Northern Iowa Panthers v St. John's Red Storm
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St. John's got dealt a trash hand, on paper. A No. 5 seed? This resume looked every bit worthy of a No. 4. A trip all the way across the country to San Diego? Woof. Oh, and the opponent is Northern Iowa, who looked poised to give the Johnnies plenty of schematical issues with its plodding pace and connected defense.

None of it mattered.

St. John's took Northern Iowa's soul with a 16-2 haymaker in the opening minute and rolled into Sunday's Round of 32 with a 79-53 victory. The Johnnies proved to be too big, too strong and too athletic, and maybe most importantly, Rick Pitino forced this game to be played on his terms. The Red Storm unleashed a vicious press that knocked Northern Iowa on its tush from the jump, and the damage was all but done.

This version of St. John's is one terrifying unit with The Captain, Zuby Ejiofor, leading the way. Like so many seniors this time of year, Ejiofor seems determined not to go out quietly. Ejiofor had 14 points,11 rebounds, two assists, four blocks and one steal while picking up Northern Iowa for all 94 feet and wreaking havoc from start to finish. It's St. John's second-largest NCAA Tournament win in school history, and the Red Storm are 40 good minutes away from advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999.

Let's dive into winners and losers from Friday's action, including Pitino's old club, Kentucky, which just booked its spot in March Madness lore with one of the best sequences in this glorious' tournament's tenure.

Winner: Us (and Kentucky)

Just sit back and enjoy this one more time. This is basketball and the NCAA Tournament in all its glory.

Kentucky ended up advancing to the Round of 32 with an 89-84 victory. The heroes came from likely and unlikely sources. Oweh was brilliant, notching 35 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. That's a stat line that hasn't been matched in the NCAA Tournament since a guy named Larry Bird for Indiana State. Pretty good player.

But let's not forget about Brandon Garrison. The mercurial center has had too many head-scratching moments to count during a trying season, but he was absolutely tremendous in Winning Time, racking up two enormous blocked shots to send Kentucky to the second round.

Friday's slate was mostly a chalk-fest, but the Kentucky-Santa Clara finish will go down in the record books. -- Isaac Trotter

Winner: Texas Tech flexes master plan

Grant McCasland's plan was simple: Akron was not going to get clean 3s. Texas Tech executed it perfectly. The Red Raiders held Akron to just five treys -- its second-fewest of the season -- in a 91-71 win over the upset-minded Zips. 

Texas Tech had five players crack at least 14 points, led by fearless freshman Jaylen Petty, who drained five treys on his way to two dozen. Donovan Atwell, LeJuan Watts, Christian Anderson and Josiah Moseley joined Petty in the scoring deluge. It's Texas Tech against Alabama in Sunday's Round of 32.  — Trotter

Loser: An agonizer for Santa Clara

Santa Clara had the game won until it didn't. Allen Graves' 3-pointer with less than three seconds left gave Santa Clara the lead before a nightmare sequence followed.

  • Herb Sendek tried to call a timeout, and it wasn't awarded.
  • The clock seemed to start a hair late.
  • Otega Oweh banked in a 3-pointer at the horn, with the ball leaving his fingertips with tenths of a second to spare.

Kentucky would go on to win it in overtime, 89-84. It's a soul-crusher. — Trotter  

Loser: Villanova collapses late vs. Utah State

Year 1 of the Kevin Willard era at Villanova came to a halt with a loss to No. 9 seed Utah State 86-76. Despite making 14 more 3-pointers, Villanova couldn't buy a bucket down the stretch. Utah State went on a key 15-3 run during the final four minutes of play and was able to erase a 10-point second-half deficit to advance. Twenty-four wins should be viewed as a successful first season back in the Big East for Willard, but this loss is going to sting for a while – Cameron Salerno

Loser: Miami (Ohio) runs out of steam

In retrospect, it was a good thing for Miami (Ohio) that it got sent to the First Four. The Wednesday night spotlight in Dayton, Ohio allowed the RedHawks to prove their legitimacy against high-major competition before they ran into a terrible matchup on Friday against Tennessee. 

The Volunteers withstood an early punch before using their size and physicality to overwhelm for a 78-56 victory. Miami showed its offensive ability during its First Four win over SMU, but its limitations were apparent against a rugged SEC opponent. Nonetheless, it will go down as a season to remember for Miami, which is headed home with a 32-2 record as the Volunteers go marching on to meet Virginia in the second round. – Cobb

Winner: Virginia shows its depth

Jacari White is arguably Virginia's No. 5 guard. He played like a lead alpha to save UVa from Wright State's upset bid. The senior guard canned six 3-pointers and totaled 26 points, including a game-sealing layup in the crunch time. Wright State led 70-67 with less than six minutes to go after a soft technical foul on UVa's Sam Lewis,but the Cavaliers were not going to be denied.

It's Virginia's first NCAA Tournament win since it won the National Championship in 2019.  -- Trotter

Loser: Iowa State faces injury uncertainty

No. 2 seed Iowa State had no trouble in a 108-74 victory over No. 15 seed Tennessee State, but an easy win got overshadowed by an unsettling injury. All-American forward Joshua Jefferson went down just three minutes in and did not return after his ankle buckled on the way down from a layup attempt. 

He told reporters afterward that x-rays were negative and that it's just a sprained ankle. But Jefferson was in a boot and using crutches, which casts his status for Sunday's second-round game against No. 7 seed Kentucky into question. Jefferson told the Quad-City Times that he's "feeling hopeful" about playing against UK. -- Cobb

Winner: Labaron Philon goes off

No. 13 seed Hofstra pulled within five points against No. 4 seed Alabama on a few occasions late in the second half before the Crimson Tide pulled away for a 90-70 win behind a huge effort from Labaron Philon. 

The sophomore star carried a major load while the Crimson Tide navigated life without starting point guard Aden Holloway, who was arrested before the NCAA Tournament on felony drug charges. Philon finished with 29 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals. He scored 21 points in the second half alone. -- Cobb

Winner: Braden Smith makes history

Smith broke the men's NCAA Division I career assists record in the first half of his team's first-round NCAA Tournament game Friday. He surpassed former Duke star Bobby Hurley when he fed Trey Kaufman-Renn for a basket with 12:11 remaining in the first half.

Smith tied the record just minutes earlier after assisting big man Oscar Cluff. A rare four-year player at the same school in today's college basketball landscape, Smith's longevity made this achievement possible. It's a milestone that could stand for a long time. -- Salerno

Winner: Iowa gets it done

No. 9 Iowa earned its first NCAA Tournament win since 2021 with a 67-61 victory over No. 8 seed Clemson. Year 1 of the Ben McCollum era has already been a success for the Hawkeyes. McCollum has a reputation for tournament wins -- last year, as Drake's coach, he guided the Bulldogs to a first-round upset over Missouri.

Iowa star Bennett Stirtz had an off night shooting (4 of 17) but still scored 16 points. The Hawkeyes haven't reached the Sweet 16 since 1999, and they face a challenging second-round matchup against Florida on Sunday. --  Salerno

Winner: Short-handed UCLA finds a jolt

UCLA star big man Tyler Bilodeau was at a last-second scratch with a balky knee injury, but No. 7 seed UCLA was not going to be denied. The Bruins outplayed No. 10 seed UCF for long stretches and held on for dear life down the stretch for a 75-71 victory. 

Mick Cronin has now won at least one game in five consecutive NCAA Tournament showings. Eric Dailey Jr. (20 points) was ridiculously good, but UCLA got the best game of the season from embattled transfer Xavier Booker at just the right time. The big fella had 15 points, eight rebounds and four massive blocks. -- Trotter