Rick Pitino's milestone week at St. John's continued Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, where the Red Storm defeated Butler 92-70, and the Hall of Fame coach earned his 901st career victory on the court. The win came days after Pitino became the fourth Division I men's basketball coach to reach 900 on-court wins, a feat he reached Saturday in an 88-83 win over Xavier.
Before tipoff against the Bulldogs, St. John's honored Pitino for reaching 900 on-court Division I victories. A video tribute highlighting his career played on the Garden’s center-hung screens. Athletic director Ed Kull then presented the 73-year-old coach with a framed jersey at center court. Pitino, a New York native, became just the fourth Division I men's coach to reach 900 on-court victories, joining Mike Krzyzewski (1,202), Jim Boeheim (1,116), and Roy Williams (903).
With the win over Butler, Pitino's on-court record improved to 901–316 across 38 seasons, which began with a brief six-game role as interim head coach at Hawaii in 1976. Since then, he's coached at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Iona, and St. John's, with stops in the NBA for the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics and a stint overseas with Greek club Panathinaikos. The NCAA officially credits him with 777 or 778 wins after vacating 123 victories from his time at Louisville. In his third season at St. John's, Pitino is a seven-time Final Four coach and the only head coach to take six different schools to the NCAA Tournament.
Following Wednesday's win, Pitino made clear his focus has shifted beyond 900.
“From there to today it's been a long journey, and getting 900 is a nice thing, certainly. But getting 1,000 would be a lot better,” said Pitino. “And that means I've got to be blessed with good health, good players, and just keep recruiting. The better you recruit, the better coach I am.”
The Red Storm played like a well-oiled machine versus the Bulldogs, leaving no weaknesses exposed. St. John shot 56.3% from the field, went 9-of-20 from three-point range, and placed four players in double figures with at least 13 points while seven players scored eight or more. They scored their first 20 points in the paint, built a 14-point lead by the 11:11 mark of the first half, and closed the half with five straight three-pointers to take a 43-29 advantage.
Dillon Mitchell posted 14 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks for his third double-double in four games. Zuby Ejiofor added 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, six rebounds, and a team-high five assists, finishing one free throw shy of 1,000 career points at St. John's. Ian Jackson led all scorers with 18 points, while Joson Sanon contributed 13.
The win pushed the Red Storm's winning streak to seven games and improved St. John to 9-1 in Big East play for the second straight season, a first in program history. Ranked No. 5 in the preseason, the Red Storm re-entered the AP Top 25 at No. 25 this week after wins over Seton Hall and Xavier.
