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St. John's' Magical Season Ends With Arkansas Upset in Round of 32

The Red Storm will not make it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Gavin Dorsey

Mar 22, 2025; Providence, RI, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Boogie Fland (2) and St. John's Red Storm guard Aaron Scott (0) fight for a rebound during the second half of a second round men’s NCAA Tournament game at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
Mar 22, 2025; Providence, RI, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Boogie Fland (2) and St. John's Red Storm guard Aaron Scott (0) fight for a rebound during the second half of a second round men’s NCAA Tournament game at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images / Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

In Rick Pitino's second year as head coach, St. John's took a massive leap en route to one of the best seasons in program history.

However, the Red Storm's run has come to an early end. No. 10 seed Arkansas pulled off the major upset in the Round of 32 on Saturday, taking down No. 2 St. John's by the score of 75-66.

Pitino's squad went ice-cold from the field, shooting just 28% from the field and 9.1% (2-of-22) from deep. Big East Player of the Year R.J. Luis Jr. struggled and was kept off the floor as the game came down to the wire, finishing with nine points on 3-of-17 shooting. It was Luis' worst shooting performance and second-lowest scoring total of the season.

Zuby Ejiofor put up 23 points and 12 boards in the loss, while Arkansas' Billy Richmond III led the Razorbacks with 16 points and nine rebounds off the bench.

St. John's finishes the 2024-25 season with a 31-5 record, tying the 1984-85 Final Four team and 1985-86 team for the most wins in a season in program history. The Red Storm won their first regular season Big East title since 1992 by going 18-2 in league play and their first Big East Tournament title since 2000.

Last season, Pitino's first at the helm, the Red Storm went 20-13 (11-9 Big East) and missed the NCAA Tournament.

Arkansas will face the winner of No. 11 Drake and No. 3 Texas Tech in the Sweet 16 on March 27. The West regional semifinal and final will be held in San Francisco.

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Gavin Dorsey
GAVIN DORSEY

Gavin Dorsey is the Lead Writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI and covers a handful of other teams in the On SI network, including the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Guardians, Houston Texans and Ohio State Buckeyes. Before joining On SI in February 2025, he wrote for the Star Tribune and Inside NU while broadcasting college sports for both radio and television. Dorsey is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, where he also studied psychology. In his free time, he enjoys running and being outdoors. Dorsey is currently a freelance writer for the Associated Press, covering Chicago area sports teams.

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