St. John's Big East Tournament expectations grow bigger in Madison Square Garden
St. John's Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino coaches against the Seton Hall Pirates during the second half at Madison Square Garden on March 1. Credit: Brad Penner
St. John’s and Madison Square Garden. Rick Pitino and the Big East Tournament.
Each is a very special pairing all on its own. This time around they are perfectly aligned and that makes the sixth-ranked and top-seeded Red Storm a very formidable favorite to capture the conference championship — its first since 2000 — and, perhaps, a coveted No. 2 seeding on Sunday when the NCAA Tournament field is announced.
It’s a big deal that St. John’s has recaptured the Garden this season. The Storm won all nine games they played in the world’s most famous arena and drew over 19,000 in four of their last five appearances including three straight sellouts to close the regular season.
However Pitino coaching in the Big East Tournament is an even bigger deal. The Hall of Famer said on Wednesday that he “loves” the event and that’s probably because he owns it.
When St. John’s (27-4) faces ninth-seeded Butler (14-18) in a Thursday quarterfinal at noon, it will be the 12th time he’s brought a team to the conference tournament and among those who have coached at least 20 Big East Tournament games, Pitino is the second most successful with a .652 winning percentage (15-8) and trails only Georgetown’s legendary John Thompson (33-13).
In his first season with the Red Storm, Pitino got them to the semifinal round for the first time since 2000. But Pitino really made the tournament his domain during the last five years Louisville spent in the Big East before it bolted for the ACC.
In three of those five years, Pitino’s Cardinals won the Big East regular season and tournament titles to emerge as the conference powerhouse. After Louisville cut down the nets at the Garden in 2012, it reached the Final Four. In 2013, the Cardinals were supremely self-confident and refused to cut down the nets then went on to win the national championship game.
This St. John’s team has a different kind of confidence, born of overcoming adversities, forced upon them and self-inflicted, to go 18-2 in Big East play. It has surmounted 14-point deficits four times to win. It has triumphed when it shot 1-for-21 and 2-for-16 on the three-point arc. There have been five games where the Storm missed 10 or more free throws and still emerged victorious.
“Our whole motto all year is just ‘do whatever it takes to win,’ and we found ways to win, especially in the toughest moments and when the game is not necessarily going our way,” Zuby Ejiofor said. “But when that buzzer sounds, you know, you’ve got to be the team on top.”
After setting their sights on winning a first Big East regular season title in 40 years and spending a season accomplishing it with every opponent taking its best shot, the players believe they are going to win. And after surviving mediocre performances at Butler and against Seton Hall to win the outright title, they sound better prepared for the pressure that’s coming.
“Pressure is great — it obviously comes with success,” RJ Luis Jr. said. “If we didn’t want to have this type of pressure would never have won the regular-season championship and we would never have been ranked No. 6 in the nation.”
More reason to feel confident: the expected return of Deivon Smith from the right shoulder injury that’s hampered him for two months and kept him out of Saturday’s overtime win at Marquette. The 6-foot guard had an individual workout Sunday and practiced with the team Tuesday and Wednesday. Pitino said he looked “OK” but “rusty.”
Pitino was asked about the keys to winning three games in three nights and replied, “You have to cut out all distractions because you don't have any prep time, So you have to cut out family, friends, social media, get your phones off and just focus on every little detail.”
After playing through the mediocre performances and coming back with a scintillating win at Marquette, Pitino likes the way his team is playing. But he also knows that the Storm can’t be exactly the same team it was when meeting an opponent a third time.
“The Big East Tournament we're primed for; I don't know about the NCAA until I see the matchups,” he said. “We know these teams. We know what to expect. They know what to expect. You have to realize that you must make changes the third time. . . . Why it was close? What were the mistakes?”
Pitino was wrapping up an interview Wednesday afternoon with WNBC's Bruce Beck when he was asked about his tournament expectations.
“We’d better win it,” he answered, “or I’m jumping in the East River.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.