The stingiest defense in the country was no match for St. John’s.

The fifth-seeded Red Storm overwhelmed 12th-seeded Northern Iowa early, then cruised to a 79-53 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night at San Diego’s Viejas Arena.

St. John’s began the game on a 13-0 run and never looked back, controlling the pace of play against a pesky Panthers team known for its ultra-slow tempo.

Zuby Ejiofor led the way with 14 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, while Bryce Hopkins added 13 points and six rebounds.

St. John’s (29-6) will face the winner of No. 4 Kansas versus No. 13 California Baptist on Sunday in the tournament’s second round.

“I wouldn’t say it was easy, but it’s our preparation, our mental approach coming into this game,” Ejiofor said afterward on the CBS game broadcast. “We know we’ve still got a lot to prove, and we have a main goal in mind. That was one step.”

With a roster that returned 11 players from last season, senior-laden Northern Iowa entered Friday allowing just 61.3 points per game — the lowest mark of any Division I team.

During the season, the Panthers (23-13) played at the third-slowest tempo among Division I teams and limited opponents to just 28.5% from 3-point range, the third-lowest rate in the country.

That distinct style helped the Panthers win the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, earning them an automatic bid in the Big Dance.

But the Big East-winning Red Storm had little trouble speeding up Northern Iowa, using their size advantage and an unrelenting press to discombobulate the Panthers’ offense from the opening tip.

Turnovers and misses by Northern Iowa turned into quick baskets for St. John’s, which started 11 of 17 from the field.

Oziyah Sellers made a pair of early 3-pointers. After Dillon Mitchell turned a steal into a breakaway dunk — which he finished through contact for a three-point play — St. John’s led, 13-0, just over three minutes into the game.

Northern Iowa made just one of its first 10 shot attempts and managed only four points in the game’s first eight minutes.

“Obviously, the press hurt us early,” Northern Iowa head coach Ben Jacobson said on the CBS broadcast.

The Red Storm’s lead grew to 32-13 with 7:57 before halftime after Ejiofor and Sellers made 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions.

St. John’s made six of its first nine 3-point attempts and shot 7 of 15 from deep before halftime. Overall, the Red Storm went 16 of 29 (55.2%) on field goals in the first half, after which they led, 47-28.

The Panthers punched back a bit out of the break, opening the second half on a 10-4 run to cut their deficit to 13.

But a driving lay-up by Mitchell stopped the Red Storm’s bleeding, and a reverse layup by Bryce Hopkins on the next possession boosted the St. John’s advantage to 55-38.

And while St. John’s cooled off offensively for much of the second half — totaling only 15 points in the first 14 minutes out of the break — Joson Sanon drilled 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions in the waning minutes as the Red Storm pulled away.

Sellers finished with 11 points and shot 3 of 9 on 3-pointers, making all three in the first half.

For the game, St. John’s held Northern Iowa to 39% shooting and 3 of 14 on 3-pointers.

St. John’s hopes to go on a deeper NCAA Tournament run than last year, when it was upset as a No. 2 seed in the second round by 10th-seeded Arkansas.

The Johnnies shot just 2 of 22 on 3-pointers in last year’s season-ending loss, and they aimed to address that deficiency in the offseason by adding shooters such as Sellers, Sanon and Ian Jackson through the transfer portal.

That trio — along with fellow newcomers Hopkins, Mitchell and Dylan Darling — helped the Red Storm repeat as the Big East’s regular-season and conference tournament champions.

But St. John’s is only a 5-seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament due to its struggles during non-conference play and the weakened state of the Big East.

Still, the aspirations remain sky-high for the red-hot Red Storm, who have now won seven consecutive games and 20 of their last 21.

Friday’s game was the fourth in a row that St. John’s began with an 8-0 run or better. They also did so in all three of their Big East Tournament victories, each of which were wire-to-wire wins.

After going a quarter-century without an NCAA Tournament victory, St. John’s has now won a March Madness game in back-to-back seasons.

On Sunday, the Johnnies will try to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999.

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