Father Knows Best (And Won’t Let You Forget It)
CINCINNATI, OH — There are awkward family dinners, and then there is whatever Richard Pitino is going to have to endure at the next Thanksgiving.
In the latest installment of the "Pitino Bowl," Rick Pitino and his St. John’s Red Storm pulled off a heist at the Cintas Center, erasing a 16-point deficit to topple Richard’s Xavier Musketeers 88-83. The win didn’t just save Rick from a very quiet plane ride home; it officially gave the elder Pitino his 900th Division I victory.
When asked on the broadcast what’s left to do now that he’s joined the 900-win club (vacated wins and all), Rick just flashed that trademark grin and whispered: “One thousand.” Somewhere, a group of graduate assistants just felt a cold chill down their spines.
The Tale of Two Halves
For the first 20 minutes, it looked like the son was finally going to teach the father a lesson. Xavier came out swinging like they had a personal vendetta against the Red Storm’s preseason hype.
Malik Messina-Moore (15 pts) and Tre Carroll (31 pts — a career high!) were treating the St. John’s defense like a suggestion rather than a requirement.
Xavier went into the locker room up 49-37, and Rick’s halftime speech was presumably loud enough to be heard in neighboring Kentucky.
The "Storm" Returns
Whatever was said in that locker room worked. St. John’s physical frontcourt—Dillon Mitchell, Bryce Hopkins, and Zuby Ejiofor—started treating the paint like a mosh pit. They bullied their way to the rim, snagged offensive rebounds, and slowly drained the life out of the Cintas Center crowd.
But the real drama was saved for the "Unlikely Hero" department:
Dylan Darling, the Idaho State transfer who usually spends his time setting up teammates, decided to remind everyone he was the Big Sky Player of the Year. He hit a circus layup to take the lead with 1:20 left, then buried a dagger three-pointer 27 seconds later.
After Ejiofor fouled out, backup center Ruben Prey sealed the deal with a tip-in at the 15-second mark.
Pitino vs. Pitino: The Family Ledger
With this victory, Rick is now 4-1 against his son. It’s the ultimate "I brought you into this world, I can take you out of the Big East standings" flex.
Coach. Wins Milestone
Rick Pitino 900* Looking for 1,000.
Richard Pitino 1 Still looking for that Father’s Day revenge.
*Includes 123 vacated wins.
What’s Next? The Garden is Calling
The Red Storm have now won six straight and are sitting at 8-1 in the Big East, stalking a 9-0 UConn like a hungry wolf. Mark your calendars for Friday, Feb. 6: The Johnnies meet the Huskies at Madison Square Garden. If St. John’s wins that, Rick might try to claim he coached the 1996 Bulls, too.
For Xavier, it’s a tough pill to swallow. They’ve already beaten archrival Cincinnati this year, but a "bellwether" win over the Top-20 Johnnies would have made the Ohio winter a lot more tolerable.
