What St. John’s should expect on NCAA Selection Sunday

It’s Selection Sunday. Big East champion St. John’s and 67 other teams will be unveiled in the NCAA Tournament’s four regionals  with arguably the most entertaining 20 days on the sports calendar  about to get underway.

Here are a few things you might want to know:

When will the matchups and sites be announced?

The full field will be revealed on CBS during its NCAA Tournament Selection Show at 6 p.m. ET. There’s a good chance that when “St. John’s” comes up in the bracket, there will be a brief cutaway to the team’s watch party on campus to show its reaction.

What kind of seeding should the Red Storm (30-4) expect?

The best-case scenario is a No. 2 seeding and the worst-case scenario is a No. 3 seeding. Anything else would be hard to believe. The website Bracketmatrix.com posted the bracket projections of 108 “scientists” late Saturday night, and 99 of them put St. John’s as a No. 2. The other nine had it as a No. 3.

Is there really no shot that St. John’s lands a No. 1 seeding?

Probably not. An educated guess at the No. 1 seeds would be: Auburn, Duke, Houston and the winner of Sunday’s SEC championship game between Florida and Tennessee.

Where are the regionals held and which one will St. John’s play in?

The four regionals will be held in Newark (East), Atlanta (South), Indianapolis (Midwest) and San Francisco (West). Which one St. John’s will be slotted into is anybody’s guess. In theory, the No. 1 overall seed will be in the same region as the lowest No. 2 and highest No. 3.

Where is St. John’s likely to be playing its first game?

The NCAA Tournament selection committee tries to put teams with a top four seeding in locations that are close to their campuses. The Red Storm are hoping — and probably should expect — to be assigned to the subregional in Providence, Rhode Island. First-round games in Providence are scheduled for Thursday and second-round games for Saturday.

When does the NCAA Tournament actually start?

It begins with the First Four, a quartet of games played Tuesday and Wednesday. Those games will feature the last four teams selected for at-large bids playing in two games for spots in the main draw of 64. The other two games have the lowest four seeds playing each other for a No. 16 seeding in one of the regionals.

When was the last time St. John’s won an NCAA Tournament game?

St. John’s last won in The Big Dance in 2000.

When was the last time St. John’s reached a Sweet 16, Elite Eight or Final Four?

The answer for the first two is 1999, when the Red Storm won three NCAA games before suffering a three-point loss to Ohio State in the South Regional championship game. Their last Final Four appearance was in 1985, when they lost to Georgetown.