Following St. John’s first NCAA Tournament victory in 25 years, a legendary reunion was in order. Rick Pitino and John Calipari—two coaches who have met five times in the Big Dance, tied for the second most all-time—were set to face off for a 24th collegiate-level matchup.
Pitino owned recent bragging rights, having dispatched Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats while at Louisville’s helm over eight years ago, yet trailed 13-10 head-to-head. In round two of the NCAA Tournament, the 10th-seeded Razorbacks upset second-seeded St. John’s 75-66.
Zuby Ejiofor led the Johnnies with 23 points and 12 rebounds in the season-ending loss.
In a tilt that featured more whistles than highlights, the Red Storm’s offense struggled throughout. Perimeter shooting had been a typical critique all year, but even on the interior, St. John’s couldn’t get anything to fall.
Arkansas capitalized on the ice-cold Johnnies, though never seized total control. Each time it appeared the Razorbacks’ trio of Johnell Davis, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond III began to build up momentum, the Red Storm’s veteran core responded. However, it wasn’t the usual suspects responsible for keeping the score close.
Kadary Richmond sat out the final 13 minutes of the first half after picking up two quick fouls, and RJ Luis Jr. was unable to find his offensive rhythm all afternoon.
Behind Ejiofor and Deivon Smith, St. John’s cut a once-eight-point deficit to just four at the half.
Those who’d watched the Johnnies all season knew this was a second half team, but it unfortunately picked the worst possible occasion to not live up to that title.
Razorbacks guard DJ Wagner and Knox helped orchestrate a 7-1 run out of the break, laying a double-digit deficit at the feet of the Red Storm, triggering the upset alarms.
Meanwhile, the fouls continued mounting. Pitino opted to leave Richmond out on the floor, even after picking up his fourth of the night, resulting in an early exit for St. John’s star point guard. Richmon was disqualified at the 6:28 mark, leaving Smith to facilitate the scoring attack down the stretch.
After Aaron Scott drew a foul—a commonality on Saturday evening—and sank both free throws, a 13-point gap was suddenly trimmed to two. On the brink of another miraculous second half comeback, the Johnny faithful at Amica Mutual Pavillion rose to their feet, desperate for their beloved Red Storm to steal a game it had no business winning.
And that’s when things fell apart.
Richmond buried a right-baseline jumper, returning the Razorbacks’ advantage to four and placing the pressure back on St. John’s. Pitino called timeout, seemingly to draw up any sort of play in hopes of settling the offense.
Out of the timeout, a poor inlet pass from Smith to Ejiofor bounced out of bounds, which essentially ended the game.
Smith, Scott and Simeon Wilcher took turns missing on three-point attempts, a poor yet required tactic considering the Red Storm’s final tally in that category (2-of-22).
The inability to connect from deep allowed Davis, Knox and Richmond to alternate shifts at the charity stripe, hitting on 5-of-6 in the final minute of regulation to send the Johnnies home for good.
Strangely, Luis—the Big East Player of the Year and Most Outstanding Player in the conference tournament—sat out the final 4:56 of action. Having only been assessed one foul on the evening, Pitino’s decision came down to Luis’ performance.
“[Luis] was 3-for-17,” Pitino said, referencing Luis’ shooting efficiency. “I’m not going to knock one of my players.”
Visibly downhearted by the early exit, the Hall of Famer made sure to show gratitude to Richmond, Smith and Scott, all of whom have now played the final game of their collegiate careers.
“I’m very appreciative of [Aaron] Scott. He had a bad game, but gave me his heart and soul with a broken finger,” Pitino said with a smile. “I’m very appreciative of Kadary Richmond. He was a true pleasure to coach,” he continued. “I’m very appreciative of Deivon Smith, who has been hurt and gave me everything he had.”
With the 2024-25 season now over, St. John’s quickly shifts focus to the offseason. The transfer portal officially opens this Monday, and billionaire alumnus Mike Repole has already taken to social media, appearing to pledge his willingness to ramp up name, image and likeness (NIL) contributions.
Despite the more than disappointing end to Pitino’s second season, the future in Queens appears brighter than it has in nearly three decades. Though their March Madness run is over, the Johnnies have laid a foundation with a renewed sense of hope that should carry them into next season and beyond.
To access the final box score from the St. John’s loss to Arkansas, click here.
