Duke-St. John’s NCAA matchup to feature duel of elite forwards
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- St. John’s plans to pressure Duke’s Cameron Boozer early
- Duke aims to limit second‑chance points and 3‑point looks
- Game outcome hinges on rebounding, defensive stops and belief
Zuby Ejiofor is a versatile 6-foot-9 forward who leads his team in points, rebounds and assists and was named the player of the year in his conference.
If his team is to continue to advance in the NCAA Tournament, he’s expected to shoulder a lot of the workload and seems eager to do it. His goal: carry his team to the Final Four and then a national championship.
If that sounds a lot like Cameron Boozer of Duke, it should. Ejiofor is St. John’s version of Boozer.
One difference: he’s older, a senior, about to turn 22 years old. A Texas native, he played at Kansas for Bill Self before transferring to St. John’s.
And then beat Kansas in the NCAA Tournament. The Red Storm, seeded fifth in the East Region, moved into a Sweet 16 game against the Blue Devils with a 67-65 win over the Jayhawks in the second round – guard Dylan Darling with the driving, winning shot at the buzzer.
Ejiofor said Thursday that seedings mean little at this point in the NCAA Tournament. And especially in the regional at Capital One Arena, where the four teams are Duke, St. John’s, Michigan State and Connecticut.
“We’re a five seed and most would say we were underseeded,” Ejiofor said Thursday. “A five seed, that took us all the way to the West Coast. But we weren’t worried about any of that, the seeding, where we played at. The thing was getting out there and moving on and doing whatever it took to get the job done.”
The Red Storm (30-6), the Big East champion, took care of Northern Iowa and then Kansas in the first two rounds in San Diego. Ejiofor had a double-double (14 points, 11 boards) in the NCAA opener, and 18 points and nine rebounds against the Jayhawks.
Facing Cameron Boozer
Now, it’s back to the East Coast and a showdown with the Blue Devils and Boozer, the ACC player of the year and likely to be named national player of the year.
The St. John’s game plan for Boozer?
“Apply pressure on him, make him see bodies early in the gaps,” Ejiofor said. “He’s a really talented freshman but he’s a smart player as well. He reads double teams well. He’s physical in the paint. He makes their team go.
“It’s going to take everybody. Everybody has got to be there, be in the gaps. We can’t let anything be easy for him.”
Or Duke. The Blue Devils (34-2) had 17 turnovers in the second-round win over TCU, making the kind of mistakes – some forced, some unforced – they avoided during the regular season and ACC Tournament.
“We can’t let them be comfortable at any time offensively,” Ejiofor said “You’ve got to be disruptive, use your length, use your hands, take them away from their actions.
“We’ve got a lot of talent, especially in the frontcourt. It has to be a collective effort. Get stops, get rebounds, keep them off the offensive boards. Make them feel us.”
Making the other side uncomfortable
That, in turn, is pretty much the Devils’ plan. Make the stops, limit second-chance points, limit the 3-point looks. It figures to be a rough-and-tumble game, with each possession a battle and open shots hard to find.
“We’re comfortable with that,” Boozer said Thursday. “They’re a physical team but so are we. We’re not going to shy away from that at all.
“I think physicality really plays to our strengths, as well.”
Ejiofor, named the Big East player of the year and defensive player of the year, has averaged a team-best 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Boozer has averaged 22.4 points, 10.3 rebounds ad 4.2 assists for the Devils and has been close to having a triple-double with his ability to spot the open shooter.
With guard Caleb Foster missing games with a foot injury, Boozer at times has brought the ball up the court, catching the eye of St. John’s coach Rick Pitino.
“With the injury they had, they’ve played Boozer more at the ‘one’ where they use him in pick-and-rolls, trying to get a switch, and try to dominate the person who switches on him,” he said.
Despite the matchups, despite the strengths of each team, Pitino see the outcome being determined in a more fundamental way.
“You have to be really hungry and believe,” Pitino said. “We got to foster that type of belief. If you don’t, usually you go home.
“So we just want to get after it. We know we’re playing a great team. There’s no question about that. They haven’t lost very much. But we want to foster that type of belief, that we’re going to win this game.”
This story was originally published March 26, 2026 at 4:32 PM with the headline "Duke-St. John’s NCAA matchup to feature duel of elite forwards."
