John Calipari gets upper hand in rivalry with Rick Pitino as Arkansas proves too much for St. John's
Zuby Ejiofor had 23 points and 12 rebounds for Big East champion St. John's (31-5) — an unprecedented sixth school Pitino has taken to the tournament. His history in Providence — the Friars reached the 1987 Final Four in his tenure — gave him a home-court advantage.
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But in a poor-shooting foul-fest, Arkansas (22-13) barely did enough to eliminate St. John's — making the Red Storm the first team seeded No. 4 or higher to exit what's been a chalky tournament so far.
The teams combined to make four 3-pointers on 41 attempts, with St. John's shooting 28 percent from the floor overall. After cutting an eight-point lead with eight minutes left to two, 62-60, the Red Storm missed their last seven 3-point attempts.
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