The sound echoed through St. John’s as their bubble burst.
The Red Storm missed their chance at the NCAA Tournament.
A series of unexpected wins across the country pushed St. John’s out of the at-large bid pool, leaving the team heartbroken as the 68-team lineup was announced in a private gathering in Queens.
St. John’s coach Rick Pitino found himself in the center of this unexpected turn.
Many teams in the Big East shared the feeling of being snubbed.
St. John’s, with a record of 20-13 and 11-9 in their conference, had won six consecutive games before falling in the Big East Tournament semifinals. They scored 90 points against the defending national champion UConn, nearly pushing them to the brink.
This late-season rally boosted the Johnnies’ NET ranking to No. 32.
Until this moment, the highest NET ranking to miss the tournament was held by North Carolina State at 33 in 2019.
Ironically, North Carolina State’s unexpected win in the ACC Tournament played a part in St. John’s exclusion by taking away one of the at-large berths.
Oregon, in the Pac-12, along with Atlantic 10 winner Duquesne and American Athletic Conference winner UAB, also unexpectedly made their way into the tournament.
St. John’s aimed to return to the tournament for the first time since 2019, hoping to capitalize on their recent success for their first tournament win since 2000.
Their hopes seemed to be confirmed with a decisive victory over Seton Hall in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals, avenging two regular-season defeats.
However, this victory did not advance St. John’s beyond other bubble teams who had equally impressive or better performances, such as Colorado and New Mexico.
Rick Pitino, the head coach, was on the brink of making history by taking a sixth different school to the NCAA Tournament, including Boston, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville, and Iona.