St. John’s Red Storm Head Coach Rick Pitino is in a familiar position. Since 2012, only two teams have made the Final Four while shooting 33.1% or worse from three. Coincidentally, both of those teams were coached by Pitino when he was at Louisville.
The 2012 Louisville Cardinals shot 31.8% from three-point range. That team would lose to the Kentucky Wildcats in the Final Four. The 2013 Cardinals shot 33.1% from three-point range and defeated Michigan in the National Championship Game. The Red Storm are 352nd in the nation shooting a meager 29.3% from downtown this season. Will the 2024-25 St. John’s Red Storm, and Pitino, be able to make history in March?
St. John’s Season Summary
Since 2012, only two teams have made the Final Four while shooting 33.1% or worse from three 😳
BOTH were coached by Rick Pitino 🤯
Could he do it again with @StJohnsBBall?? 👀 pic.twitter.com/64QbelCkuX
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 18, 2025
It has been a tremendous regular season for Pitino and the Red Storm. They are 22-4 and lead the Big East with a few weeks left in the regular season. Their four losses this season have come against No. 21 Baylor in a 2 OT thriller, against Georgia down in the Bahamas, against Creighton on the road, and last week on the road against Villanova. St. John’s was a No. 4 seed when the selection committee released their top 16 seeds over the weekend.
The Red Storm have had a great regular season with an offense that is not a strength. They are 83rd in the nation in points per game and 191st in field goal percentage. The team has been led by its defense this year. They are 34th in points allowed, 23rd in field goal percentage, and average against defending the three-pointer.
Final Thoughts
St. John’s plays a style of basketball that has been pushed aside in recent years. They win games while being a terrible three-point shooting team. That is a testament to Pitino’s Hall of Fame-level coaching. The Red Storm return to the court tomorrow evening on the road against DePaul. These teams played earlier in the season and St. John’s prevailed 89-61. Even though Pitino has a track record of taking poor shooting teams to the Final Four, St. John’s still needs to shoot better to be a threat in postseason play.
