St. John's HC Rick Pitino questions 'drunk' Red Storm fans for calling out UConn

02/04/2025 10:37 PM

The St John’s Red Storm beat the Marquette Golden Eagles 70-64 at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night. It was the Red Storm’s ninth consecutive victory and sent them into first place in the Big East. But big games await, including two against back-to-back champion UConn in the next five games. Fans chanted “We Want UConn” after the win but St John’s coach Rick Pitino downplayed that idea.

Rick Pitino’s response to St. John’s fans chanting they wanted UConn: ‘They’re drunk,'” Zach Brazille of the New York Post reported.

The UConn Huskies have won back-to-back National Championships but are not the same team this year. They have lost three conference games this year after losing three games all season last year. Many of their best players graduated but that does not mean St John’s will have it easy.

The first of their two matchups is on Friday night at Gampel Pavillion on UConn’s campus. Creighton is the only team to beat the Huskies in Connecticut this season, so it is a tough task for the Red Storm. They welcome Dan Hurley’s squad to the Garden on February 23, which will be their last game in Manhattan in the regular season.

St John’s is currently in first place in the Big East and could secure a bye in the Big East Tournament soon. But March Madness is where Red Storm fans have their eyes set. The team has not won an NCAA Tournament game since 2000 when they beat Gonzaga as a seven seed. As the number 12 team in the most recent AP poll, their March bid is all but locked down.

The biggest issue for the Red Storm in this game was foul shooting. They entered the game with a team free-throw percentage of 69.7%. St John’s shot 17-31, or 54.8%, from the charity stripe against Marquette. That must change for them to beat UConn.

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