Big East Basketball

Four days after criticizing his team following a loss to Seton Hall, St. John's head coach Rick Pitino issued a public apology to the players on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters after the Red Storm's 90-85 win over Georgetown, Pitino called his players and family "the most important thing in my life" and he "would never want to embarrass them or hurt them."

St. John's blew a 19-point lead in a 68-62 loss against Seton Hall on Sunday. Pitino ripped into not only his players, but the team's facilities after that defeat. He said they "lack toughness" as part of a rant about Chris Ledlum not getting to the free-throw line in 29 minutes.

Pitino described both Sean Conway and Drissa Traore as "slow laterally." Brady Dunlap was called "physically weak," and the roster was "so non-athletic that we cannot guard anyone without fouling."

The Hall-of-Fame coach called this season "the most unenjoyable experience of my lifetime."

St. John's hired Pitino as its head basketball coach in March 2023. He was coming off a three-year run at Iona in which he went 64-22 and led the program to the NCAA tournament twice.

The Red Storm brought Pitino back to the Big East for the first time since 2012-13 when he was at Louisville. They were hoping he would be able to get the program back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2018-19 season.

Pitino is 14-12 with five games remaining in the regular season. St. John's has a lower winning percentage this season than it did in 2022-23 under Mike Anderson (.545).

If the Red Storm want to make it into the 68-team field, they will most likely have to secure an automatic bid by winning the Big East tournament.

Down goes No. 1.

The No. 15 Creighton Bluejays defended home-court advantage with a dominant 85-66 victory over the top-ranked UConn Huskies in Tuesday's Big East men's basketball showdown at the CHI Health Center. Creighton's victory snapped a 14-game winning streak for the reigning national champions.

UConn is still 24-3 overall and 14-2 in Big East play, which puts it in line for a No. 1 seed come Selection Sunday even with this uncharacteristically poor performance.

It was a more important result for Creighton, which defeated the No. 1 team for the first time in program history and continues picking up momentum at the right time with four straight conference wins. The Bluejays are 20-7 on the season and 11-5 in Big East play.

Social media had plenty of love for the victors:

Creighton jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half and was in full control throughout the majority of the contest. The story for much of the game was its three-point shooting, as the home team ended up 14-of-28 from long range.

It also played impressive defense on the perimeter and held UConn to an ugly 3-of-16 shooting from three-point range.

Steven Ashworth led the way for the Bluejays with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Ryan Kalkbrenner (15 points and six rebounds) and Trey Alexander (16 points and four assists) played impressive supporting roles.

Tristen Newton did what he could for UConn with a double-double of 27 points and 12 rebounds, but he was the only member of his team to score more than 12.

Creighton will look to keep things rolling when it travels to St. John's on Sunday, while the Huskies will attempt to bounce back and further solidify their hold on a No. 1 seed when they host Villanova on Saturday.

After some fiery comments following St. John's eighth loss in 10 games on Sunday, head coach Rick Pitino explained that he wasn't "ripping" anybody with his thoughts.

Speaking with Newsday (h/t ESPN) on Monday, Pitino stood by his comments, explaining that he intended to get a message across to his team after yet another loss.

"I was pointing out exactly—in a monotone voice—why we lost," he said. "I am not always calm and certainly not when I rip someone ... I was not ripping anybody.

"I sometimes want my players to hear my words and read my words. That was my intention [Sunday]."

In his postgame press conference after the loss to Seton Hall on Sunday, Pitino called out his team's athleticism and toughness. The Red Storm blew a 19-point lead, sparking the comments.

"If I said I was disappointed, that would be the understatement of the year," he said Sunday. "Our lateral quickness and our toughness is just something I've never witnessed in all my years of coaching.

"We are so nonathletic that we can't guard anybody without fouling. ... And really it's not about losing. Even winning, when I watch the film, I see unathletic plays, I see people that don't handle the ball, that are just interested in taking quick shots. It's been a disappointing year."

Pitino's first season with St. John's has not gone the way he had hoped. The Red Storm are 14-12 and 6-9 in Big East play, sitting above just 8-17 (1-13 Big East) Georgetown and 3-22 (0-14 Big East) DePaul in the conference.

Pitino wanted to call out his team and spark something with his comments Sunday, and now St. John's will look to respond. The Red Storm will take on Georgetown on Wednesday with the chance to get back in the win column.

The St. John's men's basketball team has lost eight of its last 10 games, falling to 14-12 on the year, and head coach Rick Pitino isn't happy about it, calling it the "most unenjoyable experience of my lifetime."

"If I said I was disappointed, that would be the understatement of the year," he told reporters. "Our lateral quickness and our toughness is just something I've never witnessed in all my years of coaching. We are so nonathletic that we can't guard anybody without fouling."

"And really it's not about losing," he continued. "Even winning, when I watch the film, I see un-athletic plays, I see people that don't handle the ball, that are just interested in taking quick shots. It's been a disappointing year."

Pitino then ripped a number of individual players.

"Joel [Soriano]'s slow laterally, he's not fast on the court," he said. "Chris Ledlum is slow laterally, Sean Conway's slow laterally. Brady [Dunlap's] physically weak, Drissa [Traore] is slow laterally."

The tirade came after St. John's lost 68-62 against Seton Hall on Sunday, blowing a 19-point lead. The Red Storm are now just 6-9 in Big East play and are going to miss out on the NCAA tournament, barring a miraculous run through the conference tournament in March.

Pitino hastily put together a new roster after taking over as head coach last year, adding eight transfers and a pair of freshman recruits. He said he wasn't necessarily surprised that a team rebuilt on the fly was now having its struggles.

"I had no choice," he said. "We just could take who we could get, who was available, we had no choice. I don't think we were going to win the first year anyway, because when you rush like that, you don't see the players. Not a whole lot we can do."

Still, it will be interesting to see how his players respond to being lambasted publicly. Whether it's the effort and toughness of individuals on the court, finding the right lineup balance or the coaching in general, something needs to change for a St. John's team that has made it a habit of late of blowing leads.

"I think the other team makes adjustments and we have to make adjustments to move the basketball and take good shots. But we just lack toughness," Pitino said. "We just don't move our feet on defense. ... It's really all the toughness things are why we give up leads."

It remains to be seen if Pitino will hold himself to the same level of accountability as he publicly did to his players.

It is a turbulent time in college sports with plenty of uncertainty about the future, but St. John's men's basketball coach Rick Pitino offered what he sees as one solution.

Pitino took to social media and suggested there should be a salary cap between $1.5 million and $2 million for the Big East and Power Five conferences when it comes to basketball. He also said the other conferences can establish their own salary cap and admitted things would likely be different for football:

As ESPN's Myron Medcalf noted, Pitino's comments come after the National Labor Relations Board ruled Monday that Dartmouth men's basketball players can be considered employees of the school and can vote to unionize.

A union could pave the way for athletes to have bargaining rights when it comes to salary, working conditions, time allotted and other variables. Conferences creating a sport-specific salary cap like Pitino suggested could, theoretically, be something that is collectively bargained with a union down the line.

Pitino even joked about the Dartmouth ruling:

Yet there are still steps that need to be taken toward unions and collective bargaining becoming a reality in college sports, especially since schools have largely pushed back against that notion.

Dartmouth can appeal Monday's ruling, which is what happened in 2015 when Northwestern football players were granted a similar ruling just for it to be overturned nationally upon appeal. An approach in the Ivy League, where Dartmouth plays, would also likely be different than the ones schools in the power conferences take.

Still, the world of college sports is quite different than it was in 2015 when the Northwestern situation was under the spotlight.

The creation of name, image and likeness rules allow players opportunities to make money. There are also looser transfer restrictions that have created situations where plenty of players in football and basketball switch teams every year.

The SEC and Big Ten also created a joint advisory group to approach changes in college sports, although they were adamant it wasn't a move by the two richest conferences to break away from the NCAA.

Perhaps there will be some type of salary cap down the line, but the future of college sports is still very much up in the air.

After winning four straight games, the St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team fell to No. 22 Creighton 66-65 on Saturday in Big East action, and while it was a close game, head coach Rick Pitino isn't considering the result a moral victory.

"When we lose I f---ing hate the world," Pitino told reporters after the game. "... No, I don't feel good. I've never felt good with a loss. So, I don't feel good. I don't believe in those valiant efforts on the road."

Saturday's game between the Red Storm and Bluejays ended on a controversial no-call.

St. John's guard Jordan Dingle appeared to be fouled by Creighton guard Francisco Farabello at the buzzer, but no foul was called and the Bluejays went on to secure the one-point victory.

After Red Storm guard Daniss Jenkins missed what would have been a go-ahead jumper, the ball was batted out toward Dingle, who jumped up for a putback and was knocked to the court by Farabello in the process.

While it was a frustrating way to lose a game, Pitino didn't blame the officials for the loss and neither did Dingle.

"This was a game we could have won. We had a lead and should have done more to sustain it but believe it or not we will be better next time out," Dingle told reporters after the game. "… I think we played well but not well for 40 minutes. We can't just play well for 34 or 36 minutes. We didn't put it together for all 40 tonight. Credit to them, they played a great game."

This is Pitino's first season as head coach of the Red Storm following three seasons coaching the Iona Gaels. He has led St. John's to a 12-5 record this season and the program remains in contention for the top spot in the Big East standings.

St. John's will be back in action on Tuesday against Seton Hall before returning home to host No. 11 Marquette on Jan. 20.

St. John's head coach Rick Pitino isn't missing the chance to bring a little more attention to the program.

The Hall of Famer told New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito there are courtside tickets waiting for him for the Red Storm's Saturday game against Fordham:

DeVito has quickly become one of the NFL's biggest stories. The Giants won their third straight game with the undrafted rookie under center in place of an injured Daniel Jones.

As Pitino referenced, the 25-year-old and his family fully embraced their Italian-American roots as well during his sudden ascent:

DeVito should strike while the iron is hot because the good times can be fleeting for a player in his situation. There are a number of backup quarterbacks in recent years who emerged from obscurity, had a hot stretch, and fell back to earth in equally rapid fashion.

Considering the Giants hit the road to play the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, taking Pitino up on the courtside offer is probably out of the question, though.