Rick Pitino had to be feeling great Friday night after St. John’s secured its 10th consecutive victory by rallying on the road to beat UConn. With a record of 21-3 and sitting atop the Big East with a 12-1 mark, life is good for the Red Storm. In his postgame press conference, Pitino exhibited a bit of cockiness when Zach Braziller of The New York Post asked him, “In November if I had told you you’d be 21-3 and 12-1 in the Big East, what would you have said?”
“I would’ve said how the f*** did we lose that one game?” Pitino replied, smiling as the room erupted in laughter.
“If I’d told you in November you’d be 12-1 in Big East play…” – @NYPost_Brazille
Rick Pitino: “I would’ve said how the f*** did we lose that one game?”
(🎥: @StorrsCentral) pic.twitter.com/wYskJ3no7a
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 8, 2025
Interestingly, the Red Storm’s only loss in Big East play occurred on Dec. 31 against Creighton, where they fell by just one point on the road. Creighton currently holds second place in the Big East with a 10-2 record and is riding an eight-game winning streak, preparing to face St. John’s on Feb. 16. It’s likely Pitino was aware that his comment would serve as social media fuel for Creighton leading up to that matchup. However, given Pitino’s status as one of the greatest coaches in basketball history, he might have been engaging in a bit of strategic psychology. What a clever motivational hint to drop for his players: “How the f*** did we lose that one game?”
Or perhaps that’s reading too much into it, and Pitino was simply enjoying the moment after a significant road comeback. Regardless, the St. John’s-Creighton game just became more intriguing.
