St. John’s basketball has become reinvented as a top 10 program under Rick Pitino. The Red Storm showed the nation why they’re No. 9 overall, pummeling Big East heavyweight UConn 89-75 on Sunday night.
Pitino has guided St. John’s to a 24-4 mark now. But the Red Storm is 15-2 overall in the always gritty Big East Conference. Now, Pitino has helped complete the sweep of the back-to-back national champion Huskies.
The two-time national champion winner is witnessing a changing attitude for Red Storm basketball. He walked into a place that became known for boasting a talented, yet underachieving product on the court. Pitino has now noticed a group that’s far different from the one he got to know a year ago.
“They get better every day and every game, and that’s the key,” Pitino told SNY’s Niki Lattarulo after winning the crucial conference game.
St. John’s hits rare milestone against UConn with Rick Pitino
Here’s when the Johnnies fanbase know the current is shifting in the Big East: When UConn gets swept by St. John’s, which rarely happens.
In fact, Sunday’s win marks the first time St. John’s swept the Huskies since the 1999-2000 season. That was during a time Mike Jarvis led a 25-8 overall record in Queens. The Huskies were spearheaded by legendary national champion winner Jim Calhoun.
There’s one more accolade St. John’s is eyeing: The outright Big East title, which hasn’t happened in four decades.
“We want this Big East crown badly, not only for the players, but for the fans who came back like I never expected,” Pitino said, per the New York Post after the win.
St. John’s has given Madison Square Garden a new reason to anticipate near sellout crowds. Fans are packing the Garden once again for Red Storm basketball. Pitino himself even noticed this rare sight: More Johnnies than UConn fans inside the venue.
“I can assure you we had most of the fans today. We did not last year,” Pitino said postgame. “It was about 70/30 this year. They have a great fan base. They are like Kentucky — the Kentucky of the east. But our fans were there in a big way today.”
Pitino created a new system that allows up to five different players to reach double figures in points.
Zuby Ejiofor and Kardary Richmond led the way with 18 points apiece. RJ Luis Jr. tacked on 14 points. Aaron Scott chipped in 12 while Deivon Smith added 12. Pitino brought an unselfish brand of basketball to the Catholic university. And a brand he’s realizing wants to get better each day, even though St. John’s is in a better position now under Pitino.
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