NEW YORK — Rick Pitino reached another milestone Monday night at the expense of his son.
However, it certainly wasn’t easy. In fact, two of his toughest wins recently have come against his own flesh and blood – and the Hall of Fame coach couldn’t be more proud of anything.
zubi ejiofor Scored six of its 25 points in overtime and finished 17th st johns annoying is over Xavier’s 87-82 This is the 10th consecutive win at Madison Square Garden. With his 904th career win on the court, Pitino passed Roy Williams for third in Division I history behind Mike Krzyzewski (1,202) and Jim Boeheim (1,116).
It was Pitino’s second comeback win in 17 days over his son, Richard, the Musketeers’ first-year coach. In the previous meeting, the elder Pitino earned his 900th win when the Red Storm rallied from a 16-point deficit in the second half for an 88–83 victory over Xavier.
Rick Pitino said, “I hope we don’t play them in the Big East Tournament.” “I think my son is fantastic. I’m proud of him. I hate to put any milestones against him – but I walk away tonight saying that my son is a great coach. … Saying that my son is a great coach brings a lot more joy to me than any win.”
Rick Pitino improves to 5-1 in coaching matchups against Richard, whose only win against his father came in 2022-23 new mexico Beat Iona At home
The Fathers are 21-3 overall in such Division I games.
Rick Pitino, 73, said, “In the two games against them, they completely outcoached me, and their staff outcoached us. We couldn’t guard them. We couldn’t stop them on their offense. They put us in bad switches. They killed.”
“All credit goes to Richard, his staff, his players. They beat us twice, but we overcame them in the last minutes to win.”
Bryce Hopkins Added 19 points and nine rebounds for St. John’s (19-5, 12-1 Big East), which won for the 15th time in 17 games and finished sixth. Yukon On top of the conference standings.
red storm was coming Great win Friday night at MSG over the rival Huskies.
Rick Pitino said, “The obvious thing for all of you is, after a big game, they weren’t ready to play. We were really ready to play – but they were great.” “Some teams create matchup problems for you, and this team does that for us.”
dylan darling Had 16 points off the bench for the Red Storm. Ejiofor also added seven rebounds and five assists, including one pass. oziah the seller For the breakaway dunk that sealed it with 7 seconds left in OT.
“It’s really cool when you’re playing for the best college basketball coach of all-time,” Darling said. “I’ve only been a part of 19 wins, so I won’t take too much credit, but I’m happy for him. If you come to practice every day, it’s not hard to see why he’s got so many wins.”
St. John’s shot 28 for 41 (68%) at the free throw line, its worst shooting total at 44. lehigh In November 2011. A trio of Xavier players fouled out on three straight defensive possessions in overtime.
Noting that the Musketeers were only 9–17, Richard Pitino said it was “pretty remarkable” that they even forced overtime, and he told his players that they should have won the game.
“I hope we don’t play them in the Big East Tournament. I think my son is fantastic. I’m proud of him. I hate to put any milestones against him – but I’m leaving tonight saying my son is a great coach. … Saying my son is a great coach is much more gratifying to me than any win.”
St. John’s coach Rick Pitino
Xavier committed only nine turnovers in 45 minutes against an aggressive St. John’s defense.
Richard Pitino said, “We had a chance to win it. Proud of the effort. They’re great kids. We really believe in what we’re building.” “We’re obviously trying to get to UConn’s level, trying to get to St. John’s level. But you can’t make 28 free throws from nine and think you’re going to win the game.”
trey carrollThe Big East’s leading scorer, had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Musketeers (12-12, 4-9), who have lost five of six. He scored 11 consecutive points for Xavier in the second half and surpassed 1,000 career points.
Sellers missed his own to tie it at 78 with 16 seconds left in regulation, and Carroll missed a wild 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
“It might have looked like we were lacking a little energy, but it wasn’t like we were taking Xavier back a little bit. I mean, they took us to our spot at the buzzer,” Darling said. “We fought for their safety.”
