St. John’s feeling ripple effects of Walter Clayton Jr. choosing Florida
In another world, Rick Pitino is touting his backcourt as the best in the country. St. John’s fans are gearing up for a single-digit seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015. Big East he is almost guaranteed a bye in the tournament. Playing in the Sweet 16 is considered realistic. All […]
Lineup shakeup doesn’t provide spark St. John’s hoped
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rick Pitino benched his captain Tuesday night. St. John’s lost 75-72 to Providence, and Joel Soriano was left out of the starting lineup for the first time this season. Pitino started Zuby Ejiofor in place of Soriano, who has struggled recently, but not much changed for Johnny. Ejiofor showed signs of strength, […]
Massive St. John’s game vs. Providence postponed by weather
St. John’s will spend one more day in Providence preparing for what is almost a must-win game. The Johnny’s contest against the struggling Flyers was postponed by a day due to a winter storm expected to dump more than a foot of snow in the area, officials said. The team was bused Monday afternoon for […]
Joel Soriano’s struggles continue in St. John’s loss
MILWAUKEE — Joel Soriano’s struggles reached a new low Saturday. The St. John’s center did not start the second half and was replaced by reserve Zuby Ejiofor. Manager Rick Pitino was upset that Soriano got a technical foul late in the first half and didn’t want Soriano to get fouled early after the break. In […]
St. John’s battles but falls to Big East power Marquette
MILWAUKEE — Another day, same script. Fight against elite opponents until the last moment. It’s good, but it’s a little lacking. St. John’s inability to end a frustrating game continued Saturday night, as the Johnnys blew a 15-point first half lead in a disappointing 86-75 loss to No. 7 Marquette at a packed Fiserv Forum. […]
Rick Pitino ‘kidding’ about nepotistic St. John’s plan of succession
MILWAUKEE — Rick Pitino wanted to set the record straight about his son Richard and his succession plans, which he talked about after Tuesday’s win over DePaul. “I’m kidding,” he said. Asked about DePaul’s appointment and rumors that Richard, currently the head coach of No. 25 New Mexico, could take the job, Pitino said he […]
St. John’s controls NCAA tourney destiny but needs to turn it on
MILWAUKEE — You can twist yourself like a pretzel in defeat. I wonder what would have happened if St. John’s had found a way to take one of those close games against No. 1 Connecticut, No. 7 Marquette and No. 19 Creighton, losing by a combined six points. Follow all the Bracketologists, track the NCAA […]
Rick Pitino wants son Richard to take St. John’s job when he leaves
Rick Pitino has in mind when to end succession planning. his son, Richard; The first-year St. John’s coach was asked about the possibility of his son, who is currently the head coach at New Mexico and took the DePaul position this offseason, but in typical Pitino fashion he took a detour. “Personally, I want him […]
St. John’s slump leaves slim margin for error to make NCAA Tournament
St. John’s University has eliminated the margin for error. All previous breathing chambers are gone. With five losses in six games, the Johnnies have no chance of making it to the NCAA Tournament. They got off to a good start in the tournament and made it to the cut line, according to three prominent brackets: […]
Big East’s elite teams are still a notch above St. John’s
For a good portion of Saturday afternoon, I didn’t even have to watch a basketball game on the floor of Madison Square Garden. For the first 28 minutes or so, when St. John’s was desperately trying to look into the eyes of the Connecticut Huskies, you could close your eyes for long stretches and just […]