and senior Paige Bueckers added 17.

"Maybe what this [championship] means is that there were a lot of people that didn't think it would ever happen. There are a lot of people that hoped it would never happen. I'm glad we were able to get to that spot that Connecticut has occupied. In the last 30 years, I don't know that any program has meant more to their sport than what UConn has meant to women's basketball," Auriemma said on Sunday.

Their successes this season led to the first tie in the 58-year history of The Associated Press men's college basketball coach of the year award.

Pearl and Pitino each received 20 votes in balloting released Friday from the national media panel that picks the AP Top 25 during the season. Louisville's Pat Kelsey received eight votes and Duke's Jon Scheyer got five. Dennis Gates (Missouri) and Tom Izzo (Michigan State) each received three and Drake's Ben McCollum and UC San Diego's Eric Olen each got one vote.

Pitino takes St. John's from mediocrity to national prominence

Pitino is the first St. John's coach to be named AP coach of the year and the sixth in Big East Conference history. Marquette's Shaka Smart won the award two years ago.

When Pitino was hired in 2023, the Red Storm had been mired in mediocrity. St. John's hadn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2019 and the March Madness trips had been sporadic since the late 1990s.

Pitino led the Red Storm to 20 wins his first season and back into into national prominence this year. St. John's won the Big East regular-season title by going 18-2 and took its first Big East Conference Tournament title since 2000.

The Red Storm matched a school record with 31 wins — marks set in the 1980s under Lou Carnesecca — and had their highest ranking in the AP Top 25 in in 34 years by reaching No. 5 in the final regular-season poll. St. John's was a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and opened with a win over Omaha before losing to Arkansas in the second round.

Pitino's quick success follows a pattern he set in previous stops at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and Iona. He is the first coach to lead six different programs to the NCAA Tournament.

"I have been blessed for a long period of time — fifty-plus years of coaching," Pitino said. "It's going to stop, so why not have a blast? Why not get the most out of it? Laugh, have fun, get great experiences."

Pearl takes Auburn to the Final Four

Pearl has certainly been doing that since taking over at Auburn in 2015.

The Tigers had not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2003 and Pearl got them back into the bracket by his fourth season. Auburn took a huge leap the following year, earning the program's first trip to the Final Four in 2019.

The Tigers have been close to unstoppable this season.

Led by All-American Johni Broome, Auburn spent eight straight weeks at No. 1 this season, earned the SEC regular-season title and has won a school-record 32 games. The Tigers were the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and bulled their way through the bracket, beating Michigan State 70-64 to reach the Final Four for the second time.

Pearl joins Cliff Ellis in 1999 as the only Auburn coaches to win AP coach of the year honors. He is first SEC coach to win the award since Kentucky's John Calipari 10 years ago.

"You want to be on a great team, you've got to make sacrifices," Pearl said. "You've got to share and you've got to hold each other accountable. I think that's a big part of what this locker room is all about. This is a team of faith."

With a national coach of the year — just like St. John's.

Calipari's Arkansas Razorbacks beat longtime nemesis Rick Pitino and No. 2 seed St. John's 75-66 on Saturday, sending their itinerant coach to the second weekend of the  NCAA Tournament with his fourth school.

Billy Richmond III scored 16 points and Karter Knox had 15 for the 10th-seeded Razorbacks, who sent Kansas and their Hall of Fame coach Bill Self home from the "Region of Coaches" in the first round.

But the victory over his longtime rival was especially sweet for Calipari, who brought the Razorbacks (22-13) back to the tournament in his first season in Fayetteville despite early-season injuries that left them 0-5 to start the Southeastern Conference schedule.  Arkansas will face third-seeded Texas Tech in the West Region semifinals in San Francisco.

"I told them, 'This is as rewarding as a year I've had, based on how far we've come,'" he said.

Zuby Ejiofor had 23 points and 12 rebounds for Big East champion St. John's (31-5). Conference player of the year RJ Luis Jr. had nine points, half his season average, on 3-of-17 shooting.

"They outplayed us. They deserve to move on and we don't," Pitino said. "That's what March Madness is all about. No matter how good a regular season you have, you play this way, you're going to get beat."

Pitino's history in Providence — he took the Friars to the 1987 Final Four — gave him a home-court advantage as he arrived in March Madness with an unprecedented sixth school.

So many of those teams were built with a full-court defense and 3-point shooting.

St. John's, which beat Omaha in the first round, had the No. 1 defense in the country this season to win the Big East, returning to the tournament for the first time since 2019 with a No. 2 seed that was its best in 25 years.

But the Red Storm's shooting deserted them on Saturday and they became the first team seeded fourth or better to exit what's been a chalky tournament so far.

"Rick did a good job with his team all year," Calipari said. "If they made a few shots, they probably beat us. We were fortunate to get out."

The teams combined to make four 3-pointers on 41 attempts, with St. John's shooting 28% from the floor overall.

"I hate to see them go out this way," Pitino said. "We thought we were championship-driven in our minds, but I have been disappointed before with this. You hate to see us play like that.

"I don't mind going out with a loss, I just hate to see us play that way offensively," he said. "It's just a bitter pill to swallow with that type of performance."

End game

Arkansas led by 13 in the first half and had an eight-point lead with eight minutes to play before the Johnnies cut it to 62-60 with 6:11 left. But St. John's missed its next six attempts from 3-point range, and made just one of its last nine shots — Ejiofor's dunk with 20 seconds left.

Knox made a pair of free throws, and then Deivon Smith dribbled the ball off his knee and out of bounds. When Richmond was fouled with 5 seconds left, the Razorbacks ran down the court in celebration, waving their arms for the outnumbered Arkansas fans in the crowd.

The pied piper of college basketball rebuilds, Rick Pitino has St. John's back atop the Big East.

And this time, the nets were coming down.

RJ Luis Jr. scored all but two of his 29 points after halftime and No. 6 St. John's made 14 straight shots from the field in the second half to beat Creighton 82-66 on Saturday night for its first Big East Tournament title in 25 years.

"Wow, this is incredible just to come from last year to this year and to see the transformation," Luis said. "Coach P is the mastermind behind all of this. I mean, it's truly special."

Zuby Ejiofor added 20 points and Kadary Richmond had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the top-seeded Red Storm (30-4), who reached 30 wins for the third time in program history before a roaring hometown crowd at sold-out Madison Square Garden.

They earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for their first trip since 2019, making the 72-year-old Pitino the first coach to take six schools to the Big Dance.

The others were Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and Iona.

"Great win for the city. Great win for our university. You hear it all along that it's New York's team, and it truly is," the Hall of Fame coach said. "As a New Yorker myself, I'm very, very proud that St. John's has gotten to this level."

Pitino, in his second season with the Johnnies, also became the first coach to win the Big East Tournament at two schools. He's won three times in his last four seasons in the league, after guiding Louisville to championships in 2009, 2012 and 2013.

"I saved the best for last," Pitino announced to loud cheers from the crowd of 19,812, pausing to remove falling confetti from his lips during a postgame interview on the court.

Luis, the Big East Player of the Year, also grabbed 10 rebounds and was selected the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He was draped in a Dominican Republic flag as fans chanted "MVP! MVP!" after the game.

"Just still trying to soak it in, and it's just crazy how much you can speak things into existence and just watch it all come together," Luis said. "This has by far been the most emotional, happiest week of my 22 years of existence."

Ejiofor and Richmond made the All-Tournament team.

"The three of them have been unstoppable," Pitino said.

Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 15 points for second-seeded Creighton (24-10), which fell to 0-5 in Big East championship games since joining the conference for the 2013-14 season.

"It's hard to get to this game, let's be honest," coach Greg McDermott said. "We've been fortunate to be here quite a few times. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to finish the job."

When the resurgent Johnnies clinched their first outright regular-season conference championship in 40 years with a victory over Seton Hall at The Garden on March 1, they had already decided not to cut down the nets to celebrate.

More work to do.

But on this night, players and staff climbed the ladder and snipped their souvenirs.

It was the fourth Big East Tournament title for the Johnnies, who made the championship game for the first time since winning the 2000 trophy under Mike Jarvis. The previous two came in the 1980s under Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca, who died Nov. 30 about five weeks shy of his 100th birthday.

"To finally get over the hump, it's really an unbelievable feeling," Ejiofor said. "I'm so happy to be a part of history."

And after the Red Storm cut down the nets, a message appeared on the giant video screen above center court: "For Looie."

"I'm thinking he would be so proud of this team," said Pitino, who has quickly revived St. John's into a national power again late in his illustrious but checkered career.

"Humility is a big part of my life right now. It wasn't always that way," he added. "I don't believe in redemption. I believe in humility."

The drought between Big East Tournament titles for the Johnnies was the longest for any team in league history.

"St. John's didn't get built by the NIL. St. John's got built with character of the players," Pitino said.

Luis was whistled for his second foul with 7:19 left before halftime and sat out the rest of the half.

After falling behind by eight early, St. John's finally took its first lead at 43-41 with 11:55 remaining when backup big man Vince Iwuchukwu scored left-handed in the post over the 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner, the four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year.

That came 33 seconds after Ejiofor converted a tying three-point play that began a streak of 14 consecutive made field goals in 7:12 for the Red Storm, giving them a 70-55 lead. They connected on 17 of their final 19 field goal attempts to finish at 72% in the second period (23 for 32).

Quite an offensive display for a team that entered the game shooting 45% from floor.

"We definitely fed off the crowd, the energy, the atmosphere," Luis said. "It was ridiculous. It was very loud."

By the numbers

St. John's has won nine straight games, and 19 of 20 since the new year. The team finished 21-0 on its home courts, including 12-0 at MSG — the program's most wins at The Garden since compiling 13 in 1958-59. The last time the Johnnies finished unbeaten at home was the 1931-32 season.

Creighton injury

Bluejays reserve Fedor Zugic injured his right ankle with 11:23 left in the first half and had to be helped off the court to the locker room. He didn't return.

Key stat

Creighton, which entered shooting 74% on free throws, missed six of its first eight from the line and finished 8 for 16.

Up next

Creighton: Headed to its fifth straight NCAA Tournament when the brackets are revealed Sunday.

St. John's: Hasn't won an NCAA Tournament game in 25 years. Pitino and the streaking Red Storm seem likely to receive a No. 2 seed Sunday.

"We still have a lot to prove. We're not done," Ejiofor said.

Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis Jr. added 13 points and Ejiofor grabbed nine rebounds as the top-seeded Red Storm (29-4) wiped out an early 15-point deficit. They advanced to play second-seeded Creighton or No. 3 seed UConn on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

Kadary Richmond had 12 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for St. John's, which has won eight straight — and 18 of 19 since the new year. In the program's second season under 72-year-old Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, the Johnnies are one win from their fourth Big East Tournament title and first since 2000.

Kam Jones had 24 points for the fifth-seeded Golden Eagles (23-10), who lost all three matchups with the Red Storm this season and fell to 1-6 against them at the Big East Tournament.

Takeaways

Marquette: A lack of strength down low was a problem against Ejiofor and St. John's all season, but the Golden Eagles will be happy to face someone outside the Big East when they enter the NCAA Tournament.

St. John's: Making a strong bid for a No. 2 seed in the NCAAs, the Red Storm improved to 20-0 at home, including 11-0 at MSG — the program's most wins at The Garden since compiling 13 in 1958-59. The last time the Johnnies finished unbeaten at home was the 1931-32 season.

Key moment

St. John's trailed by three early in the second half before Aaron Scott drained a 3-pointer, and a foul on Chase Ross was upgraded to a flagrant 1 following a replay review. That led to two free throws by Ejiofor at the start of a 16-3 spurt that gave the Red Storm a 10-point lead with 14 minutes left. Scott finished with 11 points.

Key stat

Marquette opened 5 for 10 on 3-pointers, then missed 12 straight. By the time David Joplin ended the skid with 11:42 left, the Golden Eagles had gone from up 10 to down 10 before he connected.

Up next

St. John's split two regular-season games with Creighton, which is 0-4 in Big East championship games.

The Red Storm (26-4, 17-2) improved to 18-0 at home as they played in front of their third straight sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden and with coach Rick Pitino sporting a white suit for the second straight season.

"We're just getting started," Coach Rick Pitino says

St. John's moved the game to MSG after it was initially scheduled to be played on campus but opted not to cut down the nets to celebrate. 

The players instead held the trophy and posed for pictures on the court while confetti fell from the ceiling.

Toward the end of the celebration, coach Rick Pitino declared to the excited fans: "We're just getting started."

The celebration was modest because the Red Storm are eyeing other celebrations — such as their first Big East Tournament title since 2000 and a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

"This is the answer to a prayer," said St. John's President the Rev. Brian Shanley. "This is what I hoped when we hired Rick that we would get back where we are right now – contending for a national championship. This is just the beginning in my book."

For the first time since Chris Mullin led St. John's to the Final Four when the team was nicknamed the Redmen and coached by coach Lou Carnesecca, the Red Storm are the outright regular-season champs. St. John's hadn't even won a share of the title since 1992 in the final season of Carnesecca's storied career on the sidelines.

The drought was the longest in Big East history, though several schools exited without any conference titles before spending anywhere near 33 years in the league.

This year, St. John's achieved the title in the same season Carnesecca died just a few weeks short of his 100th birthday on Nov. 30.

"We're very proud of the fact that in the year that he passed because he led a great life, we can honor him with this championship," Pitino said.

RJ Luis Jr., Zuby Ejiofor emerge as Red Storm stars

The Red Storm won the regular-season title after being picked fifth in the Big East preseason poll and adding Kadary Richmond to go along with returnees RJ Luis Jr. and Zuby Ejiofor, who emerged as stars.

"I came here to challenge myself and try to take my game to the next level and obviously try to win at the highest level, which coach Pitino knows how to do really well and trying to learn from him," Luis said. "I think it's just a surreal feeling."

After transferring from UMass, Luis averaged 10.9 in 23 games last season while dealing with shin splints. Following offseason surgery, he's a leading candidate for Big East player of the year and averaging 17.7 points.

Ejiofor backed up Joel Soriano last season and emerged as a force down low by averaging 14 points and eight rebounds as St. John's ascended to the top of the Big East. The Red Storm won 11 straight from Jan. 4 to Feb 7 in a stretch that included consecutive wins over Marquette and UConn and are 18-0 in home games.

"It was a really proud moment," Ejiofor said. "It was a testament of the work that we put in the whole season from preseason until now we all believe that we could get to this moment."

Pitino continues trend in long coaching career

Last season, the Red Storm reached the semifinals of the Big East Tournament for the first time since 2000 and saw Pitino's first season end with a 95-90 loss to UConn, which dominated opponents en route to its second straight national title.

After guaranteeing St. John's would return to natural prominence at his introductory press conference in March 2023, Pitino's first season featured a viral rant during which he lamented the team's athleticism following a loss to Seton Hall in February 2024.

Since airing his frustration, St. John's is 32-5 with the losses coming by a combined 12 points.

"In my lifetime, I never looked at that until it was written and I said, 'I better get this thing going.' Pitino said. "It is a little different than the other places I've been the second year because you have eight and nine players back and everybody understands everything you teach and the culture and the system are there."

The turnaround continued a trend in Pitino's long coaching career that also included two seasons with the New York Knicks in the early portion of Patrick Ewing's career.

At his first stop as a head coach, Boston University was 21-9 in his second season. Providence went from 17-14 to 25-9, Kentucky jumped from 14-14 to 22-6, Louisville from 19-13 to 25-7, and Iona improved from 12-6 during a pandemic-abbreviated season to 25-8.

St. John's-Seton Hall game recap

Zuby Ejiofor added 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Red Storm shot 43.4% and struggled until the final minutes.

Dylan Addae-Wusu scored 18 for Seton Hall (7-22, 2-16), which is concluding its worst season since 1982-83. Isaiah Coleman added 15 for the Pirates.

Takeaways

Seton Hall: The Pirates have been competitive of late and lost for the third straight game by 10 points or fewer.

St. John's: Free-throw shooting has been troublesome at times for St. John's and the Red Storm shot 63.6%.

Key moment

After struggling through most of the first half and taking a four-point lead, St. John's allowed Seton Hall to get within one point six times before gradually taking control. Luis converted a monstrous one-handed dunk off a Seton Hall turnover for a 59-52 lead with 6:43 left.

Key stat

The Red Storm entered averaging 11 turnovers and finished with 16.

Up next

Seton Hall hosts Creighton on Tuesday. St. John's visits Marquette on March 8.

Kadary Richmond had 13 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Red Storm (25-4, 16-2), who set a school record for conference wins and secured the program's sixth Big East regular-season championship.

They can wrap up an outright league crown Saturday with a victory over Seton Hall at Madison Square Garden or a Creighton loss at Xavier. The only outright Big East regular-season title for St. John's came in 1985 on the way to a Final Four appearance.

"We are not interested in sharing anything," said 72-year-old Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, who has led a remarkable turnaround in two seasons at St. John's. "I'll share other things in my life. I'm not interested in sharing championships."

Zuby Ejiofor added 12 points for the Johnnies, playing with their highest ranking in the AP Top 25 poll since December 1991. St. John's tied Georgetown and Seton Hall for the Big East crown that season — the final one in Queens for coaching great Lou Carnesecca, who died Nov. 30 just a few weeks shy of his 100th birthday.

Jahmyl Telfort had 13 points and seven rebounds for Butler (13-15, 6-11), held to 39% shooting.

Takeaways

St. John's: On a night when the Red Storm struggled to create separation, they still showed their postseason potential by applying their customary defensive pressure. Butler shot 6 for 27 from 3-point range.

Butler: Has lost the last five meetings with St. John's.

Key moment

With the majority of the Hinkle Fieldhouse crowd on its feet, Ejiofor posted up 7-foot-1 Butler center Andre Screen and scored on a left-handed hook shot to extend the St. John's lead to 70-66 with 59 seconds remaining. When the Bulldogs turned the ball over on their ensuing possession and committed a foul, fans began streaming toward the exits.

Key stat

Butler held a 39-32 edge on the boards but was still outscored 18-12 in second-chance points.

Up next

St. John's hosts Seton Hall on Saturday, while Butler visits Villanova.

Kadary Richmond and Zuby Ejiofor scored 18 points apiece for the Red Storm (24-4, 15-2 Big East), and leading scorer RJ Luis Jr. added 14 points after sitting out Wednesday's win at DePaul with a groin injury.

First-place St. John's needs one more win or a Creighton loss to clinch a share of its first regular-season conference championship since 1992.

Aaron Scott had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Deivon Smith finished with 12 points and eight assists. Ejiofor had nine rebounds and six assists while shooting 5 for 6 from the field and 8 of 9 at the free-throw line in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden.

Alex Karaban led the Huskies (18-9, 10-6) with 17 points, while Solo Ball and Tarris Reed Jr. added 15 apiece for the two-time defending NCAA champions. Liam McNeeley scored 14 but shot 2 of 13 from the floor.

Sadiku Ibine Ayo scored a career-high 15. Zuby Ejiofor chipped in with 13 points and nine rebounds, helping St. John's win for the 12th time in 13 games.

In their second season under Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, the first-place Red Storm (23-4, 14-2) equaled their highest conference win total since the 1998-99 team went 14-4 in league play. They lead No. 16 Marquette and Creighton by 2 1/2 games.

Isaiah Rivera led DePaul with 16 points, but the last-place Blue Demons (11-16, 2-14) lost for the seventh time in eight games.

Takeaways

St. John's: The Red Storm got an easy win even though star RJ Luis Jr. missed the game because of a pulled groin.

DePaul: Chris Holtmann inherited a big job when he was hired to rebuild a once-proud program. Games like this show just how much work he has to do.

Key moment

It was tied at 20 when Ayo and Simeon Wilcher hit back-to-back 3s, and the Red Storm took over from there. They scored 11 straight as part of a 16-2 run, and they added to their lead after Rivera hit a 3 for DePaul with just under two minutes remaining. Ayo answered with one of his own, and Smith scored on a tip-in for St. John's with 23 seconds left.

Key stat

St. John's made nine 3-pointers, with Smith and Ayo each nailing three.

Up next

The Red Storm will try to beat UConn for the second time in a little more than two weeks when they host the Huskies on Sunday. DePaul has a home game against Butler on Saturday.

Kadary Richmond scored all 13 of his points in the second half and Simeon Wilcher added 12 for St. John's (21-3, 12-1 Big East).

Liam McNeeley had 18 points for UConn (16-7, 8-4). Solo Ball had 13 points, while Tarris Reed Jr. had 12 points and 15 rebounds.

McNeeley, who missed the previous eight games with an ankle injury, had four points in a 6-0 run by UConn to put the Huskies up by six with 11:16 left in the second half. The Huskies couldn't build on it as St. John's regained the lead on back-to-back jumpers by Luis and Richmond.

Ball and Stewart scored eight points each as UConn jumped out to an early 21-8 lead. With the Huskies up by 14, Deivon Smith had a four-point play to begin an 8-0 run by St. John's. The Red Storm took the lead for the first time on a basket by Wilcher with 2:29 left in the first half.

St. John's led 37-35 at halftime.

Ben Gordon, who played for the Huskies from 2001-04 and was a member of a national championship team in his junior season, was inducted into the Huskies of Honor at halftime.

Takeaways

St. John's: The Red Storm won despite missing 11 shots in a row during one stretch in the second half.

UConn: Ball and Stewart got off to impressive shooting starts, but failed to score in the second half after combining for 22 points in the first half.

Key moment

With UConn leading by four, Richmond had a pair of baskets during a 6-0 run to take the lead. The Red Storm would score 12 points in a row.

Key stat

There were 20 points scored off turnovers, and 18 were scored by St. John's.

Up next

St. John's: Plays at Villanova on Wednesday.

UConn: At Creighton on Tuesday.

RJ Luis Jr. added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the streaking Red Storm (20-3, 11-1), who have won nine straight games and 15 of 16. Zuby Ejiofor added 13 points and 13 rebounds as St. John's improved to 15-0 at home before a Madison Square Garden crowd that included New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone.

Chase Ross had 16 points for the Golden Eagles (18-5, 9-3). In foul trouble early, Kam Jones scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half.

Luis played all 40 minutes and made a huge impact on defense, too, with four steals and three blocked shots.

With its highest ranking in 25 years, St. John's is off to the program's best start since 1985-86.

TAKEAWAYS

Marquette: Lost its second straight and dropped to 3-3 since a six-game winning streak.

St. John's: It was a rousing start to a measuring-stick week for the Red Storm, who are 1-1 against ranked opponents this season.

KEY MOMENT

Ross missed an open 3-pointer that could have cut Marquette's deficit to two with 1:52 remaining. Richmond then hit Aaron Scott for a dunk that gave the Red Storm a 66-59 lead with 1:37 left.

KEY STATS

After missing 13 of its first 23 free throws, St. John's made seven of its last eight to pull this one out. The Red Storm also outrebounded Marquette 50-28.

UP NEXT

Marquette plays Saturday at Creighton, looking to sweep the season series.

St. John's visits No. 19 UConn on Friday night. Huskies freshman Liam McNeeley (13.6 points per game) is expected back from a high ankle sprain that's sidelined him since early January. 

"Where do you belong?" Hurley said Thursday at UConn's basketball headquarters.

The answer became clear to Hurley and his family as he turned down a six-year, $70 million offer to coach the Los Angeles Lakers.

"It was obviously tempting," Hurley said. "The Lakers organization is just incredible, once in a lifetime to be presented with the opportunity to lead one of the most storied franchises in sports. It was a good chance to get to know some amazing people, but in the end there were too many reasons to be here.

"You think about the two places you are trying to choose between. You are coaching the back-to-back champs at UConn or the LA Lakers. There aren't many coaches who had to make that choice between those two options for your career."

Hurley said when he returned to campus and met with players, he spoke to them about the chance to show their commitment to UConn. Then he let them know he was coming back to coach them.

Among those in the room was the only returning double-digit scorer for the Huskies.

"I was super excited for him to get the opportunity. He has changed my life and has changed other player's lives as well," forward Alex Karaban said. "Whether he took it or whether he came back, I was happy for him. When he did come back, I was the happiest guy in the world.

"He is the best coach in the country and I am glad to play under him again."

When Hurley goes on the recruiting trail, he can tell players what he gave up to stay at UConn.

"I think it is going to help him in high school recruiting for sure just to turn down the Lakers. I think that is special," Karaban said.

"That speaks to the type of person that he is and how much he cares about UConn. If recruits don't see that, that is their loss."

Hurley denied that his flirtation with the Lakers was used as leverage to get more money from UConn. In a radio appearance earlier Thursday on "The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz," he said he had already agreed to a deal with UConn that will make him the nation's highest-paid college coach, with only a few details still to be worked out.

Winning a third straight national title won't be easy. Even with Karaban's decision to withdraw from the NBA draft, the Huskies have lost four of their five double-digit scorers from last season.

Guard Aidan Mahaney transferred in from Saint Mary's and Michigan transfer Tarris Reed Jr. will help in the post. Freshman Liam McNeeley is a top-10 national recruit who could contribute immediately.

The Lakers fired Darvin Ham after he went 90-74 in two seasons, leading to the pursuit of Hurley. Los Angeles has yet to name a coach.

UConn became the first team since Florida in 2006 and '07 to win back-to-back NCAA titles. Billy Donovan coached those Gators teams and remained at Florida for eight more seasons before moving to the NBA with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2015. He now coaches the Chicago Bulls.

The 51-year-old Hurley is 141-58 record in six seasons at UConn. The Huskies are 91-21 over the last three seasons.

Kentucky also pursued Hurley for its coaching vacancy following the departure of Hall of Famer John Calipari for Arkansas after 15 years with the Wildcats.

The Volunteers were too strong. Too deep. And they weren't going to allow the Peacocks even a hint of another memorable March Madness run.

Knecht scored 23 points and Tennessee shot 64% in the first half to build a huge lead before beating Saint Peter's 83-49 on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Jonas Aidoo added 13 of his 15 points by halftime for the Midwest Region's No. 2 seed.

Tennessee (25-8), which won the Southeastern Conference regular-season title, lost its regular-season finale to Kentucky and its lone SEC Tournament game against Mississippi State. But there was no sign of the hiccups from multiple recent March stumbles, setting up a reunion for coach Rick Barnes and his former Texas program in the second round.

"When we went back on the court and went to work, they did respond," Barnes said. "Just proud of them. They were really focused with what we needed to get done."

Tennessee ran out to a double-digit lead in the first eight minutes, used a 9-0 burst to push the margin past 20, then increased it to 29 shortly before halftime.

"We kept trying to tell them to have fun," Barnes said of the leadup to the game. "We've worked hard to be here."

The Volunteers came in ranked third in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency by allowing 91.2 points per 100 possessions. And they were smothering, both in contesting shots early and using their strong frames to assert complete ownership of the glass (47-21).

Knecht, voted a first-team All-American by The Associated Press earlier this week, buried a 3-pointer on a catch-and-fire inbounds pass just 20 seconds in, finishing with eight rebounds and four 3s.

There was little the Peacocks (19-14) could do in response, between the Vols repeatedly getting point-blank or clean looks while Saint Peter's struggled to knock down much of anything. That included Tennessee locking down on Corey Washington, who was averaging 16.8 points but finished with two on 1-for-9 shooting.

"Man, those guys are good," coach Bashir Mason said as soon as he sat down for his postgame news conference.

Latrell Reid scored 17 for Saint Peter's, which became a March Madness legend two years ago by becoming the only No. 15 regional seed to reach a regional final. The hope was to re-create a taste of that magic against the Volunteers despite a nearly complete overhaul of roster and coaching staff, but the Peacocks missed 17 of their first 20 shots to watch this one get away quickly.

"It's like playing yourself, but like 3 inches taller," Reid said. "It's a little different. Windows close a little faster. Every time you make a mistake, they make you pay."

BIG PICTURE

Saint Peter's: The Peacocks busted brackets during that 2022 run, with wins against Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue. They weren't supposed to be back in March Madness this year after being picked 10th in the 11-team Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, yet they stunned regular-season champion Quinnipiac in the MAAC Tournament semifinals before beating Fairfield to win the title and secure only their fifth NCAA bid. But there would be no Cinderella story this time around, with Saint Peter's shooting 29.1% overall and 4 of 24 from 3-point range.

Tennessee: The Volunteers' postseason history under Barnes had been spotty, with five NCAA losses to lower seeds in as many seasons. Four of those came to teams sitting at least five seed lines lower than Tennessee, which has reached the second weekend just twice despite carrying at least a No. 5 seed each time. There was no worries with this one, as the Vols handling business with ruthless efficiency expected in a 2-vs-15 matchup.

AIDOO'S BURST

The 6-foot-11 Aidoo had a fast start, following Knecht's 3 with a pair of quick dunks. He added a third slam moments later, putting a little extra swing and kick while hanging on the rim after being futilely fouled from behind by Mouhamed Sow — a play that had Mason say to Sow from the sideline simply: "Why?"

"For me, it was just saying aggressive at all times," Aidoo said. "Coach preached that to me a lot, so I was just really staying aggressive with that."

MY BAD

Reid was ejected with 49 seconds left for picking up his second technical foul for what he said was jawing with a Tennessee player. He was called for his first technical for some words with Tennessee's Jordan Gainey in the first half.

Reid apologized for getting ejected at the news conference.

"I'm a competitor, and I didn't mean for it to get the best of me today," Reid said.

UP NEXT

The Volunteers have faced the Longhorns twice in Barnes' tenure in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, losing on the road in January 2022 but winning the home matchup the following year.

And he played with the kind of zip — in his hometown and in his first NCAA Tournament game — that the West Region's No. 1 seed will need to help Armando Bacot inside and keep the Tar Heels advancing.

Bacot had 20 points and 15 rebounds and Withers turned in a solid all-around performance, sending UNC to a 90-62 victory over 16th-seeded Wagner in Thursday's first round.

Withers, a 6-foot-9 transfer from Louisville, had a season-high 16 points and matched his best rebounding work with 10 boards for the region's headliner. That helped the Tar Heels (28-7) finish the game shooting 55% from the field against a short-handed upstart aiming to pull off only the third opening-round takedown of a 1-seed in March Madness history.

"I think he did set the tone," UNC coach Hubert Davis said, adding: "J-Wit, his energy and effort on both ends of the floor really ignited us and got us the lead going into halftime. He came off the bench and his production was real."

UNC played with the backing of a blue-clad crowd about 2 1/2 hours from its Chapel Hill campus. And the Tar Heels will have that again for the next step: a marquee matchup with Michigan State and Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo on Saturday.

Withers had scored in double figures only three times all year, the last time coming against his former Louisville program on Jan. 17.

"(Davis) typically challenges us before the game and sometimes at half, saying, 'It doesn't need to be only an Armando Bacot rebounding game or a Harrison Ingram rebounding game,'" Withers said.

Melvin Council Jr. and Julian Brown each scored 18 points for the Seahawks (17-16), who won their first-ever NCAA game by holding off Howard in the First Four on Tuesday night. Wagner shot 39.7% for the game.

"I was happy for them to be able to compete in this, and I was really proud the way they competed," Seahawks coach Donald Copeland said. "Obviously what we've gone through all year isn't ideal, but we expected to play well. We expected to win the game. Obviously we didn't. But I'm glad the way we played."

UNC had the clear edge inside against a team with only seven available scholarship players and only one — 6-foot-9, 255-pound Keyontae Lewis — offering any notable size. By halftime, the 6-10 Bacot had a double-double after getting multiple deep-block touches while the 6-9 Withers showed plenty of energy in the paint and scoring 10 first-half points.

The Tar Heels gradually stretched that lead out after the break. That included Davis and Ingram hitting back-to-back 3-pointers, followed shortly by the Withers' alley-oop dunk for a 70-50 lead with 8:33 left.

BIG PICTURE

Wagner: The Seahawks' story was an impressive show of resilience for a team that was picked to finish fifth in the Northeast Conference when they had a full roster. But Copeland found himself losing players to injuries ever since, so much so that the team hadn't had a full-go practice since Dec. 27 and had used assistant coaches to help run drills. They won the NEC Tournament title to secure the program's second-ever trip to March Madness, the other coming 21 years ago.

UNC: The Tar Heels got another comfortable setting to start the tournament. The Tar Heels improved to 35-2 in NCAA games in their home state, including 13-1 here in the state's largest city. Notably, the lone loss came in their last tournament game here: a second-round loss as a 2-seed to Texas A&M.

NOTEWORTHY

Bacot marked his sixth straight NCAA game with at least 15 rebounds going back to 2022. He broke a tie with Phil Ford for second on the program's scoring list (2,310), trailing only Atlantic Coast Conference career scoring leader Tyler Hansbrough (2,872). ... RJ Davis, named this week as a first-team All-American by The Associated Press, had 17 of his 22 points after halftime for the Tar Heels. He also passed Lennie Rosenbluth for fifth on the school's scoring list (2,252). ... Wagner shot 32.4% in the first half to trail by 40-28 and never got the deficit to single digits again. ... The Seahawks had just one turnover at halftime and kept the transition-seeking Tar Heels without a fast-break point in the opening 20 minutes.

UP NEXT

The Tar Heels will get another matchup with the Izzo's Spartans, who have lost all four meetings with UNC in the NCAA Tournament — including in the 2005 Final Four and 2009 title game.

In the women's bracket, two local schools -- Drexel and Princeton University -- each punched their ticket to the big dance after winning their conference tournaments.

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But there will be plenty of local players from Pennsylvania and New Jersey playing in the men's tournament, which begins this week.

Here's the full list by region:

South Region

No. 3 seed University of Kentucky vs. No. 14 seed Oakland University
Thursday, 7:10 p.m. on CBS

Kentucky heads into its first-round matchup against Oakland with plenty of talent from the Philadelphia region. 

Freshman guard Justin Edwards, a McDonald's All-American, is a Philly native and played at Imhotep Institute Charter High School. He won two straight state titles in high school.

Freshman guard D.J. Wagner, the son of former NBA player Dajuan Wagner, and senior guard Kareem Watkins are both Camden, New Jersey, natives. Like Edwards, D.J. Wagner is also a McDonald's All-American. 

Freshman forward Aaron Bradshaw is from Roselle, New Jersey, and senior guard Tre Mitchell is from Pittsburgh. 

No. 2 seed Marquette University vs. No. 15 seed Western Kentucky University
Thursday, 2 p.m. on CBS

Marquette junior guard Stevie Mitchell is a Reading, Pennsylvania, native and played at Wilson High School before college. He ranks fifth on the team in scoring and averages 8.8 points. 

Marquette freshman forward Al Amadou is a Philly native and attended Chestnut Hill Academy. He's played in 13 games for Marquette this season and also played at Quakertown and Bishop McDevitt High Schools before his final two seasons at Chestnut Hill Academy. 

No. 8 seed Nebraska University vs. No. 9 seed Texas A&M University
Friday, 6:50 p.m. on TNT

The Cornhuskers have two players on their roster who call the Garden State home. 

Junior guard C.J. Wilcher and sophomore guard Jamarques Lawrence are both Plainfield, New Jersey, natives. 

No. 4 seed Duke University vs. No. 13 seed University of Vermont
Friday, 7:10 p.m. on CBS

Duke has two players from New Jersey on its roster. 

Graduate student center Ryan Young is from Stewartsville, New Jersey, and played at Bethlehem Catholic High School. Junior guard Jaylen Blakes is a Somerset, New Jersey, native and played at Blair Academy. 

Vermont's redshirt junior forward Ileri Ayo-Faleye is from Lebanon, Pennsylvania. 

No. 7 seed University of Florida vs. TBD
Friday, 4:30 p.m. on TBS

Florida freshman forward Thomas Haugh, who played at the Perkiomen School in Pennsburg, has played in 35 games this season and averages 3.9 points.  

Gators redshirt senior guard Alex Klatsky, is a Colts Neck, New Jersey, native and attended the Ranney School.

East Region

No. 8 seed Northwestern University vs. No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic University
Friday, 12:15 p.m. on CBS

The matchup between Northwestern University and Florida Atlantic University includes two players with ties to the Philly region. 

FAU senior guard Jalen Gaffney is from Columbus, New Jersey, and attended the Westtown School in high school. 

In 33 games for the Owls, Gaffney averages 5.8 points and 3.3 rebounds. 

On the Northwestern side, sophomore guard Blake Smith is from Blue Bell, Montgomery County. He attended Germantown Academy and has played nine games for the Wildcats this season. 

No. 12 seed UAB vs. No. 5 seed San Diego State
Friday, 1:45 p.m. on TNT

UAB junior forward Yaxel Lendeborg, a Pennsauken, New Jersey, native helped the Blazers punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament after scoring 13 points against Temple University in the American Athletic Conference championship. 

In his first season at UAB, Lendeborg led the team in scoring with 13.9 points per game. After graduating from Pennsauken High School, he played at the Arizona Western College Matadors in junior college. 

No. 10 seed Drake University vs. No. 7 seed Washington State University
Thursday, 10:05 p.m. on truTV

Drake University graduate student forward Darnell Brodie played at Newark East Side in high school before college. He averages 11.3 points. 

No. 11 seed Duquesne University vs. No. 6 seed BYU
Thursday, 12:40 p.m. on truTV

The Duquesne University men's basketball team is heading to its first NCAA Tournament in 47 years after winning the Atlantic 10 championship over Virginia Commonwealth University. 

Freshman guard Seamus McDermott, who played at Holy Ghost Prep in Bucks County, played two games for the Dukes this season. 

West Region

No. 9 seed Michigan State University vs No. 8 seed Mississippi State University
Thursday, 12:15 p.m. on CBS

Michigan State senior guard A.J. Hoggard is a Coatesville, Pennsylvania, native who played at Archbishop Carroll in Philly's Catholic League before finishing his high school career at Huntington Prep in West Virginia. 

Hoggard ranks third on the Spartans in points per game at 11 and leads the team in assists. 

No. 13 seed College of Charleston vs. No. 4 seed University of Alabama
Friday, 7:35 p.m. on truTV

Two players with New Jersey roots play for Charleston and Bama. 

Crimson Tide graduate student guard Aaron Estrada, a Woodbury, New Jersey, native ranks second on the team in points with 13.4 per game.

Charleston junior guard Jack Miller is from Ocean Township, New Jersey, and played seven games in the 2023-24 season. Charleston graduate student guard Bryce Butler is a Latrobe, Pennsylvania, native, which is just outside Pittsburgh. 

No. 11 seed New Mexico vs. No. 6 seed Clemson University
Friday, 3:10 p.m. on truTV

Clemson graduate student forward Jack Clark, who previously played at La Salle and N.C. State, averaged 4.2 points in 20 games for the Tigers.

Clark is a Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, native. 

New Mexico junior forward Deraje Agbaosi is from Union, New Jersey. 

No. 14 seed Colgate University vs. No. 3 seed Baylor University
Friday at 12:40 p.m. on truTV

Colgate, winners of the Patriot League, has several players from Pennsylvania on the roster. 

Junior forward Jeff Woodward, who scored 1,450 points at Methacton High School in Eagleville, is from Audubon, Pennsylvania. 

Senior Colgate guard Alex Capitano played at Malvern Prep in high school and fifth-year forward Ryan Moffatt is from Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

No. 1 seed University of North Carolina vs. TBD
Thursday, 2:45 p.m. on CBS

North Carolina's talented roster features freshman guard Elliot Cadeau, who is from West Orange, New Jersey. 

Midwest Region

No. 1 seed Purdue University vs. TBD
Friday, 7:25 p.m. on TBS

Purdue senior forward Ethan Morton is from Butler, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh. He's played in 32 games this season for the Boilermakers. 

No. 9 seed Texas Christian University vs. No. 8 seed Utah State University
Friday, 9:55 p.m. on TBS

Hoops fans across the Delaware Valley will recognize the name of one of TCU's best players. 

Jameer Nelson Jr., the son of the former St. Joseph's Hawk great and NBA player Jameer Nelson, is a senior guard for the Horned Frogs. The older Nelson knows a thing or two about making a deep tourney run. 

Nelson Jr., a Haverford, Pennsylvania, native, ranks second on TCU in scoring and averages 11.3 points. 

No. 4 seed University of Kansas vs. No. 13 seed Samford University
Thursday, 9:55 p.m. on TBS

Jayhawks freshman guard Elmarko Jackson, a Marlton, New Jersey, native has made an immediate impact for Kansas this season. 

Jackson has played in 32 games, including 17 starts, averaging 4.2 points. He was a McDonald's All-American at the South Kent School in Connecticut before college. 

No. 15 seed Saint Peter's University vs. No. 2 seed University of Tennessee
Thursday, 9:20 p.m. on TNT

Several players from New Jersey currently play at Saint Peter's, which is looking to upset Tennessee. 

Junior guard Marcus Randolph played at Willingboro and Archbishop Wood High Schools. He was a former two-time All-Catholic League selection during his time at Wood. He's a Willingboro native. 

Like Randolph, senior guard Latrell Reid is also a Willingboro native.

Sophomore guard Elijah Perkins is a Middletown, New Jersey, native and played at Camden High School. Junior guard Jaheim Tanskley is from Edison, New Jersey. 

First Four

No. 10 seed University of Virginia vs. No. 10 seed Colorado State University
Tuesday, 9:10 p.m. on truTV

Virginia freshman guard Elijah Gertrude is from Jersey City, New Jersey, and played at Hudson Catholic Regional High School. 

Virginia sophomore guard Ryan Dunn and freshman guard Christian Bliss are both from New York but played high school basketball in Pennsylvania. Dunn played at the Perkiomen School and Bliss played at the George School. 

No. 16 seed Wagner University vs. No. 16 seed Howard University
Tuesday, 6:40 p.m. on truTV

Both the Seahawks and Bison's rosters have players from Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

Wagner senior guard Rahmir Moore is a Philly native and played at St. Joe's in college. Junior guard Tyje Kelton and redshirt sophomore Di'Andre Howell-South are also both from New Jersey. 

On Howard, graduate student guard Isiah Warfield is from Monaca in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and freshman guard Jordan Atkins is from South Orange, New Jersey. 

Drexel University and Princeton University are both heading to the NCAA Tournament after winning their conference tournaments. Plus, Philadelphia's own Dawn Staley will be trying to lead the University of South Carolina to its third national championship.

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There are also plenty of other players from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware competing in the tournament. 

Here's the full list broken down by region.

Regional 4 Portland

No. 1 seed University of Texas vs. No. 16 seed Drexel
Friday, 3 p.m. on ESPNU

Drexel, the only Philly school to make the men's or women's tournament, will have its hands full against a Texas team that won 30 games and the Big 12 championship. 

Dragons head coach Amy Mallon's team has plenty of players who played in some of the best leagues in the Philadelphia region. 

Junior guard Amaris Baker, who transferred from Harcum College, is from Philly and played at Cardinal O'Hara High School in Delaware County. 

Fellow teammates, sophomore guard Grace O'Neill and senior guard Erin Sweeney, also played in the Philadelphia Catholic League at Archbishop Carroll. 

Graduate student guard Brooke Mullin is from Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and played at Neshaminy in high school. For the past four years of her career, she attended Villanova University. 

Erin Doherty, another grad student, went to Haverford High School in Delco, and freshman Laine McGurk played at West Chester Rustin in Chester County. 

Grad student forward Hetta Saatman is from Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

No. 2 seed Stanford University vs. No. 15 seed Norfolk State University
Friday, 10 p.m. ESPN2

In her first season at Norfolk State, Philly native Diamond Johnson has the Spartans dancing. The Neumann-Goretti product leads the team in scoring at 20.3 points per game after playing at North Carolina State University and Rutgers University to begin her college career. 

There's also some North Jersey representation on Norfolk. Junior forward Mayoke Diawara is from Bayonne, New Jersey, and graduate student guard-forward Danielle Robinson is from Newark, New Jersey. 

No. 10 seed University of Maryland vs. No. 7 seed Iowa State University
Friday, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2

Maryland freshman guard Mary Sareen is from Wayne, Pennsylvania, and attended Radnor High School. 

Another Terrapin, grad student guard-forward Faith Masonius, is from Belmar, New Jersey. 

Regional 2 Albany

No. 9 seed Princeton University vs. No. 8 seed West Virginia University
Saturday, 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2

After winning the Ivy League, Princeton will take on West Virginia in the first round of the tourney.

The Tigers have a few players from New Jersey on their roster.

Sophomore guard Madison St. Rose, who ranks second on the team in scoring, is from Old Bridge, New Jersey.

Junior Paige Morton is from Summit, New Jersey, and sophomore Tabitha Amanze is from Nigeria but played at the Blair Academy in Warren County in high school. 

No. 6 seed University of Louisville vs. No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee University
Friday, 1:30 p.m. on ESPN2

Louisville grad student guard Kiki Jefferson is from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which is about 80 miles west of Philly. 

No. 13 seed University of Portland vs. No. 4 seed Kansas State University
Friday, 4:30 p.m. on ESPN

Kansas State freshman forward Alexis Hess is from Blandon, Pennsylvania, which is in Berks County. 

No. 14 seed Rice University vs. No. 3 seed Louisiana State University
Friday, 4 p.m. on ESPN

Rice junior forward Maya Bokunewicz is a State College, Pennsylvania, native. She's played in 32 games this season. 

Regional 1 Albany

No. 2 seed University of Notre Dame vs. No. 15 seed Kent State University
Saturday, 2:15 p.m. on ESPN

The Fighting Irish have three players on their roster from New Jersey, including two from South Jersey. 

Freshman guard Hannah Hidalgo is from Haddonfield and went to Paul VI High School. She leads the team in scoring and averages 23.3 points. 

Senior forward Kylee Watson, who previously played at Oregon University, played at Mainland High School in Linwood. 

Junior guard Olivia Miles is a Phillipsburg native and played at the Blair Academy in high school. 

At Kent State, junior guard Lexy Linton is from Westampton and went to Jackson Memorial High School, and sophomore guard Corynne Hauser is from Rochester, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh. 

No. 9 seed Michigan State University vs. No. 8 seed University of North Carolina
Friday, 11:30 a.m. on ESPN2

North Carolina sophomore guard-forward Destiny Adams is from Manchester, New Jersey, and played in 33 games for the Tar Heels this season. 

No. 13 seed Fairfield University vs. No. 4 seed Indiana University
Saturday, 1:30 p.m. on ESPN2

Fairfield has two players from Jersey and one from Pennsylvania. 

Senior guard Mimi Rubino is from Pequannock, New Jersey, and freshman guard Casey Prior is a Sea Girt, New Jersey, native. 

Junior Emina Selimovic is an Erie, Pennsylvania, native. 

Regional 3 Portland

No. 13 seed Marshall University vs. No. 4 seed Virginia Tech University
Friday, 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2

Freshman guard Sydni Scott, who went to O'Hara, helped Marshall earn a trip to the tourney this year as the team's sixth woman off the bench. 

Scott, a native of Prospect Park, Pennsylvania, averaged 8 points in 32 games, including 15 starts. 

No. 10 seed Richmond University vs. No. 7 seed Duke University
Friday, 2:30 p.m. on ESPN

The Spiders have several players from Pennsylvania and New Jersey on their roster. 

Graduate student forward Anna Camden is from Downingtown in Chester County and played at the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Shipley as the school's all-time leading girls' basketball scorer and won back-to-back state titles. 

Sophomore forward Maggie Doogan is from Broomall, Delaware County, and played high school hoops at O'Hara, where she won a state championship with her mom, Chrissie Doogan, coaching the team. 

Two players from New Jersey – freshman guard Ally Sweeney and junior guard Katie Hill – also play for the Spiders. 

Richmond senior guard Kylee Lewandowski is a Pittsburgh native and played at North Catholic High School. 

First Four

No. 16 seed Presbyterian University vs. No. 16 seed Sacred Heart University
Wednesday, 7 p.m. on ESPNU

The Pioneers have players on their roster from Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. 

Freshman Emma Kirby is from Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and played at the Tatnall School in Wilmington, Delaware. 

Sophomore guard Faith Pappas, freshman guard Montana Nicks, grad student guard Sajada Bonner and senior forward Ciara Brannon are all from the Garden State.

Lastly, grad student guard Olivia Tucker is from Newark, Delaware. 

No. 16 seed University of Tennessee at Martin vs. No. 16 seed Holy Cross University
Thursday, 9 p.m. on ESPN2

Holy Cross boasts plenty of talent from Pennsylvania and New Jersey on its roster. 

Sophomore guard Kaitlyn Flanagan attended Plymouth Whitemarsh in Montgomery County, while freshman guard Hannah Griffin attended Gwynedd Mercy Academy. 

Junior guard Lindsay Berger is from the Lehigh Valley and attended Parkland High School.

Sophomore guard Mary-Elizabeth Donnelly, junior guard Grace Munt, freshman guard Janie Bachmann and sophomore forward Meg Cahalan each call New Jersey home.

No. 11 seed University of Arizona vs. No. 11 seed Auburn University
Thursday, 7 p.m. on ESPN 2

Auburn grad student guard Honesty Scott-Grayson is a Brick, New Jersey, native and leads the team in scoring. 

No. 12 seed Columbia University vs. No. 12 seed Vanderbilt University
Wednesday, 9 p.m. on ESPNU

Combined, Columbia and Vanderbilt's rosters have several players from Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

On Vandy, sophomore guard Ryanne Allen played at Archbishop Wood in Philly's Catholic League. Sophomore guard-forward Justine Pissott is a Toms River, New Jersey, native. 

Columbia sophomore guard Ava Sciolla played at Pennsbury High School in Bucks County, and senior guard-forward Paige Lauder played at Villa Maria Academy in Malvern. 

Plus, Lions sophomore guard-forward Perri Page is from Pittsburgh, and junior guard Cecelia Collins played at Scranton Prep. 

The Northeast Conference champion Seahawks (17-15) advanced as the No. 16 seed in the West Region and will play top seed North Carolina on Thursday.

"To have the first NCAA Tournament victory in school history, it's huge," second-year Wagner coach Donald Copeland said. "It's huge for the school, the program and these guys, man, that have gone through so much, man, to continue to build and continue to write their own season the way they needed to."

Howard trailed by 17 points early in the second half but went on a late 14-2 run, closing within 69-68 on Bryce Harris' layup with 18 seconds left. After Julian Brown hit a pair of free throws for Wagner, Howard attempted three 3-pointers in the last 6 seconds but missed them all.

Brown finished with 15 points for the Seahawks, who made their only previous NCAA Tournament appearance in 2003 — one year before Copeland made the first of his two appearances in the tourney as a player for Seton Hall.

Harris and Seth Towns scored 16 points apiece for Howard (18-16), the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion, which was also seeking its first March Madness win. The Bison made it to the tourney for the second straight season under coach Kenny Blakeney, who won a national title as a player for Duke in 1992.

Tahron Allen's layup with 16:42 left in the first half put Wagner ahead 7-6, and the Seahawks never trailed again. They built a 17-point lead in the first half and equaled that advantage early in the second.

Wagner shot 52.7% overall and 47.1% (8 of 17) from 3-point range while holding Howard to 38.6% from the field.

"We still were able, I think, to get three great looks at the basket," Blakeney said. "But sometimes the basketball gods are with you and sometimes they're not."

Allen and Keyontae Lewis finished with 10 points apiece as all seven Seahawks who entered the game scored. Wagner had only seven players available for all of conference play because of injuries.

"Having seven players, I would imagine some places, they might just come in the gym and just, 'Hey, listen, we got seven, let's go through the motions,'" Copeland said. "We never did that. We prepared the right way."

MADE FOR THE MOMENT

Three Seahawks players finished with four fouls apiece, and Wagner's injury-depleted rotation looked gassed during Howard's late run. But it was nothing new for the scrappy school from Staten Island.

"We go and just preach toughness every day," Council said. "So there's no difference."

COMPETITIVE STAMINA

Council, Brown and Javier Ezquerra each played all 40 minutes for the Seahawks. Ezquerra had eight assists.

"This guy right here told me to drink a lot of water because I like to drink Gatorade," Council said, referencing Ezquerra. "Shout-out to Javi. That's why I don't get tired."

JUNIOR COLLEGE LEGEND

Council joined the Seahawks after two years at Monroe College, where he was a NJCAA Division I All-American and the team's all-time leading scorer with 1,400 points.

"He's a baller. He loves to play and compete and he lives for moments like this," Copeland said. "That's what you're seeing right now is a reflection of all the work behind closed doors that he allows us to put into him, and it's paid off."

UP NEXT

Wagner has a quick turnaround before facing UNC at 2:45 p.m. EDT Thursday in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Wagner College campus may be quiet for spring break, but some students were making noise at a watch party Tuesday night, celebrating a big win for the men's basketball team against Howard University.

It's the first March Madness win in school history.

"It's a huge accomplishment for them," freshman Jack Mason said.

"It was close at the end. Were you nervous?" CBS New York's Jenna DeAngelis asked. 

"Oh my god, my heart rate was like up and down, up and down, up and down watching the last five minutes of the game," Mason said.

"I knew they had it, they had it," junior Kharlin Watkins said.

A 71-68 victory lands the Seahawks in the 64-team bracket going onto the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

"I feel like it's putting Wagner on the map," graduate student Nicole Donello said.

Representing the small Staten Island school is a small team of only seven healthy players. Avoiding more injuries has meant months of no-contact practices.

"They worked really hard for it, and they definitely, they earned their spot," said Malia Mpondo, who is on the Wagner College women's basketball team.

This win means Wagner advances to face the No. 1 seed North Carolina in a first-round game Thursday. Fans here are hoping for a Cinderella story.

College basketball teams across the country are preparing to march in the NCAA tournament, and the madness synonymous with this month has already begun. 

Every year, basketball fans try to build unbustable brackets, but few make it out of the first weekend alive. 

Sports Business Journal's managing editor Austin Karp stopped by to give us a preview and, hopefully, some bracket tips.  

The Big East tournament tips off at Madison Square Garden Wednesday. 

"In terms of conference tournaments, this is the granddaddy of them all for college basketball, 42nd year now at Madison Square Garden," Karp said. "U Conn's a big favorite, number two in the country in most polls. There's going to be a lot of Huskies fans in there." 

Karp said Seton Hall, St. John's, Villanova are among the teams also "really need to make strong runs in this tournament to impress the committee and make it into the tournament, and make it into the round of 64." 

As for who Karp sees coming out as #1 seeds in each region? 

"I see U Conn. I see Houston. I see North Carolina, and let's see how they perform. Let's see how Tennessee does, I want to see them make a strong in the SEC. And it has been a really strong year for these blue blood programs in college basketball, which I know the executives at CBS and TNT are going to like," Karp said. "Cinderellas are really nice early on in the tournament. But as you get further on in the tournament, you want schools that have more national appeal, and that's what those schools bring. But I am not also sleeping on Houston." 

Check out the rest of Karp's interview in the video above, and remember: There's still time to enter the CBS New York Bracket Challenge. 

Tristen Newton added 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the defending national champion Huskies (20-2, 10-1 Big East), playing without injured forward Alex Karaban, won their 10th straight game.

The winning streak began Dec. 23 with a 69-65 victory over St. John's at home.

Daniss Jenkins scored 19 for the scuffling Red Storm (13-9, 5-6), who have dropped five of six after opening 4-1 in conference play during their first season under Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino.

Leading scorer Joel Soriano was held to six points on 2-of-6 shooting and four rebounds — well below his season averages.

With a sold-out crowd of 19,812 split between fans of both teams, Chris Ledlum's fast-break dunk off a steal gave St. John's its final lead at 46-45 with 13:15 remaining.

Spencer answered with a 3-pointer to put the Huskies back in front. Newton converted a three-point play and Castle sank two free throws to complete an 8-0 run. Spencer then capped the decisive 24-8 spurt with another 3 that gave UConn its largest lead, 69-54, with 6:40 left.

Castle had 12 points in the first half but a jumper by Nahiem Alleyne, who transferred to St. John's after helping UConn win the 2023 national title, sent the Red Storm into the locker room with a 37-36 edge.

MISSING YOU

A game-time decision, Karaban (sprained right ankle) was ruled out before tipoff. He got hurt early in Wednesday night's win over Providence and missed six minutes of the first half. But he returned to the court and scored 12 points in 34 minutes. The 6-foot-8 sophomore is third on the team in scoring (14.5 points per game) and rebounding (5.8 per game).

BIG PICTURE

UConn: Improved to 4-0 at Madison Square Garden this season. The Huskies will be back next month for the Big East Tournament before trying to become the first program since Florida in 2007 to repeat as national champions.

St. John's: Fell to 9-3 at home this season.

UP NEXT

UConn: Will host Butler on Tuesday night. Connecticut is 8-0 in the series, which started with a matchup in the 2011 NCAA championship game. Minus injured center Donovan Clingan, the Huskies rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to win 88-81 at Butler on Jan. 5.

St. John's: Hosts last-place DePaul on Tuesday night in its first Big East home game at UBS Arena, home of the NHL's New York Islanders. Pitino bobbleheads will be given to the first 4,000 fans.

Soriano added 11 rebounds and three blocks for the Red Storm. Daniss Jenkins scored 17 points while shooting 7 for 13, including 3 for 6 from beyond the arc, and added seven rebounds and eight assists. Chris Ledlum had 16 points and was 7 of 15 shooting (2 for 3 from 3-point range).

Dean Noll finished with 15 points for the Seawolves. Andre Snoddy added 13 points and seven rebounds for Stony Brook. Keenan Fitzmorris also put up 11 points.

NEXT UP

St. John's plays Monday against Michigan at home. Stony Brook hosts Saint Joseph's (Long Island) on Friday.