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St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino had some advice for the NCAA following the Red Storm’s heartbreaking loss to Duke in the Sweet 16 on Friday night: Let the losers go first.
Pitino opened his news conference with a point of order after saying his team was “hung” for more than half an hour following its narrow loss to Duke.
St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino talks to his team during the second half against Duke in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament in Washington on March 27, 2026. (Abbie Parr/AP)
“A suggestion to the NCAA, when you have on-court interviews for Duke, for the winning team… is that the losing team goes first because you left us disappointed in the locker room while the other team celebrates, rightfully so.”
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He continued, “You should let the losing team go first and let the winning team have as much time as they want. Just a suggestion.”
Waiting on the sidelines contributed to a difficult night for St. John’s.
Duke rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to knock No. 5 seed St. John’s out of the NCAA Tournament with an 80-75 victory and advance to the Elite Eight, where the Blue Devils will face UConn.
St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino reacts during the second half of a game against Kansas in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament in San Diego on March 22, 2026. (Mark J. Terrill/AP)
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“It was our defense that broke,” Pitino said during the press conference. . “It wasn’t so much not being in the right place. They just bullied us to the basket. They do that to a lot of teams. That’s why they’re the No. 1 team in the country. We couldn’t defend the bullying attacks.”
Caleb Foster also returned from a broken foot, scoring 11 points in the second half, while Isaiah Evans added 25 points and Cameron Boozer totaled 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Duke guard Caleb Foster passes by St. John’s guard Dylan Darling during the second half of the Sweet 16 round in the NCAA college basketball tournament in Washington on March 27, 2026. (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP)
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Duke is 3-2 against UConn in the NCAA Tournament, but has lost the last two, including the 1999 title game.
