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March Madness has a new darling.
St. John’s Red Storm guard Dylan Darling found a lane and drove it. With four seconds left in the game, he blew past Kansas Jayhawks defender Elmarko Jackson and made the game-winning layup before time expired.
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Dylan Darling #0 of the St. John’s Red Storm shoots the ball against Elmarko Jackson #13 and Flory Bidunga #40 of the Kansas Jayhawks during the second half in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena at San Diego State University on March 22, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
St. John’s Red Storm guard Dylan Darling (0) shoots the game-winning shot against the Kansas Jayhawks in the second half during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena on March 22, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
For the first time since 1999, the Red Storm will be headed to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
“It was ugly, but we got it done,” Darling said.
The No. 4-seeded St. John’s struggled late in the second half as Kansas pressed up the floor. St. John’s held a 10-point lead with 6:36 left in the game. But a few missed shots and a couple of turnovers and the Jayhawks were right back in the game.
Kansas star Darryn Peterson made two free throws with 13 seconds left to tie the game. The Jayhawks, who were the No. 5 seed, had four fouls to give and used them all up to get the game down to about four seconds to go. The idea was to keep the Red Storm on their toes and to keep them from setting up a decent inbounds play.
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But Darling got the last laugh with his two-point bucket – his only points of the game. He had four assists and two steals.
Red Storm’s Zuby Ejofor and Bryce Hopkins each had 18 points to lead St. John’s.
Peterson led Kansas with 21 points. Melvin Council Jr. had 15 points and Flory Bidunga had 12 points.
St. John’s Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino talks with forward Sadiku Ibine Ayo (2) in the first half against the Kansas Jayhawks during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena on March 22, 2026. (Denis Poroy/Imagn Images)
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It’s the fourth straight year that Kansas has been unable to get out of the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
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