Mar 24, 2026
3 min read
Dylan Darling's late layup gave St. Louis a 67-65 win over Kansas in the men's NCAA Tournament.He led St. John's to its first Sweet 16 since 1999.
SAN DIEGO - Dylan Darling didn't score.With 3.9 seconds left, No. 5 St.With St. John's holding a 14-point lead in a tie game, Darling took the no.4 Against Kansas, the Johnnies could not take their fate into their own hands.
And yet, there he was, shooting straight into the paint and pulling the ball forward with a move he never saw coming.
"I just heard everybody going crazy," Light said after Sunday's 67-65 victory over St. John's in the second round of the NCAA tournament."It's really cool."
Although Red Storm coach Rick Pitino barely responded to the winner, Darling was cut off by his teammates.After Kansas used its four remaining fouls to run seconds off the clock, Pitino's options were limited.Darling knew there wasn't enough time for Pitino's intended play call, so he made a suggestion.
"It was the most amazing thing and the funnest thing I've ever been a part of," Pitino said.
Darling took four shots during Sunday's game before the final game and missed them.Although Pitino was impressed by the confidence of the junior guard, he couldn't help but respect the courage.
"I can't imagine in today's world, in today's world, with all accuracy, wanting the ball when they get bad shots," Pitino said.
“But as soon as [Darling] told me to control my power.I knew he was going to have an orgasm because he hadn't done a good job all night.So I knew he would do it.”
Darling volunteered.
"I don't think the coach really made a choice at that point," he said."I probably didn't deserve it. I was pretty bad all night, but my teammates stuck it out tonight."
One teammate, in particular, took St.John's to that point.Senior forward Bryce Hopkins had a team-high 18 points against Kansas, all on three-pointers.Hopkins hadn't made more than three 3-pointers in a game all season, and he doubled that week as the Johnnies otherwise struggled to find an offensive rhythm.
Jayhawks coach Bill Self said in his postgame interview that the scouting report said they were comfortable with Hopkins shooting 3-pointers.The numbers showed he wasn't going to make many of them, and yet he did, in part because Pitino kept urging Hopkins and the rest of his team to take them.
"I said, 'You've got to keep hitting the 3.'
Pitino said it's been a struggle all season to get his team to shoot more from beyond the arc.In each of the last two games, St. John's has made at least 10 3-pointers (11 on Sunday), which is nearly four more per game than its season average.But all season the Red Storm's calling card has been their defense.Sunday's round was the ninth time in the last 10 races that an opponent has been held to less than 70 points.
"We still have a lot in the tank because we're a very good defensive team," Pitino said.“We're winning on defense and now we're learning the value of the 3-point line.
Still, a defensive effort and no 3-pointers mattered Sunday without Darling, who called his own number, making shots and punching the Red Storm's ticket to their first Sweet 16 since 1999. It was the 14th trip for Pitino, one of three coaches to have played in the Sweet 16 four times.
"I'm going to go down memory lane," Pitino said of the game on Sunday.
