PROVIDENCE — Rick Pitino sat in his huddle flashing back to a certain February night in 1994.
Kentucky trailed by 31 points at LSU with 15:34 to play, and all hope appeared to be lost. What followed was one of the greatest comebacks in college basketball history, as the Wildcats stunned the Tigers with a barrage of 3-pointers and pressure defense.
Tony Delk, Rodrick Rhodes, Walter McCarty, Jeff Sheppard and Travis Ford weren’t walking through the door on Friday at Amica Mutual Pavilion. But it was partly that experience that helped Pitino convince his current St. John’s team to believe.
Providence College wilted after building a 16-point lead late in the first half. Zuby Ejiofor’s put-back at the buzzer gave the Red Storm a 72-70 win, and the former Friars coach enjoyed another memorable moment in the building he called home for a special two-season tenure in the 1980s.
“It’s nothing,” Pitino said. “You’re going to come back and win this game. Just be patient. Take your time. One possession at a time.”
St. John’s is off to a 10-2 start in Pitino’s second season in Queens, including a 2-0 mark in the Big East. This was considerably more difficult than an opening 89-61 blowout of DePaul earlier in the week. It wasn’t quite as challenging as that 99-95 classic three decades ago in Baton Rouge, a game that helped set the stage for an SEC Tournament championship run and NCAA Tournament berth in March.
“We feel that we’re turning a corner in a lot of areas,” Pitino said. “All I talked about at halftime — screaming at them, actually — was knowing how to handle adversity in life. You’ve got to stop getting down about a missed free throw. You’ve got to stop getting down about a missed shot.
“This is the road, and the road is tough. Every Big East team lost on the road. Give them credit — they played a great half — and win the game.”
Providence posted just six assists against 17 turnovers and was outscored, 23-4, off second chances. The Friars struggled to find consistent offense after opening 5-for-6 from 3-point range. They connected on only one more jumper from deep before Bensley Joseph tied the game at 70-70 with 18.8 seconds left.
“They were straight-line driving us and forcing us to help and getting the 3s,” Pitino said. “We had to guard the straight-line drive, and we did in the second half.”
The Red Storm expected to be in postseason contention after finishing 20-13 in Pitino’s debut. Kadary Richmond transferred in from league-rival Seton Hall, Deivon Smith arrived from Utah and the duo of Ejiofor and RJ Luis Jr. have played like emerging stars. St. John’s is still in search of a true headlining win, but a current top-15 ranking according to KenPom.com suggests it can compete against the iron of the league schedule.
“I think they’re mentally maturing,” Pitino said. “I think three weeks ago — missing all those free throws, missing all those shots — we lose by 12 to 16 points.”
Pitino caught up with some old friends after arriving the previous afternoon. Jacek Duda was among his dinner party, the starting center for Providence’s team that reached the Final Four in 1986-87. It was a remembrance from Duda — and a couple of posts from Pitino on social media — that led to a question as to whether or not the Red Storm would shake hands with the Friars at the close of the contest.
“There’s so much trash talking,” Pitino said. “There’s so many hard feelings when you lose. Why are we doing that? Jacek said to me last night, ‘Coach, in 1987 we never shook hands.’ He said there would have been brawls every night.
“You try to shake Georgetown’s hands after you win? Look out. So I don’t believe in it, because there are too many incidents now.”
Providence missed a chance to start turning what has been a disappointing season. The Friars are just 7-6 overall and will be left stewing over this defeat until a New Year’s Eve visit from Marquette. Bryce Hopkins (left knee) missed his second straight game and his 10th of the 2024-25 campaign.
“Keep practicing harder,” Providence coach Kim English said. “Keep trying to find guys. The game will reward guys who do physically hit.
“Tough pill to swallow. It’s tough to watch.”
