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00:00St. John's is headed back to the NCAA tournament and the Red Storm.
00:03They now know their path.
00:05After a strong season in the Big East, St. John's earned a five seed in the East region.
00:09They're going to open up their tournament run against Northern Iowa in the first round.
00:13The question now is, did the committee get the seeding right?
00:16And how far can this team really go in March?
00:20To break it all down, I'm joined by New York Post, St. John's basketball beat writer, my guy, the great
00:25Zach Braziller, joins me now.
00:26Zach, what is going on, my friend?
00:30How are you?
00:30I'm good, man.
00:31Well, if I'm being honest, I'm a little tired.
00:34We had busy times, you and I, at the Big East tournament the last couple of days.
00:37And now you're about to go on the road and leave me and head out to San Diego.
00:41You know, you get some nice weather out there.
00:44I'm happy for you on that.
00:45But, Zach, let's start with this.
00:47Let's start with the big picture.
00:48St. John's lands as a five seed in the East region after the season they just had.
00:52When you look at the resume, the Big East play, the way they finish the year, although that doesn't matter
00:57as much to the committee,
00:58do you think the committee seated them fairly, or did they have a case to be a little bit higher
01:03here in this tournament?
01:06Yeah, I think they had a case to be a four.
01:12Clearly, the non-conference hurt them.
01:15You know, the lost Iowa State, Alabama, Kentucky really hurt them.
01:21But, overall, their resume metrics average out to be 13th in the country.
01:28So, yeah, I do think they should have been a four seed.
01:32But, look, four and five, it's not really that big of a difference.
01:37I think it's fair to be annoyed that they're going all the way out west.
01:43You know, that, to me, was a surprise.
01:45I thought maybe Buffalo, Greenville.
01:49You know, I thought there were a lot of issues with the committee.
01:52Obviously, giving North Carolina a six seed home games the first weekend, giving Missouri a ten seed home games the
01:58first weekend made absolutely no sense.
02:01I thought Vanderbilt got screwed as a five.
02:04I think Vanderbilt got screwed more than St. John's.
02:06Vanderbilt should be a three or a four, not a five.
02:11Virginia and Gonzaga should not be three seeds.
02:13Virginia doesn't have a single win over a top five seed in this tournament.
02:16Gonzaga's best wins came when they had Braden Huff, their second best player.
02:20And I don't, I mean, I know he's trying to come back, but, like, he was on crutches just, like,
02:23a week ago or two.
02:25So, you know, yeah, I don't think the committee didn't do St. John's any favors, but I actually think Vanderbilt
02:31probably has more reason to be upset than St. John's.
02:34All right, Vandy with more reasons to be mad than St. John's.
02:37But one thing I've learned from doing this, and I know you've seen for a long time, you can always
02:41be mad.
02:42Somebody will find a reason to be mad.
02:43But we move on.
02:44The Red Storm, they draw Northern Iowa in the first round.
02:47When you first saw that matchup pop up on Selection Sunday, what was your immediate reaction?
02:52Is this a favorable draw for St. John's, or do you look at this as a potential trap game?
02:58No, I don't think there's anything such thing as a trap game in the NCAA tournament.
03:03St. John's is a ten-and-a-half-point favorite.
03:05You know, Northern Iowa does do things that could give them some trouble.
03:08They play really slow.
03:09They're a good defensive team.
03:11They're a really good defensive rebounding team.
03:13They're not very good offensively.
03:14They're rated 150th in offensive efficiency.
03:18They're very limited athletically.
03:20They're not big.
03:23I have a hard time seeing this being a very tough game.
03:27Look, maybe it's close for a half.
03:28But I think St. John's should win comfortably.
03:31You know, when I saw the draw, my bigger concern wasn't this one.
03:34It was the fact that you can see Kansas in the second round.
03:37Look, there are some four seeds I think I would have preferred not to play.
03:42You know, Arkansas, I think, would have been a big problem for St. John's.
03:47Even Vandy, who's a five, there were four.
03:49I would have wanted to see them.
03:52But, yeah, look, this is probably a toss-up game.
03:55Kansas has arguably the best pro prospect in the country, Darren Peters.
03:59So we all know his off-again, on-again injuries and how oddly Kansas has played better without him.
04:05And Kansas is four and five in the last nine games.
04:07They haven't played great.
04:08They do have a really good big man defender, ream protector, and Flory Bedunga.
04:14Don't have a lot of depth there.
04:15So if St. John's can get him in foul trouble.
04:17But, yeah, look, it's obviously going to be a tough game.
04:22But these two teams are kind of going in opposite directions where St. John's is streaking
04:26and Kansas has struggled over the last few weeks.
04:28All right, we'll go back to Kansas in one second.
04:31But for the Red Storm to take care of business in the first round against Northern Iowa,
04:35what do you think are the two or three things they absolutely have to do well
04:39so they don't play with their food and they take care of business against Northern Iowa?
04:45You know, to me, it's important that the game isn't played at Northern Iowa's pace.
04:50That St. John's forces turnovers, makes shots, and they can play fast and speed them up.
04:59That, to me, is going to be big in this game.
05:02You know, which team could dictate tempo?
05:04You know, could Northern Iowa get it to be a slow, grinded-out affair?
05:09Like, if this game is played in the 50s or early 60s, that's where Northern Iowa has a chance to
05:14win.
05:14If this game is in the 70s or 80s, they're not going to have a shot.
05:19So it's going to be St. John's pressing, forcing turnover.
05:23Northern Iowa doesn't turn over a lot, but they also haven't faced a high major opponent all year.
05:26They haven't seen anyone like St. John's in terms of their athleticism, their quickness, their versatility, their size.
05:34Like, this is going to be very eye-opening for Northern Iowa.
05:37They haven't seen anything like this.
05:38So that, to me, is the number one key is speeding them up, making them play fast, making them play
05:44St. John's style.
05:45They cannot keep up at St. John's pace.
05:48All right.
05:49St. John's has to control the pace as Northern Iowa is moving up in weight classes here in this NCAA
05:54tournament in the first round.
05:56Now, you mentioned Kansas, Zach.
05:58If St. John's is able to get past Northern Iowa, we know the second round is where things usually start
06:03to get really interesting.
06:04When you look at the top of the East region, how difficult is the path for the Red Storm to
06:08reach the Sweet 16 this year?
06:10Yeah, look, this is, to me, is a really, really deep region.
06:14You know, obviously Duke.
06:16Although, look, Duke, if I'm Duke, you know, we talked about being upset.
06:20If I'm Duke, I'm pretty damn pissed.
06:22I mean, they're the overall number one seed.
06:25They get either Kansas or St. John's in the Sweet 16.
06:29You still have Michigan State and UConn lurking.
06:31And their second round game, Ohio State, TCU are good teams.
06:36Both those teams probably have an argument where they can be higher than an eight or nine seed.
06:40Ohio State has Bruce Thornton, one of the premier guards in the country.
06:43TCU is a really good team with some really, really good wins.
06:46Like, that second round game for Duke is no walk in the park.
06:51That's not going to be a 30-point win.
06:53Like, that game, that could be tough.
06:55Like, Duke's, this region's tough, man.
06:58Like, Duke was done no favors.
07:01Like, I don't get how the number one overall seed has, that's another thing the committee messed up on.
07:06Like, the number one overall seed should have the easiest path of the ones, not the hardest.
07:10And to me, they have the hardest path of all the one seeds.
07:13You look at some of the coaches in this region.
07:16So, to me, yeah, I mean, St. John's can be annoyed, but to me, if I'm Duke, I'm annoyed.
07:22I'm annoyed by this as well.
07:25Yeah, listen, I see it for Duke, but listen, there's also a lot of people out there that they're not
07:29shedding any tears for Duke.
07:31We know there's a lot of...
07:32Oh, I understand, but the number one overall seed is not supposed to have such a tough road.
07:38I agree.
07:39Like, it's supposed to be easier than the other number one seeds.
07:43And, right.
07:44So, like, I think that second-round game, Duke could have some trouble.
07:47But, yeah, no, look, it's not an easy road, but if the St. John's team we saw in the Big
07:52East tournament shows up, I think they get to a Sweet 16.
07:56Bryce Hopkins, to me, is going to be so important, because he looked like the Bryce Hopkins of Providence.
08:01He was finishing above the rim.
08:03He was making threes.
08:04If that player shows up, it just, it makes St. John's so much harder to guard.
08:09You can't just, you know, focus everything on edge of four.
08:14It opens up stuff on the perimeter for other guys.
08:17Like, if that Hopkins is now here to stay, this becomes a much better offensive team.
08:22Well, you might have answered the question I was going to ask you.
08:26You might have somebody else, to which I'm still going to ask you the question, because you know this, Zach,
08:30being the basketball aficionado that you are, particularly around college basketball, every team that makes a run in March, you
08:35usually see somebody step up.
08:37Maybe somebody you didn't expect to in a big way.
08:40Who do you think could be that X factor for St. John's in this tournament?
08:43I mean, is it Bryce Hopkins?
08:44Is he the guy who's going to be the X factor if they are going to make a deep run?
08:48You know, I think he's potentially a guy, you know, when you get to that Kansas game, you know, their
08:53big guy was the defensive player of the year in the Big 12.
08:55He's really good.
08:58So, you know, it might not be a game where you're just going to edge for possession after possession.
09:04You need other guys to make plays, and that could be Bryce Hopkins.
09:09I was very encouraged by how Isaiah Sellers is now shooting the ball of late.
09:13He's making shots.
09:13They're going to need that.
09:14Joseon Sanen has been big.
09:16Look, St. John's going to have to make threes.
09:20They only made five against UConn.
09:22They have been shooting them better somewhat.
09:26They're going to have to make threes.
09:27Not saying they have to make 13, but they're going to have to make, you know, seven, eight threes here
09:32to advance.
09:34Because, look, teams, you're facing bigger, more athletic teams where it's not going to be as easy inside.
09:39You're going to have to make shots.
09:40But I do like what we've seen of late from some of these guys.
09:46Yeah, there's been some good stuff.
09:47Those are some good names in terms of X-Factors that can step up for the Johnnies in this tournament.
09:51Last thing for me here, Zach, when you step back and you look at this St. John's team, as you've
09:56been plugging with them all year,
09:57you look at their talent, the momentum they have coming off the Big East tournament title,
10:00and then the tough bracket that they're in,
10:03how far do you think this St. John's group can realistically go in this tournament?
10:09In today's paper, I picked them to go to the Sweet 16.
10:12I think they'll beat Kansas.
10:13I just don't like how Kansas has played the last few weeks.
10:16I think St. John's is just a bit better, especially defensively.
10:21I think St. John's is tougher.
10:24The whole Peterson thing is weird.
10:27I think they could, you know, you could get the Dungan foul trouble.
10:30Kansas really doesn't have a lot of depth inside.
10:35You know, their four is Bryson Tiller.
10:37He's a freshman.
10:38He got benched in the Big 12 tournament, you know, when they were getting routed by Houston.
10:43I like St.
10:44Look, I like St. John's.
10:45I don't think they'll beat Duke, but I wouldn't be shocked if they do.
10:48The team that showed up at the Big East tournament, to me, is capable of beating anyone.
10:53You know, in our breakdown, I said my East Region bracket buster was St. John's,
11:00because I couldn't see them beating Duke and going to a Final Four.
11:03I think they're playing that well right now, and they're surging at the right time.
11:08Do I think, you know, I wouldn't be surprised.
11:11Do I think it'll happen?
11:12I think Duke's probably a little too good, a little too big, athletic.
11:16Boozer is just ridiculously good.
11:18He could be the number one pick in the draft.
11:21But I wouldn't be shocked.
11:22I think this team is, I think this team is playing better right now than last year's team was.
11:26And last year's team was playing really well going into the tournament.
11:28But I think this team does things better.
11:30They're bigger.
11:31They have more shooting than last year's team.
11:34And, you know, they've seen big athletic teams.
11:38You know, they saw it in with Kentucky and obviously some really dynamic scoring in Alabama.
11:45So, like, they've experienced it in the non-conference.
11:49I think they're going to get to the second weekend for the first time since 1999.
11:52I do.
11:54And I think they're going to get by Kansas.
11:56And the other thing about Kansas, if you look historically less than the last five, six years,
12:00Bill Sells teams that go into the tournament not playing great tend to not stay around long.
12:06It's one thing when he's got a high seed and they're having a great year.
12:09But this team is taking on water lately.
12:12So, I don't necessarily see them just flipping a switch.
12:18And they haven't played great away from home.
12:20And obviously these games are not at Allen Fieldhouse.
12:23They have not played well at home.
12:24They lost at Arizona State.
12:26You know, a bad team.
12:27So, I think St. John's has a very good chance to get to the Sweet 16.
12:31Obviously, Northern Iowa first.
12:33And that Kansas game will be very interesting.
12:36No question about it.
12:38But I do like St. John's to get to the Sweet 16.
12:41There we go.
12:42You hear that from Zach Brazillo.
12:43Telling you to take it one game at a time.
12:45Yesterday, I had my guy Jamal Murphy on here.
12:48And he predicted St. John's to go to the Final Four.
12:51You're saying it could happen.
12:52You wouldn't bank on it to happen.
12:54But it could happen.
12:55I just think Duke's athleticism and length is going to be really tough.
12:59But no, Caleb, they're not going to have their starting point guard.
13:02They're a different team without him.
13:03They almost lost to Florida State in the ACC tournament.
13:05Barely beat Virginia.
13:07They are not the same team without him.
13:09Their starting center is probably going to be back.
13:11He didn't play either in the ACC tournament.
13:13Probably back, but you don't know.
13:15He's got a foot injury.
13:18And we know foot injuries with big men can be problematic.
13:20So we'll see.
13:21Look, it's going to be a lot of fun.
13:24It should be a really interesting first weekend.
13:27And I know the St. John's fans would love to be in D.C. the following week.
13:31Yes, they would.
13:32Listen, it's an exciting time.
13:34It's a big time for you.
13:35And it's busy.
13:36It would be more fun for me if my Panthers, Pitt Panthers.
13:40Oh, gosh.
13:41But they haven't seen that in quite some time.
13:43Brutal.
13:46Look, Zach and I have already talked about this off camera.
13:49I don't even have the time to go into that.
13:51It is crazy, Pitt.
13:52I mean, man, I remember growing up.
13:54They were so good every year.
13:56Yeah.
13:57And now they're just.
13:59Thanks.
14:00Thanks, Zach.
14:01That even further depressed me about the state of my collegiate basketball team.
14:05You always have the Jets, though.
14:07At least you have the Jets, right?
14:08No, I do not.
14:09No, I do not.
14:10No, I do not.
14:12That is Zach Priscilla.
14:13Check him out.
14:14Does a fantastic job covering the Red Store for us.
14:17Zach, safe travels.
14:18I'll talk to you later in the week about the team's first game against Northern Iowa.
14:22We'll talk soon.
14:23Thank you, man.
14:23See you later in the month of July.
14:23Bye.
14:24See you later.
14:28Bye.
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