St. John's is set to face No. 12 Northern Iowa in the East Region opening-round game. The fifth-seeded team is relying heavily on Zuby Ejiofor, the Big East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of Year, for their success. This comes after a disappointing performance from RJ Luis in a loss to Arkansas last March. Despite this, St. John’s has improved in defensive rebounding this season and has more consistent options than a year ago. Bryce Hopkins, the Most Outstanding Player of The Big East Tournament, played well in three games and averaged 15 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals.