No. 2 St. John’s and Rick Pitino’s NCAA Tournament journey ended earlier than expected, with a 75-66 loss to John Calipari and No. 10 Arkansas in the second round in Providence.
Plagued by ice-cold shooting and an inability to adapt to Arkansas’ length and athleticism, the Red Strom was undone by season-long difficulties. It shot a measly 21-of-75 from the field (28%), an even worse 2-of-22 (9.1%) from three-point range, and 71% from the free-throw line.
“It sucks,” forward Zuby Ejiofor, who scored a team-high 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting and a 9-of-11 showing from the charity stripe. “I felt like we could have been better in a lot of areas. Yeah, it just sucks.”
There was not much offensive support around him, though. Star guard RJ Luis was held to nine points on 3-of-17 shooting. Kadary Richmond, who fell into foul trouble, had just five points in 16 minutes.
“Kadary didn’t play real well because he was in foul trouble,” Pitino said. “Foul trouble certainly hurt us but they were a better team. They outplayed us. They deserve to move on and we don’t. That’s what March Madness is all about. No matter how good a regular season you have, you play this way you’re going to get beat. I’m very grateful I had these two guys on my team and Arkansas moves on and we don’t.”
It provides a sour end to a historic season for St. John’s, which featured its first Big East regular-season title in 40 years, a first Big East Tournament crown in 25 years, and its highest ranking in the AP poll since 1991.
In what was just Pitino’s second season with the program, it has put the Red Storm back on the map, where consistent success — and even loftier goals — now lay ahead.
“I hope [this season] does a lot [for the program],” the 72-year-old Hall-of-Famer said. “I’ve had a lot of tough losses and I’ve had a lot of great victories in the NCAA and it always ends with you hating this moment. It always ends that way. It never ends… we didn’t play a great brand of offensive basketball and that’s disappointing, but overall I’m grateful for [Eijofor, Luis, and Richmondt], guys that gave me everything they had. They were the reason for the turnaround that St. John’s had winning a regular season and winning a tournament. I’m just very, very thankful for them.”
Significant changes are ahead for Pitino’s roster next season. Richmond’s time is up at St. John’s while guards Deivon Smith and Aaron Scott are seniors. Luis, a junior, could potentially declare for the NBA Draft but could return for a senior season to bolster his resume.
“They’re getting better… I think there was a lot of great moments this year,” Pitino said. “You wish that you could go out playing better offensively, but that’s the breaks of the game. Give Arkansas credit, move on, and see what happens in the future.”
