Rhodeley, Providence – St. John's took out the trash.
Omaha never approached the quirky post-match tradition of beating trash cans after a victory.
Instead, it was second seed Johnny to celebrate Thursday night after his first NCAA tournament victory in 25 years.
The nerves of this victory-hungry fanbase changed into the stress-free final 15 minutes as this second half-time team continued to maintain an edge over their opponents.
St. John's scored 12 of his first 14 points after the break, passing the 15th-place seed in the first round game of the western region, and traveled on an 83-53 molling that set up a collision coaching the Giants at the Amica Mutual Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.
It was St. John's biggest winning margin in the NCAA Tournament Games.
“It's the path to a national championship,” forward Zuby Ejiofor said. “We beat one. We went to five.”
It will once again become Hall of Fame Rick Pitino with John Calipari as St. John's meets Arkansas in the 10th and a sweet bid for the line.
The two former Kentucky coaches have met 23 times in the college ranks, with Calipari holding the 13-10 edge.
“He doesn't have to worry about me,” Pitino said jokingly. “My jump shot is gone now.”
Johnny (31-4) definitely left after a volatile start and imposing their will.
At one point, they scored 30 of the 38 points, running Omaha out of the floor.
Freshoff, named Big East Tournament's best player, RJ Luis Jr. hit five three-pointers, earning team high 22 points for eight rebounds.
Simeon Wilcher chipped with 13 points, Ejiofor added 10 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks, while Kadary Richmond notched 10 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
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St. John's set a program NCAA Tournament record for the highest season with 14 three-pointers in 37 attempts.
They operated Omaha (22-13) in the final 20 minutes, surpassing 50-25.
One of the country's outstanding 3-point shooting teams, Summit League School shot 25.7% off the field in just 36 times from long distance.
“I'm not excited about the rebound,” Pitino said St. John's allowed 24 offensive rebounds, leading to Omaha's second chance point of 18. “I'm excited about everything else.”
Check out the latest Big East rankings and cents. John's statistics
St. John's started the NCAA tournament like the last two games of the Big East Tournament: Shaky.
They missed the first five shots and quickly went down 7-0, chasing 20-14 at one point.
There was obvious anxiety, and for the first time there were most of the Red Storm players on this stage.
Aaron Scott and Richmond were on the bench with two fouls each.
The bench helped Johnny get back, contributing to a 16-2 run and calmed them down. Deivon Smith shocked with five points on Spurt.
Omaha had the opportunity to reach equality or get into a break, but he turned the ball over.
On the other hand, Smith spotted Vince Yiuchukwu, who scored inside and portrayed a foul, giving St. Johns a five-point halftime lead.
As the second half began, St. John's picked up from iwuchukwu's 3-point play where he left off.
Lewis hit a three-pointer, Richmond scored inside, and Scott sunk a three-pointer.
Lewis threw an alley dunk during the transition, and the lead reached a game-high 13 points, forcing a timeout for Quick Omaha.
“We came out very tight, this is [our] First play [in the NCAA Tournament]So I think it was a bit nervous,” Lewis said.
Blood was just beginning.
Reed grew to 28 after Smith found Richmond. St. John's was about to advance the March madness for the first time in 9,135 days.
“It feels like every other game we play is breaking the drought and adding a bit of water to it,” Lewis said. “This, this, this, 25 years, it feels great to get it done and do it with these guys. We were able to build our own legacy at St. John's.”
