St. John’s defeated Creighton on Saturday night to earn the school’s first Big East Tournament title in 25 years thanks to Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, and he plans to celebrate in a big way.
After toppling the Blue Jays 82-66 behind stellar performances from RJ Luis Jr. and Zuby Ejiofor, Pitino sat down with FOX Sports to discuss what the victory meant to him.
“We just wanted to play every game in the Big East Tournament as if it was the first round, second round and third round [of the NCAA Tournament],” Pinito said.
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“We did that. The pressure was mounting on us, but we came through in a big way.”
Despite trailing at the end of the first half, St. John’s rallied in the second half, making 14 straight shots from the field. Luis scored all but two of his 29 points after halftime and Ejiofor added 20 points to earn the Big East title on Saturday.
“In the beginning of the year we had our goals, but we were just hoping to make the tournament – to get in,” Pinito added.
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But before St. John’s learns of its fate on Selection Sunday, the legendary coach revealed to FOX Sports his plans to celebrate the historic win.
“I’m gonna drink a quart of Jameson’s,” he said with a laugh.
Pitino is the first coach in history to make it to the NCAA Tournament with six different teams. The win sealed St. John’s automatic bid to the Big Dance for the first time since 2019.
“Great win for the city. Great win for our university. You hear it all along that it’s New York’s team, and it truly is,” Pitino said. “As a New Yorker myself, I’m very, very proud that St. John’s has gotten to this level.”
St. John’s is expected to earn the No. 2 seed on Sunday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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