The Rick Pitino factor is in full effect.
The Hall of Fame coach’s second season at St. John’s is off to a red-hot start, with his Red Storm now 18-3, including 9-1 in Big East play.
With Tuesday’s 66-41 win at Georgetown, the Johnnies improved to 7-0 since the calendar flipped to 2025. They completed their first undefeated January since 1985, a year in which the late Lou Carnesecca led St. John’s to the Final Four.
“I really don’t talk about the ’80s,” Pitino, 72, said Tuesday night. “I always toast Lou after every game and say the same thing to everybody: ‘Lou would be proud of this team.’ But I don’t bring it up too much. I don’t bring it up that they’re the most wins in January. … We really just focus on getting better. This team is getting better and better.”
Indeed it is.
St. John’s enters Saturday afternoon’s game against Providence at Madison Square Garden as winners of seven consecutive games — a streak that includes two wins over Xavier (13-9) and another against Villanova (12-9).
The Johnnies’ No. 15 ranking in the AP poll matches their best since 2000.
They are 13-0 in home games at Carnesecca Arena or the Garden.
And they’re doing it in exciting fashion.
St. John’s is averaging 82.9 points per game, good for second in the conference behind only defending NCAA champion UConn’s 83.7.
The Red Storm rank second in the Big East, also to UConn, in rebounding (37.5 per game) and 3-point percentage (37.8%).
But they’re ahead of No. 25 UConn (15-6; 7-3) where it counts: in the standings. St. John’s enters Saturday tied atop the Big East with No. 9 Marquette, whom it is set to play Tuesday night in a heavyweight bout at the Garden.
“I’m proud of these guys,” Pitino said.
St. John’s hired Pitino, a two-time NCAA champion with Kentucky and Louisville, in March 2023, hoping he could turn around a program that’s only made three NCAA Tournament appearances since 2002 and none since 2019.
His first season was a roller coaster. St. John’s started the year 14-12 and 6-9 in conference play, and a Feb. 18 loss to Seton Hall prompted Pitino to criticize his team as “unathletic” and “slow laterally.”
The candid comments prompted national discussion, but his team rallied from there, winning six consecutive games before a loss to UConn in the Big East Tournament semifinal.
St. John’s finished 20-13, and 11-9 in the Big East, but was left out of the NCAA Tournament. Six of the program’s top seven scorers left in the offseason, either due to running out of eligibility or transferring.
With a full offseason to recruit and work the portal, Pitino landed prized transfers Kadary Richmond from Seton Hall and Deivon Smith from Utah.
Both guards have been productive this season, but it’s been returning players who are making the biggest difference.
Junior guard RJ Luis Jr. ranks fourth in the Big East with 17.4 points per game and sixth with 6.6 rebounds per game. Junior forward Zuby Ejiofor, who came off the bench last year, has excelled as a starter, averaging 14.5 points and 8.2 rebounds, the latter of which ranks third in the conference.
“I think it’s mostly me being healthy,” Luis, who dealt with nagging shin injuries last year, said after a Nov. 17 win over New Mexico. “Just the person that I am, I put a lot of work into my craft. Now I’m stepping up as one of the best defenders. … I’m gonna play-make. I’m gonna score. I’m really just playing both sides of the ball.”
St. John’s still has plenty to prove.
It has not played Marquette or UConn. It lost its only meeting with Creighton, 57-56, in Omaha, on Dec. 31.
But the Johnnies’ three losses — the others came against No. 13 Baylor and Georgia — are by a combined five points.
A long-awaited return to the NCAA Tournament is looking more and more likely.
“I think the best quality that we have is we’re humble,” Pitino said. “We just keep playing hard. We don’t think we’re great. We aspire to be great, but we don’t believe we’re great. We understand that anybody can beat us.”
