Rick Pitino, St. John's Praised by CBB Fans for 2nd-Half Dominance in Win vs. Omaha

No. 2 seed St. John's overcame a slow start to cruise to an 83-53 win over Omaha in the first round of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in Denver on Thursday evening, giving the team its first March Madness win since 2000.

R.J. Luis Jr. scored 22 points, hitting 5-of-8 three-pointers for a Red Storm team that outscored the Mavericks 50-25 in the second half.

The St. John's defense, ranked first in the nation by KenPom.com, also came to play, holding Omaha to 25.7 percent shooting (5-of-36 on three-pointers).

Omaha jumped out to a 7-0 lead after the first 3:27 before St. John's began chipping away.

The Red Storm got a huge boost at the end of the first half. Omaha was down 30-28 with 21 seconds left and a chance to take the final shot before the break. However, a bad pass out-of-bounds gave St. John's possession.

That led to a Vince Iwuchukwu three-point play, kick-starting a 17-2 run that stretched into the second half, giving St. John's a 45-30 lead.

The Red Storm never looked back from there.

This game showcased why St. John's has been known as a second-half team all year, with the Red Storm starting slow before dominating late.

It's also been a trend over the last three games.

Marquette was beating St. John's by 15 points in the first half of the Big East tournament semifinals, but the Red Storm roared back and outscored the Golden Eagles 44-26 en route to a 79-63 victory.

Then St. John's was down by as many as eight and trailed 28-25 to Creighton in the Big East tournament final before outscoring the Bluejays 57-38 in the second half en route to an 82-66 victory.

The same pattern emerged Thursday, and it resulted in a strong statement to open the team's tournament run.

It's been an impressive ride for head coach Rick Pitino and the Johnnies, who are looking for the team's first Final Four appearance since 1985 and first national title ever. St. John's is now 31-4, including a 21-2 record in Big East play.

A stiffer test likely awaits Saturday against John Calipari and the No. 10 seed Arkansas Razorbacks, who defeated Kansas in the first round. But for now, fans and analysts alike were impressed with the Red Storm, with some respect shown to Luis as well.

St. John's will now look for its first appearance in the Sweet Sixteen since 2000.