SAN DIEGO — Only three active head coaches in Division I college basketball have won multiple national championships. Two of them meet for a berth in the Sweet 16 when Bill Self’s No. 4 Kansas Jayhawks face Rick Pitino’s No. 5 St. John’s Red Storm on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament East Region.
Self, winner of the 2008 and 2022 national championships at Kansas, praised Pitino’s continued success over multiple eras. Pitino is 30 years removed from winning his first title with Kentucky in 1996 and won another at Louisville in 2013, although the latter has been officially vacated by the NCAA.
“To me, the coaches (who) are so impressive are (those who) coached without a 3-point line, then became efficient with the 3-point line. Coached without a shot clock, then became one of the best with the shot clock – always evolving with the game,” Self said. “And (Pitino) has done that as well as anybody maybe ever.”
Pitino began his full-time head-coaching career in 1978 at Boston University, seven years before the introduction of the shot clock and eight before the 3-point line was introduced across college basketball.
His longevity puts Pitino in the unique position to guide his fourth different program, along with Providence, Kentucky and Louisville, to the Sweet 16. It would be the first such appearance since 1999 for St. John’s (29-6).
The Red Storm advanced to the second round with a 79-53 rout of No. 12 Northern Iowa on Friday, St. John’s seventh straight win overall and fourth in a row by 10-plus points.
The veteran trio of Oziyah Sellers, Bryce Hopkins and Kansas transfer Zuby Ejiofor have paced St. John’s, combining to average 40.5 of St. John’s 81.6 points per game. Ejiofor, the Big East Conference Player of the Year, posted a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double in Friday’s win.
Kansas (24-10), meanwhile, weathered a furious second-half comeback on Friday to advance past No. 13 Cal Baptist behind standout freshman Darryn Peterson’s 28 points.
The Jayhawks led by as many as 26 points before Cal Baptist cut the deficit to six points with 1:20 left in the 68-60 Kansas win.
Pitino offered effusive praise of Peterson, a potential No. 1 overall pick in this summer’s NBA draft. The 6-foot-6 guard is averaging 20.1 points per game despite battling a variety of injury issues throughout the season.
“He’s got great size,” Pitino said of Peterson. “He’s got a beautiful-looking jump shot. …He’s going to be a great NBA player because he has an NBA game.”
Peterson’s presence on the Kansas roster reflects one of the many positives Pitino touted when analyzing his counterpart in Self. Pitino called the Kansas coach a “great evaluator of talent” on top of being a multidimensional tactician.
“He’s a great offensive coach and he’s a great defensive coach,” Pitino said. “He’s such a well-rounded guy. His teams do everything well.”
The Jayhawks come into the second round with a balanced resume but with especially impressive defensive credentials. They have held opponents to 44.5% shooting on 2-point field-goal attempts and only 30.5% from beyond the arc, both top 25 nationally.
Big men Flory Bidunga and Bryson Tiller both rank in the top 150 nationally in block percentage, per KenPom.com.
They will clash with a stout St. John’s frontcourt led by Ejiofor, whose 16.3 points per game come on 55% shooting from the floor.
–Kyle Kensing, Field Level Media
