St. John's head coach Rick Pitino's white suit has become a college basketball tradition in Queens, but the 73-year-old reconsidered whether it would be a good idea for the annual “white-out” game against Villanova after watching his team suffer a 32-point loss to UConn. Luckily for fans, Pitino's friends convinced him to keep the custom going, leading to a dominant 89-57 win over the Wildcats.

Although Pitino reconsidered wearing the white suit after losing to UConn, he felt he would be letting his friends down if he ended the three-year tradition. Pitino's friends had all bought custom white suits, like the one he had ordered, and planned to wear them to the Villanova game, forcing the head coach's hand.

“Before this game, that was the question with Rick Pitino — whether he would rock the custom suit,” said FOX Sports sideline reporter Allison Williams. “But look, guys, you can't let your friends down. He's got a group of buddies that meet every Saturday to gather and play a little dice game… They all had their custom white suits as well. He said, ‘Look, you gotta do it, right?' They all were rocking them; he had to hold up his end.”

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Pitino's white suit became the main pre-game story after he said there would be “no freaking way” he would wear it after a 32-point loss to UConn. He joked that he would only wear it against Villanova on the “very slim” chances that St. John's basketball radio broadcaster John Minko bought him a drink.

Pitino started the white suit tradition in the 2023-2024 season, his first as head coach at St. John's. He had the suit custom-made before his first “white-out” game with the team and turned it into an annual tradition the following year. The Red Storm are now 3-0 when he wears the white suit.