March Madness: 3 takeaways from St. John's loss to Duke in the Sweet 16
St. John's head coach Rick Pitino reacts during the second half against the Duke Blue Devils in the Sweet 16 of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on Friday in Washington, D.C. Credit: Getty Images/Emilee Chinn
WASHINGTON — St. John’s superb 2025-26 season came to an abrupt and disappointing end on Friday night after it battled overall top seed Duke to the final seconds before falling, 80-75, in an NCAA Tournament East Regional semifinal at Capital One Arena. The Red Storm became the first Big East team to win the conference’s outright regular season and tournament titles in consecutive years and earned the program’s first trip to a Sweet 16 in 27 seasons. St. John's finished 30-7.
Here are three takeaways from Friday's Sweet 16 game:
1. The frontcourt delivered and the backcourt did not
This issue of weak guard play dogged the Red Storm all season, and the difference in the two groups was stark in the season-ending loss. The four frontcourt players — starters Zuby Ejiofor, Bryce Hopkins and Dillon Mitchell and reserve Ruben Prey — scored 57 of the 75 points, shot 63% and had nine of the team’s 13 three-pointers and 12 of the squad’s 19 assists. The guards — Dylan Darling, Oziyah Sellers, Ian Jackson and Joson Sanon — scored the other 18 points, shot 25%, made only 4 of 19 three-point attempts and had seven assists.
2. Duke’s Caleb Foster made the difference
Foster had foot surgery on March 8 and was not expected to be ready to play this quickly, but he made a remarkable recovery and helped Duke overcome a 10-point Red Storm lead for the win. He had all of his 11 points in the second half plus three rebounds, two assists and no turnovers. St. John’s coach Rick Pitino blamed the Red Storm's defense and added, “I don't think it was one player. He did play very well certainly [and] it was a big lift for them to have him. I would have rather played without him, but I didn't get that choice.”
3. Prey will be ready for a bigger role
The 6-10 sophomore from Portugal capped an excellent NCAA Tournament with 12 points on 4-for-4 three-point shooting, grabbed two rebounds and played solid physical defense in 13 minutes on the floor. In the three March Madness games, he averaged 8.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in 12.6 minutes per game and shot 8-for-9 (including five three-pointers).
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
