Rick Pitino isn’t buying into clash with Big East cellar dweller as a St. John’s trap game

Don’t call Marquette a trap game.

To Rick Pitino, it’s as big as any game St. John’s will play the rest of the season.

“Marquette is much more important than UConn — not in your eyes, but in our eyes,” he said Monday. “Marquette had Villanova beat the other day, Marquette beat Xavier, Xavier beat Providence. We have to understand how important [this game is].”

His reasoning is that a bad loss can hurt your NCAA Tournament résumé more than a good win can help you.

The Golden Eagles are under .500 at 6-11, and a loss would certainly negatively impact the Red Storm’s standing for March.

It would seem easy for the Johnnies to overlook them. St. John’s is coming off consecutive impressive road wins, and after the Golden Eagles are two more big ones, at Villanova and home against Seton Hall. Plus, the Red Storm are a 15.5-point favorite.

“It’s really imperative that we approach every game the same, and treat every opponent like they can beat us because, [Pitino] says it all the time, any team in this league can beat anybody,” Zuby Ejiofor said. “We have to have the right mental approach to each and every game.” They’re a team that plays hard on both sides of the ball. We have to be ready to come play.”

Head coach Rick Pitino of the St. John’s Red Storm watches action against the Creighton Bluejays during the first half at CHI Health Center on January 10, 2026 in Omaha, Nebraska. Getty Images

Joson Sanon didn’t play in the second half against Creighton, logging a season-low six minutes. The sophomore may have been overtaken on the depth chart by Lefteris Liotopoulos, at least for the time being.

“I think if you’re talking about physical talent, he’s the most talented guy on the roster. If you’re talking about how to play, he’s not,” Pitino said of Sanon, a transfer from Arizona State. “But that was true of Zuby when he first came.

“So it’s a matter of Joson, does he want to learn the things he doesn’t do well? That’s what it’s gonna come down to, whether or not he reaches greatness.”

One player to keep an eye on is Marquette freshman guard Nigel James Jr. The former Long Island Lutheran star is coming off a 31-point effort in a loss to Villanova and is averaging 13.5 points, four assists and 1.6 steals per game.