PROVIDENCE, R.I. – In the building where St. John’s once celebrated, it suffered heartbreak.
Nearly three months ago it won here at the buzzer at Amica Mutual Pavilion, one of the memorable moments of this unforgettable season.
Saturday afternoon, it was the site of where the dream year came to a sudden close.
There will be no Sweet 16 for Rick Pitino and his Johnnies.
They will have to settle for a frustrating second-round exit in the NCAA Tournament after this 75-66 loss to No. 10 Arkansas and John Calipari.
Second-seeded St. John’s Achilles heel, shooting, was its undoing.
It shot a nightmarish 28 percent, went 2-of-22 from 3-point range and got almost no production from stars RJ Luis and Kadary Richmond.
The Johnnies rallied from 13-down in the second half, but couldn’t get even.
Twice, they had chances to, but Luis and Ejiofor missed contested shots.
Arkansas’ length and athleticism was too much.
Obviously, it didn’t help that Richmond managed just five points in 16 foul-plagued minutes or that Luis, the Big East Player of the Year, shot 3-of-17 from the field and was on the bench for the final 4:56.
Zuby Ejiofor was St. John’s best player by far, notching 23 points and 12 rebounds.
Deivon Smith added 13 points and six rebounds.
This story will be updated.