St. John’s knows it can’t revel in thrilling UConn win too long

Moments after the biggest win of the Rick Pitino era, the thrilling victory over No. 3 Connecticut at a sold-out Garden on Friday, the Hall of Fame coach was already guarding against overconfidence in the next game. 

Zuby Ejiofor was asked about the potential of playing the powerhouse Huskies twice more this year, including in next month’s Big East Tournament, and Pitino stepped in. 

“We’re worried about Xavier,” he said. He later added: “We’ve got Xavier, Xavier was up on us, and any time a team is up on you, there’s a reason they’re up on you. We didn’t do something well.” 

St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor celebrates with guard Oziyah Sellers after scoring and drawing a foul during the second half.
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

The No. 22 Johnnies did struggle with the Musketeers, coached by Pitino’s son Richard, back on Jan. 24. They trailed by as many as 16 points in a five-point road victory. St. John’s had no answers for Tre Carroll, who torched them for 31 points. 

Since then, however, Xavier has gone in the wrong direction. They were crushed by Seton Hall and UConn by a combined 50 points, and needed a furious rally to knock off DePaul at home. 

“They will be ready. I know my son will be ready,” Pitino said. “We just have to keep it going and keep getting better. That’s been our motto the whole season, every single day try and get better individually, collectively,” 

St. John’s Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino speaks with his team during the second half against UConn. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

The game will mark an opportunity for Pitino to move into third place on his own on the all-time wins list. He is currently tied at 903 victories with Roy Williams, behind Mike Krzyzewski (1,202) and Jim Boeheim (1,116). Ironically, Pitino’s 900th win also came against Xavier and his son, Richard.