Indiana’s Knightmare Unfolds Versus St. John’s

Bob Knight was right about St. John’s.

The No. 3-seeded Red Storm were every bit as tough, athletic and difficult to play as the Indiana coach feared and handed the No. 6-seeded Hoosiers their worst-ever defeat in the NCAA tournament, 86-61, on Saturday in the second round of the South Regional.

Bootsy Thornton had 17 points and Lavor Postell had 16 to lead five double-figure scorers for St. John’s, which overwhelmed Indiana two days after the Hoosiers scored 108 for their highest point total ever in the NCAA tournament.

“They’re just a lot better team than we are. If we played them five more times, I’m not sure we could beat them,” Knight said. “Of the teams I’ve seen play against us this year, this was the most impressive.”

The victory sends St. John’s (27-8) into the round of 16 for the first time since 1991. The Red Storm plays No. 2-seeded Maryland (28-5) on Thursday in Knoxville, Tenn.

Indiana (23-11) lost in the second round for the second year in a row after three consecutive first-round exits.

The Hoosiers’ previous biggest margin of defeat in a tournament game was 18 twice--to Kansas (83-65) in in 1991 and Colorado (80-62) in 1997.

St. John’s frustrated Indiana with a zone defense, using principles Red Storm Coach Mike Jarvis said came from a book Knight wrote more than 30 years ago.

“I think this was as well as we’ve played when you take all the factors into consideration. We hopefully can get better. I don’t know if we can,” Jarvis said.

St. John’s trailed 15-9 before using a 13-0 run to take control. A seven-point burst allowed the Red Storm to push its lead to 15 points and the closest the Hoosiers got after that 45-30 at halftime.

Indiana struggled against zone defenses all season, and falling behind forced the Hoosiers to rely on perimeter shooting more than Knight would have liked.

After attempting only three shots from behind the three-point arc in its first-round blowout of George Washington, Indiana took 18--and made only four--against St. John’s.

“It’s a tough zone because of how quick and athletic they are. I don’t think we were able to adjust to it,” said Indiana guard A.J. Guyton, who had nine points.