St. John’s crushes Northern Iowa for statement win to start March Madness

St. John’s made one thing clear from the opening minutes Friday night — it was ready to roll.

The Johnnies stormed out of the gates in Friday’s first-round NCAA Tournament with a 13-0 run and never looked back, cruising to a 79-53 victory over Northern Iowa.

St. John’s led by 19 at the break, and while Northern Iowa made some inroads in the second half, it was too little, too late.

Forward Zuby Ejiofor of the St. John’s Red Storm goes up for a shot between forward Ben Schwieger of the Northern Iowa Panthers and forward Will Hornseth of the Northern Iowa Panthers during the first half on March 20, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

Bryce Hopkins was one of the Red Storm players in double figures on Friday night. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

It was a team effort for the Red Storm, who had three players in double digits.

The Johnnies now await the winner of the Kansas-California Baptist game.