Rick Pitino Leads St. John’sBig East First Place in Historic Season

The Red Storm, ranked 20th, achieve their best start in decades under Pitino, rallying to defeat Xavier in overtime and aiming to end a 33-year conference title drought.

• St. John’s improved to 17-3 overall and 8-1 in the Big East, their best conference start since 1998-99, after a 79-71 overtime victory against Xavier at Madison Square Garden.
• The team, led by coach Rick Pitino, is seeking its first Big East regular-season title since 1992 and its first NCAA Tournament win since 2000.
• Key players RJ Luis Jr., Kadary Richmond, and Zuby Ejiofor have driven the Red Storm’s success, with Richmond scoring a season-high 19 points in the latest game.
• St. John’s has shown resilience, overcoming a 16-point deficit against Xavier and maintaining a 13-0 home record despite injuries, including point guard Deivon Smith’s absence.
• The road ahead includes challenging matchups against ranked opponents Marquette and UConn, as the team continues to rely on strong defense and rebounding to secure wins.

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