Rick Pitino and the St. John’s Red Storm are coming off a season of ups and downs, although two wins over the UConn Huskies, including a dominant Big East Tournament final win, seem to make a strong case for their March Madness seeding.
On Selection Sunday, Pitino’s team was given the No. 5 seed in the East Region. That drew backlash from fans on social media due to them winning their conference and then the conference tournament title.
On Saturday evening, they avenged a previous UConn rout to defeat the Huskies in Madison Square Garden, 72-52, seeming to put an exclamation point on their solid late-season run.
However, they drew an East Region that even UConn’s Dan Hurley admitted is “tough” due to the various teams in it. That includes the Big East champions and runners-up, UConn.
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Amid the chaos and perceived mishandling of St. John’s as a No. 5 seed, coach Pitino didn’t seem fazed by his team’s spot, although he did raise an interesting point about the conference.
“I thought we’d be a fifth seed. A couple of guys in my set thought it was possible to be a fourth seed, but they don’t take into account how you’re playing at the end of the year,” the Red Storm coach said.
“The old days — like eight, 10 years ago — it counted the last 10 games of the season as what they really looked at. They don’t do that anymore … So we gotta get the Big East stronger,” Pitino also said.
St. John’s Fans Blast March Madness Seed on Selection Sunday
The UConn Huskies and St. John’s Red Storm are two of only three teams from the Big East to qualify for March Madness this season. Villanova is the third team and landed as a No. 8 seed in the West Region against Utah State.
However, UConn and Red Storm fans may have preferred that particular region over the one they drew. In addition to the Big East heavyweights, the East also includes No. 1 overall seed Duke for a potential Sweet 16 matchup with St. John’s, along with Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans, and Bill Self’s Kansas Jayhawks.
Many individuals are eyeing a potential fourth meeting between UConn and St. John’s at a neutral site. However, that would only occur if both teams can win their way to the Elite Eight.
St. John’s opens tournament play on March 20 at 7:30 p.m. EST against No. 12 seed Northern Iowa on CBS, with a potential second-round matchup against Kansas.
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For more about the NCAA Tournament, head over to Newsweek Sports.
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