This St. John’s loss is exactly what Rick Pitino needs for the long term

If you subscribe to the well-worn aphorism of recent vintage that ball doesn’t lie — (sorry, the Sisters of Mercy and their grammar grimaces still won’t let me say it the other way) — then this electric, high-energy, hugely entertaining game resolved itself exactly as it should have. 

Alabama walked into Madison Square Garden and won, 103-96. 

St. John’s stumbled out of the Garden with its first loss here since the 2024 Big East Tournament semifinals 603 days earlier. 

That’s how this should’ve gone. The Crimson Tide outplayed the Johnnies in every aspect imaginable, beginning with the fact that they grabbed 14 killer offensive rebounds. The SJU defense was barely passable, could never stay in front of any of the quicker Tide guards, it could never really get untracked shooting (a late flurry brought them to 35 percent from 3 for the game).