SAN DIEGO — Dylan Darling hit a driving layup as time expired for his only bucket of the game, and St. John’s advanced to its first Sweet 16 since 1999 with a 67-65 victory over Kansas in the men’s NCAA tournament Sunday.
Darling, the Johnnies’ tenacious point guard, coolly won it after Kansas (24-11) erased a 58-45 deficit with 7½ 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 down the clock to 3.9 seconds. That was plenty of time for Darling, the Idaho State transfer who had missed his four previous shots.
Darling drove the lane for a shot that banked in as time expired. His teammates tackled him in front of the St. John’s band in celebration.
Zuby Ejiofor and Bryce Hopkins scored 18 points apiece for the fifth-seeded Red Storm (30-6), who have roared back to college basketball prominence in just three seasons under coach Rick Pitino.
St. John’s advanced to face No. 1 overall seed Duke in the East Region semifinals in Washington.
Pitino, 73, and Bill Self, 63, 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 past 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.
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 Feb. 9, the Jayhawks subsequently lost six of their final 11 games.
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