St. John’s biggest X-factor to make Final Four run out of East Regional

St. John’s basketball is tasting 1999 all over again in 2026 March Madness. The epic Dylan Darling buzzer-beating basket versus Kansas catapulted the Red Storm back into the Sweet 16. The crucial shot ended 26 years of frustration in failing to reach the regional semifinals.

The “Johnnies” are euphoric about their team making it this far in the East Regional. This run is proof Rick Pitino became the right hire for this once underachieving basketball program located in a basketball mecca, Queens, New York.

Darling indeed is the new folk hero on campus. His basket will replay in the minds of Red Storm fans for years.

The Idaho State and Washington State transfer will play a needed role moving forward against Duke on Friday. But the guard isn’t the biggest X-factor here in igniting St. John’s first Final Four run since 1985. Another key guard holds that title for these reasons.

Ian Jackson plays a pivotal role for St. John’s

Jackson’s long arms came in handy against the No. 4 seed Jayhawks.

Pitino smartly got St. John’s defenders to switch off and defend Darryn Peterson. The national champion threw as many as four different defenders onto Peterson during zone pressure schemes.

Yet the legendary head coach lauded Jackson’s defense more postgame.

“I met with Ian before the game. And I knew we needed him tonight because of their size,” Pitino told reporters after beating KU. “And he came through in a big way.”

Jackson brings an extra set of arms to force bad shot selections or even turnovers. His limbs prevented open lanes for Peterson to attack. Jackson helped bottle the possible top pick of the ’26 NBA Draft to score four points only in the key. The star Jayhawk freshman needed to trust 3-pointers and the free throw line to get his points.

But it’s more than the defense Jackson provides.

St. John’s needs more than Jackson’s defense here

The 6-foot-5 guard flips to an aggressive rim attacker when he sees an opening. Just like this one near the 10:40 mark in the second half of Sunday’s game.

THAT'S A TOUGH TAKE #MarchMadness @StJohnsBBall pic.twitter.com/QitrDmijrt

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 22, 2026

Jackson won’t need to carry the scoring load. But he’ll need to attack the basket for these reasons.

Duke and head coach Jon Scheyer will scheme against lead scorer Zuby Ejiofor. Scheyer is likely forcing St. John’s to dial from long range too, which remains a weakness for the Big East champs. He’ll try to place the ball into the hands of St. John’s less-heralded scoring options.

But that’s where Jackson enters the picture. Count him as the closer against the Blue Devils.

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