Tre White set for a full-circle showdown as St. John’s meets Kansas in March Madness
tre white is stepping into a second-round March Madness matchup that’s equal parts personal and high-stakes, with Kansas facing St. John’s for a spot in the Sweet 16 as of Saturday (ET). In San Diego, moments before Kansas took the court after St. John’s won Friday night (ET), St. John’s guard Oziyah Sellers briefly met Kansas guard tre white outside the locker rooms. The two are former USC teammates, now in their final years of eligibility, and one will end the other’s college career.
Former USC teammates collide in San Diego: tre white vs. Oziyah Sellers
The scene before tip-off carried the weight of four years and “seven combined stops, ” distilled into a quick handshake. Sellers, a senior starter for St. John’s, and tre white, a Kansas guard averaging 13. 8 points per game, entered college together in USC’s 2022 freshman class, leaning on each other as close friends while beginning their collegiate basketball journeys.
Their meeting was described as friendly but businesslike, the kind of interaction that acknowledges a bond without lingering on it. “Yeah, that’s my brother, ” tre white said Saturday (ET), describing the shared start and the way their experience unfolded: “Both committing to colleges as freshmen, and experiencing everything together … Everything was like a movie. ”
Transfer movement and the strain on culture
The matchup is also a snapshot of a modern landscape shaped by constant movement. tre white transferred from USC to Louisville to Illinois to Kansas, spanning four schools and three time zones. Sellers spent two seasons at USC, left after head coach Andy Enfield departed for SMU, played at Stanford in the 2024-25 season, then moved to St. John’s to finish his career after temporarily declaring for the NBA Draft.
Both players speak warmly about their time together, but they also represent a reality that coaches and players now have to manage: relationships and “brotherhoods” can be cut short by roster churn. Sellers framed it in human terms, explaining how day-to-day proximity builds real connection. “It definitely could be tough, ” Sellers said. “When you’re with somebody for that long, you’re bound to make a friendship. But you’re guaranteed at least 10 months with them. ”
That pressure extends beyond players, straight into roster-building and identity. Coaches at the NCAA Tournament have emphasized togetherness and culture, even as teams often reassemble year to year. Tommy Lloyd, Arizona’s head coach, put it plainly: “We work hard on our culture, and it’s a daily thing you gotta fight for. ”
Pitino vs. Self adds rare March Madness history
As the players carry their own backstory into the game, the sideline storyline is historic on its own. St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino and Kansas head coach Bill Self faced each other in March Madness with a Sweet 16 spot on the line, in what has happened only three times when two head coaches with two or more titles have met in the tournament.
Pitino is the only head coach in NCAA history to win the national championship at two schools, winning with Kentucky in 1996 and Louisville in 2013. Self has coached Kansas for 23 years, starting in 2003, and has won two national championships with the program, in 2008 and 2022.
What’s next as tre white and Kansas chase the Sweet 16
The tone from both locker rooms has been clear: the emotions can wait until after the final buzzer. The next development comes on the floor, where tre white and Sellers turn a shared beginning into a head-to-head ending, and where Pitino and Self add another chapter to a rare coaching meeting in March Madness. When the game is finished Saturday (ET), the winner moves on to the Sweet 16, and the loser’s season—and college career for one side of this full-circle pairing—comes to a close.
