One of the biggest surprises of the 2026 NCAA Tournament reveal on Selection Sunday was the placement of St. John’s. The Red Storm steamrolled Connecticut 72-52 on Saturday in the Big East Championship game at Madison Square Garden. Along with winning the conference tournament, Rick Pitino’s squad had the Big East’s best regular-season record at 18-2.
St. John’s received a 5-seed from the NCAA Tournament selection committee, while UConn was awarded a 2-seed in the same East region. Additionally, the Red Storm landed in the same region as the tournament’s top overall seed, Duke.
Adam Schein sounded off on Monday about how the NCAA Tournament selection committee handled St. John’s on Sirius XM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio.
“Did they not get Peacock in the room!?”@AdamSchein can’t believe how bad St. John’s got screwed over on Selection Sunday pic.twitter.com/h4RKiI6r6s
— Mad Dog Sports Radio (@MadDogRadio) March 16, 2026
“St. John’s got royally screwed,” Schein began. “What the tournament committee did to St. John’s was a flat-out disgrace. That was absurd. It was hot garbage. It was a joke. It was embarrassing. It was wrong. It was pathetic.”
“Were they asleep on Saturday night, when St. John’s was able to destroy a brilliantly coached, and supremely talented, and experienced UConn team at Madison Square Garden, with all of the UConn fans in attendance?” Schein asked.
“A UConn team that just a couple of weeks ago beat St. John’s to a pulp by 40 on the ol’ Peacock!” Schein continued. “Did they not get Peacock in the room a few weeks ago?! Did they not see that game?! Or are they not paying their bills and subscribing to Peacock?! What the hell’s going on here?! That is terrible! Terrible!”
“Not only does St. John’s get a five; they ship ’em out West!” Schein elaborated. “That’s awful. I mean, you want to give ’em a five and put ’em in Philly, put ’em in the East, we can have a discussion about it. But, absolutely, they should have gotten a four. I thought a four was a lock. I thought a three was possible. That is a terrible job.”
St. John’s will take on Northern Iowa, a 12-seed, in the first round on Friday night in San Diego.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.